Nothing is Set in Stone Age

I am trying to make every single meal I eat for the rest of my life the healthiest meal possible. However, I'm basing what I think is healthy on information that is constantly evolving and changing. Right now, I know this: I will never eat refined sugar, I will never eat processed foods, and I will never eat junk food. Of course, my definition of "processed" includes store-bought bread and pasta, and a lot of other common foods most people consider wholesome, such as pasteurized dairy. If anything, the paleo thing is just an excellent guideline for how to compose most meals - it's flexible and includes most of the foods I love anyway. But as strict as I am adhering to these guidelines, I by no means think that I have it down perfectly, and I by no means think my way is the definitive right way.

I am learning how to listen to my body and change my food to suit what it needs. I seem to not have a problem with corn, but beans really fuck my shit up, even sprouted and soaked beans. I don't have a marked reaction to gluten, but I know that if I reincorporate it into my regular diet, I will have brain fog, fatigue, and bad hangovers. I will also have more pudge. I've recently tried reducing my carb intake, but that seems to not be helpful. I feel tired, and while my brain and attention span seem fine, I just feel lethargic. Eating fruit doesn't help that much, even high-glucose fruit like pineapple and mango. I was blaming it on the heat, which may be a factor, but I didn't feel quite as good as when I was eating sweet potatoes and yams at most meals. I think I need starches that break down slower in the body. Even Girl Gone Primal, who has been doing the zero carb thing, is starting to re-evaluate what she's doing. I'm going to start eating a little white potato and see how that makes me feel. I do love potatoes.

Anyway, I love food, I will always love wine and butter, and when I'm in Italy I will eat the fuck out of some pasta. I don't want to scare people off from good food. I'm just trying to be conscious of how every food impacts my body. This is a constantly evolving process, and I'm always learning. I hope everyone else is doing the same.

Did we lick it?

....the sugar habit, that is?

Now that we're nearly done with Week 4 of our paleo challenge, I'd be interested in hearing how people are doing in relation to cutting out or reducing sugar and refined carbohydrates in their diet.

Since we started the challenge, my one very non-paleo food has been chocolate. I've tried to stick with very dark chocolate (90% dark, but sometimes in the 74%-88% range instead). Sometimes, though, I've had slightly less dark chocolate with a lot of sugar in it. I haven't had any grains since we started and have not had juice either.

As the weeks have gone on, I've noticed two things: I get less hungry between meals (a good thing, and I assume because I'm eating veg and protein that's keeping me fuller longer and with fewer dips in blood sugar), but I also have been eating a LOT more chocolate than when I started (not necessarily a great thing, given the quantities).