Suck it up and believe that it'll be worth it...no one said it was going to be easy but if you're willing to give it your best shot than you can expect the results. If you want something bad enough that you want to breathe, you will make it happen!

But feeling yucky can be a great motivator is you frame it that way. The mantra that got me through my darkest days: The only way out is through. Repeat. The only way out is through. You must go through this so try to do so with some enthusiasm and gratitude even. If you want to you can choose to be kind of excited over the aches and icky feeling. Your body's talking to you! Probably saying "oh we're doing this sh!t again?" but it's reacting to the changes you are making. Let the "bad" feelings become something you welcome as a signal that you are headed down the road you know will get you somewhere. And hey the fact that you can feel misery means you haven't killed yourself just yet so think of it as the penance you must pay to getting this second, third, nineth, twentieth chance maybe?

And you didn't slip up because you were going slow. Don't lie to yourself. We all do it but it rarely works out well in the end. So while you beginning again take some time to be brutally honest with yourself about what happened. You need to understand the lies you tell yourself that make those first few bites off plan seem like a good thing. You need to be able to recognize the scripts that play in your own head that make the poor decisions seem like good ones so you can learn to stop them. If you do not do this you are doomed to repeat this cycle over and over and over again. This is the biggest reason the vast majority of people fail at weight loss. I played this game with myself for 15 years. Try not to follow in my footsteps.

So in essence I say to you to stop your wining and welcome it all. Stop being your own worse enemy. Say "bring it on because I am ready". Suck it up and know that it will pass. And remember this pain and pull out that memory the next time some piece of crap is calling to you and telling you that one little piece isn't going to hurt. Remember the hurt you are going through now and know that your own pea brain is telling you lies.

And good luck!!! You KNOW HOW TO DO THIS so just so it.

A positive attitude goes a long way.

Stay positive! You can do this and you'll start feeling better soon.

If you're food is dialed in, and I mean that you're excluding dairy (at least for a 'cleansing' period), then consider some other supportive additions. I have chronic fatigue (not syndrome, or at least not diagnosed) and struggle with terrible fatigue and general feelings of yuckness.

Things that help me get going when I'm pooped and feel like crap:

Probiotics can help you feel better all over. Look for the dairy free kind that include prebiotics to feed the little buggers. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=friendly-bacteria-cheer-up-anxious-mice
~I think probiotic pills are better than yogurt when you need medicinal levels of the good bugs. For one thing stomach acid tends to kill off a lot of the unprotected probiotics when you eat yogurt, drink kombucha, etc... but capsules are designed to make it down into your digestive system.

Green Tea - with caffeine

Vitamin B - Easily digestable or under the tongue disolvable/absorbable

Tyrosine - enzyme to stimulate your brain http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/tyrosine-000329.htm

Beef and Cabbage stew, corned beef with cabbage, and chocoalate banana muffins - cuz I love them and they don't f up my guts.

Taking a walk, and then jogging a bit if I'm feeling up to it. If I can just get myself to walk a bit I usually find that I have more energy after about 10 minutes. If the music is upbeat I may even break into a gentle jog. I always feel a bit better and get a boost from a feeling of accomplishment.

Homemade bone broth - sometimes I'll just drink a warm cup to help my digestion or if food might bother me guts. I will treat it as a snack, a meal replacement, or part of a meal.
~ I like this recipe a lot. I'm part of a beef CSA so I get cheaper prices than I'd get at the store. I throw everything into two crockpots and let 'em go for up to 72 hours. Any bones that crumble to the touch get trashed and the rest get stuck in a bag and put in the freezer for next time.
http://www.bastropcattlecompany.com/recipes/26-basic-support-recipes/142-pauls-best-beef-broth

Hope you start feeling better soon Vrimj. Welcome back to the fold!

When I'm feeling low, it helps me to buy something pretty nice that's still paleo - like an expensive cut of meat I wouldn't normally splurge on, or some kind of delicious organic vegetable that I otherwise would pass up because $5 for a bunch of arugula is pretty ridiculous. That way, I still feel like I'm treating myself, and I get into a more positive mindset about it, without breaking my diet - I get out of the rut of thinking "Paleo = deprived."

Also, is there something non-diet related that you can do to give yourself a boost? Maybe plan something fun or exciting every day (doesn't have to be big, just something you look forward to) to take your mind off your food.

It should never suck... sounds like you need to find some recipes that you like and find some restaurants where you can get some good food.

I found that most of the restaurants that I frequent for lunch have menu items that become "paleo" with slight modifications (no peanuts, lettuce in place of rice, etc...).

If you think it sucks to eat healthy you'll never stick to it... find some things that you like that are healthy.

Drink some more water to flush out some of the yuck.

Sleep, sleep and sleep as much as you can while you feel blech - it always makes me feel a bit better.

And I agree with Kelly re: bone broth and probiotics and fresh veggies nad fruits.

Remember this will only last a couple more days, so power through it - the light at the end of the tunnel is close - YOU CAN DO IT

If it's the literal physical misery that's got you down (and not missing the foods you have chosen not to eat anymore), let's think about how to help you feel better.

Definitely bone broth, also other probiotic-rich foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, kefir, etc.

Tons of sleep to help your body recover.

And gentle loving exercise, too, to give yourself some endorphins and keep that blood flowing. Maybe some lovely walks, easy swims, restorative yoga. I wouldn't do anything too vigorous while you're feeling crappy, but keeping your blood moving can be nice. If you can afford it, how about a massage? It both feels good, and helps some of the yucky stuff get out of your system.

And I'd also encourage you to fill the space of food as a comfort with other things that are of comfort. Lots of lovely time with friends, activities you enjoy (movies that make you laugh, going to beautiful spots in nature, or whatever else floats your boat).

At the risk of showing I am totally new to this...What is "Bone Broth" and what are its benefits? What does it taste like since I've seen the phrase "force yourself to drink at least a cup with every meal until your system settles...." Does it taste THAT BAD??

Keep on keepin' on. One day at a time. Have faith that you'll get to where you want to be.

I know the feeling exactly. It's really easy (for me at least) to slip up once, and then let all those slip-ups pile up until I'm off the wagon.

For me the greatest motivator is how AWESOME I feel when I eat paleo - you don't realize just how great it is to feel awesome all the time when feeling run-down and sluggish all the time becomes the norm.

As far as a quick transition goes, it's definitely easiest in the long run. I would advise that you remove all the junk from your access. Not just out of sight, but completely out of your surroundings. And if fast food or outside food sources are a problem, get yourself as far away from them, too. The candy bowl at work is the bane of my existence.

Sounds like your mind is already there, your body just needs to catch up. A healthy level of activity, rest, and real food, and your body will eventually get there. Concentrate on how awesome you will feel once you work through the beginning phase! You got this!

A lot of people are suggesting you try bone broth, and I agree it is a fabulous healing food. But according to the GAPS protocol, which is designed to heal leaky guts and intestinal damage, many people can't tolerate it until their guts have already healed quite a bit (its not usually introduced until weeks into the program--sometimes months). The GAPS protocol suggests you start out with meat broths (cook meat on the bone with a good amount of water for 2-3 hours and drink the broth that comes off, plus go ahead an eat the meat -- then stick the bones back in your pot and start a batch of bone broth). Meat broths are also nutrient dense and have great healing properties for the intestines. They tend to be more gelatinous and they taste darn good. Since you are dealing with intestinal issues, I just wanted you to be aware of this in case bone broth makes you feel icky. Come back to it later and start with meat broth if it does.

Here's a good post by Patty at Loving our Guts about the difference between meat and bone broths and the healing properties of each (plus links to how to make each).

http://www.lovingourguts.com/the-difference-between-bone-broth-and-meat-broth-or-stock/

This is no way should be taken as medical advice, I'm just telling you about me and what I have done:

If I find that I've cheated too much over a period of time and I get the feeling my dysbiosis is coming back, I do a week or two of Pau D'Arco and caprylic acid to blast myself clean. Works a treat. Energy levels soar, bloating disappears, water retention stops, blood sugar feels stable, desire to exercise returns. After that I can carry on with what I know to be good eating without cravings or low mood etc.