Get all enemy foods out of the house and do not buy anymore. Then the only time you can cheat is if you are eating out. Even then, try to order more paleo friendly items in order to keep the cheat on the mild side. Keep some super dark chocolate in the house to help satiate any super monster cravings. And quit being such a whiny weenie and just do it! ;-P

i attack it one day at a time when i fall off.

i plan for that day, keep it sugar and gluten free, and try not to think ahead of that day.

usually works.

Start over with breakfast. That's what I do. I fall off the sugar wagon now and again, but I just reboot with a proper breakfast the next day and it helps a ton. Also... it's HUGE to be prepared with the right foods and NOT have the wrong foods around you. Get that stuff out of your house/reach! It's not like we all don't think a bowl of cereal is so easy and tasty, it's just something you have to make a non-option.

Also, I will say this, I believe it can really take YEARS to get to a place where these relapses don't happen - or at least ones that last as long as it seems yours may be. I maybe fall off for a day with having some candy, but then that's it. I feel the ill effects (though I knew them before I ate it) and then I don't want to feel that way anymore. And I know what made me feel that way... so it takes a bit of brainpower to think through your decisions, but when your brain is fueled by grains and sugar, it's not clear. You have to yank yourself out of that hole.

This worked for me:

• Make a spreadsheet of all of your proposed meals for the next week
• Buy the necessary ingredients for those meals
• Cook as much of the meals as you can ahead of time
• Throw out tempting stuff in your fridge and cabinets
• Reward yourself with something really nice at the end of that week

Fast for a day. When you wake up the next morning, you really don't want to undo all that hard work from the previous day. Also, you will have dulled some of those cravings.

And of course, come on Paleohacks and get some motivation....

Just do it. Don't make it complicated or overthink it. Eat paleo foods, don't eat non paleo foods, whatever your definition of those are.

On most Sundays, but esp after a weekend of questionable food choices: I buy a ton of veggies and thaw a few GF steaks, I spend an hour or so filling up a couple large containers with salad and barbecuing the steaks then this combo becomes my default choice over the next couple of days if I don't have time or feel like making something else good. For me it's about having good choices readily available.

I do many of the things mentioned in the other posts. I don't keep anything in my house that isn't paleo except a small amount of super dark chocolate to combat the occasional cravings. When I choose to eat something in the gray area (I can't fully go off of paleo without being deathly sick) I make certain that my next meal is pure paleo. My other tip would be to read Robb Wolf's "The Paleo Solution". Whenever I feel tempted by anything I read a chapter, get scared to death, and then I find it quite easy to stay paleo. You need the fear! :D

Try, try again! or as a Japanese proverb states "Fall down seven times, stand up eight." Don't mentally beat yourself up - this is not an easy path (at least at first - it does get easier over time - actually comfortable). It took me 6-9 months to sorta get the hang of it - and I feel like I still don't have it "nailed".

Lots of great suggestions above. I just want to add that Glutamine can really help ameliorate sugar cravings. 500mg to 1g morning and evening. I take 1g 2x/day - but I'm a big guy. First Halloween ever that I didn't eat any candy - and I had no desire - in spite of handing it out to the kiddies all night.

And I can't remove the junk from the house - I have a wife and kids that don't subscribe to my way of eating. I just look at all the bread/muffins/bagels/ice cream and think "that's not mine". I have to be sure that I always have some meat leftovers for whenever I need it and some other paleo snacks/quick hits. Sometimes a sip of heavy cream is all I need to hold me for a while.

Doing a short-term challenge has helped me a lot. In August I did a 30-day challenge which mostly consisted of NO grains and NO added sugars. When I was faced with a tempting cheat food, I just thought "I'm not allowed to eat that" and immediately moved on. If it's not an option, you don't have to decide whether to eat it or not. You could make a challenge as restrictive as you want and for whatever length of time you want. It really works for me, as long as I set my mind to it.

Sola, I've been through this recently myself, and ended up writing several blog posts about it, as well as doing a YouTube video.

For me, what it came down to was three areas: -Changing mental patterns -Dealing with the physical effects (withdrawal, sugar cravings) -Social support

For me, it is important to approach from all three angles. I find it useful to think positively, and that makes it more likely for me to make good choices. If I'm too hard on myself, that just drives me to eat for emotional reasons = eat poorly.

Also, it is hard to make good choices when you're on the blood sugar roller coaster, so I find focusing on eating high protein & high fat helps a lot. I also found out about a whole bunch of supplements that can help (including the glutamine mentioned by Dave S.).

And social support = community is really important for me as well, and this is the place for it! Helps to continue to connect with like minded people. Do you have a paleo meet-up group in your community?

I do also find reading books & blogs a great way to keep my focused.

But, bottom line, don't be hard on yourself, and just make the best choices that you can. It's a journey for some of us, and there is no reason to beat yourself up for falling in the trap that the Western Diet & culture has set up for us.

Good luck, you can do it!!

I read "What Happens To Your Body When You Carb Binge" by Mark Sisson...

Key quote: "...a hefty dose of sugar can compromise the immune system for more than 24 hours."

And Kurt Harris' "Smoking Candy Cigarettes."

Key quote: "I think “cheat days” make just as much sense as a weekly Marlboro red for ex-smokers or lines of coke once in a while after you have left Hazelden."

P.S. I also reacquaint myself with KH's famous list.