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I'm on day 4 of Paleo. For me, food-wise this means grain-free, sugar-free, reducing dairy, and keeping carbs below 100 grams. I've also added on a magnesium supplement and take fish oil to balance out non-grassfed meats.

I find myself being really obsessive about Paleo. I track everything I eat in loseit's app. I'm thinking about food a lot and have been eating quite a bit (of eggs, meat, and bacon!). I also read a lot of PaleoHacks, Mark's Daily Apple, Archevore, and other sites.

I think part of the obsessiveness is in the need to track the carbs. It occurred to me -- I could just eat the same thing every day in order to not need that 'reassurance' provided by tracking. Eating the same breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday would be easy, and give me a feel for how a 'normal' dinner would feel. Then I could hack that diet as needed.

Thoughts?

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 Good question. Also, does eating this way increase the risk of some micronutrient deficiency? And/or do we risk taking in too high a concentration of some toxin if our food is not 100% clean? – Mike T May 7 2012 at 21:23

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You have hit apon my "holy grail of Paleo". Keep it simple. Yes, for a while eat the same thing everyday. You will know when it is time to add variety. And at that time, you may very well prefer to just keep doing what you've been doing. "Variety" is so " mid-20th- century- American-neolithic BS". Its akin to the 45 flavors of Jello at the supermarket. Is there really the need? Excellent newby thinking and welcome to PH.You're a natural. Very "Tom Brady" c. 2001.

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+1 Yeah, I also think that we've been brainwashed into thinking that a meal isn't a meal if the four major food groups aren't each represented on the plate. I find it extremely liberating to eat just one thing or two and call it a meal. My variety comes when I run out of something, or when I get sick of it or feel like eating something else. I judge it on a weekly basis, not a daily one. – gydle May 8 2012 at 6:37
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Do you weigh your food? How about you rotate different foods but keep the quantity similar? You'll probably not get as bored. After a few weeks of tracking your nutritional intake you'll be able to guess macros pretty close without having to use the app.

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I don't weight but I do measure it in cups, tbs. As for ounces of meat, etc, I use common sense -- 4 slightly-different patties from 1 lb. of meat is not something I will worry about. – ElisaOS May 8 2012 at 13:16
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Regarding the obsessiveness, don't fret about this yet. I find myself obsessive about any new project in the beginning--particularly self-improvement projects. It seems a normal part of the "activation" phase, where you contain and build sufficient motivation and energy until you sort of explode into your project. That energy can carry you through the doldrums you're likely encounter at some point, either physical, emotional, or both.

If a predictable quotidian diet works for you, for now, fine. But I disagree with another response on the issue of variety. People seem hooked on the notion that we're all drugged beyond competence on SAD, and forget we actually do still possess natural impulses and instincts from our primal days. Food manufacturers didn't invent our interest in variety, or the psychological responses that push us in that direction. They may have identified and capitalized on those responses, but the responses were there to begin with. And our taste for variety can lead us to foods (and help us find them palatable) supplying nutrients that might otherwise be hard to come by.

If you're going to develop a quotidian diet, I'd encourage you to plug it into nutrition software, but don't just look at your carbs, but all the vitamins and minerals. Anything missing, or short? Can you add something to bring it up, using food as a supplement? For example, low on zinc? One oyster provides 66%. Selenium low? Just 1 brazil nut kernel provides 174%.

With software, you can tap into your current obsessiveness to make a game of trying to get all your micro-nutrients as high as you can, purely on food (no supplements).

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Ok great! I have used nutritiondata.self.com to find something that should work within my parameters. I was surprised by some of what I learned, for example replacing 3 oz. beef with 3 oz. canned with bone salmon is cheaper and provides more needed nutrients. – ElisaOS May 8 2012 at 2:17
And I agree, variety is needed. I think a basic template can be swapped, especially as seasonal fruits/vegetables change. – ElisaOS May 8 2012 at 2:18
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 I kind of think worrying about micronutrients will just make the OP more obsessive, not less. Maybe do it as an experiment for a week, then stop? – gydle May 8 2012 at 6:39
@gydle, that was my intention. Track it long enough to develop a quotidian diet, so that tracking won't be necessary moving forward. And capitalizing on the current energy behind the obsessiveness to do that now, assuming the obsessiveness will pass. The OP is already tracking, and seems most worried about carbs. But developing a quotidian diet that doesn't consider micronutirents seems foolish to me. If one will mostly eat ony the same things everyday, shouldn't one have some idea what the nutrient profile looks like? I don't know if a truly quotidian diet is possible. I rather doubt it. – Christopher Gagnon May 8 2012 at 11:57
I have realized that part of the tracking is an attempt on my part to feel satiated within the limits, I have not made an adjustment yet and so far still do feel quite hungry even while consuming larger amounts of fat/protein. – ElisaOS May 8 2012 at 17:43
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I do this alot actually... It makes things simpler. I do change up dinner though...

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Ditto. I thought I would do it for ease during the week, but after awhile I had no interest in switching it up on the weekends. The only time I deviate is my one day a week rest from exercising. No carbs (except from green veggies) and higher fat on that day. – Jill May 7 2012 at 23:36
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I've tried that. It's easy to keep track of numbers when you do that, but you'll get bored pretty quick. Eating like that also amplifies temptation for other foods, including the bad stuff, so be careful.

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thank you for the tip! – ElisaOS May 8 2012 at 2:19

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