The cost of "healthy" food in Sweden. I don't care how cheap people say eating paleo is, in Sweden the cost of eating is so very very expensive and to buy healthy foods is three times that. It is unreal you need about 10,000 kr (1,500 dollars) to feed a family of five a REAL paleo diet which includes organic foods and healthy meats. and this IS budget shopping no extra fancy stuff.

It's not affordable in Sweden...

So I started chatting up this lady at the local caveman watering hole over a couple drinks. As we were talking I was definitely getting interested in whatever she talking about (well, not really, but I was interested in her) and after a while she explained she was a vegetarian. Well, it's pretty obvious to say that we didn't work out beyond that night. So, paleo has now effected my dating life-ish. Which thinking about it now is debatable if that's actually a downside.

Looking at my parents getting more and more sick but still eating junk food. And I can't help them cause they don't want to listen to me. Someday I'm going to feel very guilty that I couldn't help them. But what can I do? And when I look at my younger bro who eats big bowl of ice cream right before his bedtime starring at bullshits on TV... And my mates from college carrying big bag of sandwiches, low-fat yogurts, diet cookies, rice with soy, fitness cereals, 3 in 1 coffee with l-carnitine every day... And they're constantly munching on this crap. ALWAYS hungry. But I've stopped talk with them about what's wrong with them thinking 'low fat or vegetarian/vegan diet is the best for our health' cause I'm fed up with 'grains are good for us!', 'how can you live without milk?!', 'soooooo, which sweetener do you use instead of sugar?', 'meat is gonna kill you man! and oh my god you eat so much fat, what about your cholesterol?'... and so on and on and on... AND I HATE when people look at my lunch box and says : 'WHAT IS T-H-A-T?! Are you f***g out of your mind?! I can give you one of my sandwich!' or whats even worst : 'Oh, what do you have here? It's looking nice... Can I try this?' and after one bite 'Mmmm taste nice, what's that?' then when I say 'rabbit meatballs' it ends up on the floor/in the sink. Grr...

BUT what I think is really depressing that I remember how pizza used to taste to me... DELICIOUS. When I became paleo I couldn't give up PIZZA. And when I had my 'little breakdown' I tried one slice of pepperoni with double cheese and garlic tomato sauce and gues what? It wasn't the same taste. It was like plastic. The same was with chocolate. :(

The hardest thing for me has been to sort through advice (potentially) suitable for obese, metabolically deranged people, and that which is suitable for insulin sensitive, athletic, high functioning individuals who want to optimize their already healthy lifestyle.

My immediate family has been somewhat supportive (my father the most, then my nearly-vegan sister who understands that I'm trying to cure myself of something that held me back a year in school and kept me from having a social life for 4 years, then my mother who rolled her eyes at me when I said I was doing it, but doesn't really care and so far hasn't been given me problems for it), but I don't think any of them actually believe that anything I'm avoiding is bad for me. It doesn't help that I'm not well-spoken in person, so I stay quiet because I can't explain myself very well and have trouble articulating the science behind it all when I'm feeling flustered.

This wasn't a problem until a few days ago, which was the last day of my sister visiting for winter break. We all went out to eat to a nice Italian restaurant, and I ordered the veal meatballs. Rookie mistake: I didn't remember that breadcrumbs are used in meatballs until after I'd finished. I casually mentioned this to my family, and they said, "You'll live." I said, "Yeah, I just won't feel well later." This raised a lot of protest, with my sister saying, "No you won't; it's not like when you eat meat," meaning that when she, being vegetarian/vegan for several years, tries to eat meat (for whatever reason...) she gets a stomach ache. My immediate thought was, "Yes it is." But I didn't say anything because I was so taken aback by the arrogance with which she said it that I knew I would fumble over my words. I let it go, and lo-and-behold had rather gross gastrointestinal issues that night. My parents apologized for not believing me, but my sister told me that it was all in my head. It's stuff like that, besides the "cavewoman" jaunts, that are exasperatingly annoying.

Whenever someone asks me why Paleo is "better" it's like my mind goes blank and I forget everything I've read or researched. I usually mumble something about insulin and cancer and people become disinterested. The fact that I have no physical change to show since "converting"...my boyfriend has lost 15lbs yet I have not lost any. I think people disregard a diet change that doesn't have extreme visible changes (also it pisses me off that I haven't had any weight loss, haha). When people find out I haven't lost any weight they often ask me if I feel different and it's hard to explain to people that the biggest change I "feel" is a connection to my food, a sense of pride knowing my food is environmentally friendly, the meat I eat didn't live a horrible life in a crowded room, and that I can pronounce all of the ingredients I eat. Also, I don't want to tell people that my bowels have improved haha. As many others have said, it also sucks being social. Turning down food or always preparing my own food (or cheating).

I came to my parents for the weekend and my mom had just baked chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies...they smelt so good I ate one of each & instantly have tummy issues. (but it tasted sooo good-she used Crisco haha)

I actually haven't told anyone in my famly yet, or my boyfriend. My plan is just to talk about food intolerances/medical necessity rather than, "I'm eating paleo" if someone asks me in the future.

The downside to paleo is that I just know that I'm going to be accused of, "You're just trying to find an excuse to restrict" or "But you don't really need to lose weight". I'm a lot fatter now, but I struggled with anorexia for a while and people were so rude...at group meetings/dinners, research symposiums, etc...people did not hesitate to comment about my food choices, including strangers. I felt ashamed, but I shouldn't have. They encouraged me to eat cakes, cookies, etc. instead of salads and high-protein meals. I was anorexia, binge/purge subtype so that type of food would have triggered binging. And when I say binging, I mean BINGING. As in, eat 10% of my weight or more...some days are better than others. There's pretty much no use in trying to defend myself though.

Before finding out about paleo, I was trying to leave out wheat and sugar anyway because it triggered binges. I don't think I can ever explain that having a healthy relationship with food begins with eating healthy food...and not just eating anything with abandon and cotton candy without a care. Nobody can really grasp how mind numbing wheat can be for me. I think it's partly psychological, but there is a physical addiction that is pretty difficult to cope with.

I actually spend less time planning food and don't spend 2 hours walking around the grocery store anymore. I try to eat whole foods and not packaged junk. I nowhere near perfect (in fact, I am VERY far from it since I still struggle with disordered eating), but I'm hopeful. The social aspect of it is the only thing that bothers me. Family-style meals are hard and after the holidays, I always return home and go through a few months of very bad binging, disordered eating, etc. (more than usual). It takes months to get over the trauma from a week or so of eating lots of wheat, grains, etc. And it comes with a lot of weight gain which drives the misery even further.

Watching some of the better minds (Lalonde,KGH,Peter) either disappear or disassociate themselves with Paleo.

I realize labels don't mean a hell of a lot,but their opinions and insights made for quality reading.

How damn hard it is to eat enough calories in a day.

I'm weight training and trying to put on weight and I always end up eating like 1500/day and feeling totally sated and then having to choke down half a jar of nut butter or a whole can of coconut milk or something to get to my calorie goal for the day. Processed foods are so much more calorie-dense that I don't feel full until I've consumed many more calories; it would be so much easier to gain weight if I could eat ice cream or candy or even wheat products.

Also the incredible social isolation and constant feelings of deprivation when I want the delicious chocolate raisins/Ben & Jerry's/food my family is enjoying and can't have it, but that's mostly me being whiny. Unlike apparently everyone else in the Paleosphere I still enjoy the taste of everything I am no longer allowed to eat. Pizza does not taste like cardboard; it tastes like heaven.

Getting yelled at by my dad when he starts an argument with me when I come by the house a few times a week. Or the swift snipes with a lot of energy behind them while trying to have another conversation LOL. My dad is normal but he consistently brings up food here and there and starts normally and then creates conflict and then gets loud LOL. He just has a problem with me and the amount of restriction I have for certain foods with natural toxins and lectins in them; not just grains, nuts, legumes, etc. He is 175 and 5'11 so he doesn't have a problem with food in regards to eating a very large amount more than he should but he certainly eats bad and too many carbs and over 300 grams a day.

When it comes to eating how you should it actually becomes a gift to understand how much we really have even though it seems restrictive: the fact that we have the ability to enjoy and taste our food thoroughly is so great. And eating right makes you understand that there shouldn't even be a consideration for any other type of eating because if you eat these other foods it's not eating but either a mistake, a need out of starvation, ingesting product that really isn't even food but a bad plant that is meant to be left alone or a grain, or a processed toy for taste. But that is a rather rough way of looking at it and I feel bad for those who haven't done the research.

Having to buy new jeans so often because they keep falling off every couple months. Those things are expensive! Maybe I should switch to a style where bagginess is less noticeable? Ahhhh, but I like my skinnies. Life is difficult.

In all seriousness, it's living with a non-paleo family. Drawing the line between "my food" and "your food" is suuuuper awkward and I haven't been able to successfully do it yet and I think I need to start, otherwise I'll end up eating and justifying frozen french fries (or worse) again. Also organic meat is expensive. Also the funny looks you get when you tell them you're going to eat a certain way (GAPS) "for acne" ("No, this is silly and too restrictive; you only have it because you're using this Oil Cleansing nonsense!!!" Never mind the breakout pattern is totally hormonal, not topical, never mind that the pimples have been around for over a decade)

And social situations. It's hard to strike a balance between letting 80/20 become 60/40, and just being an irritating orthorexic health nut (in the eyes of others). Thank god for the non-paleo but still food-nerd circle of friends I guess? At least they understand that it matters, haha.