Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!

Everyone on the planet is susceptible to temptation, and sometimes people will fall off of their horse. In this case, that horse would be the Paleo way of life. Maybe money suddenly got tight, maybe your work schedule suddenly changed for the worst, maybe friends and family starting cooking large quantities of food and now you went from "cheating" to 85/15 to grazing to falling off that Paleo shaped horse! (Okay, now that the metaphor has been beaten to death - no animals were harmed in the writing of this blog - we can move on.)

"I've eaten gluten several times over the last few days and now my cravings are off the wall! Help! What do i do?"

Well, that's easy, and it isn't. You start over.

Now, if you really have only fallen off for a week or two, and not several months, the good news is you probably are not starting back at square one! That's great! If you are having some serious cravings (I want french toast, I want cookies, I want a bucket of ice-cream) then you have your work cut out for you. Still, you got over those cravings once and you can do it again! Plus, if you think back to the first time you purged your system of all of those complex carbohydrates, gluten, processed sugars and preservatives, at least this time, you know that those cravings will end. That should give you some hope, and if it doesn't, pretend anyway and go back to my August 2013 posting about the importance of a support network.

We all need to vent sometimes, and a lot of that time the very act of venting solves a lot of our stress! Having a solid support network (or partner) can really help you climb back up to where you want to be, sooner.

I am not a veteran to the Paleo world but if you have fallen off the band wagon and are wanting to get back on, my advice is this:

#1- Figure out WHEN you started to slip and WHY. Knowing these two pieces of information will be invaluable to help you avoid the same flub-up in the future.

#2- Even if you are (Mostly) Paleo, like me, start fresh with your super strict rules for the first couple of weeks back. This will help reset your brain and your body. You don't want that bit of full fat milk you put in your morning coffee to turn into a trip to Marble Slab. Ya know?

#3- REREAD your favorite starter Paleo book. This will reinforce nutrition, the rules of Paleo, and all of the BENEFITS of eating this way! Remember, you are doing something positive for you. You should be happy to be here and treat yourself and your family with rich whole foods!