Hi, Alex! There's no need to make this complicated, particularly at first. As Invisible Caveman said above, read the Kurt Harris page for a good overall summary.

When you start out, it's likely to be quite a change in what you're eating, so just focus on real, whole foods. Like this:

During the first week or so, make sure you're not hungry. That's where fat comes in. Turkey breast is good protein but pretty dry. Make sure you put lots of olive oil on that salad! In general, beef is a good meat with enough fat to keep you satisfied while you're adjusting. If you're going to be eating a lot of poultry, you need canned fish like salmon or sardines, avocado, olives, boiled eggs, etc., to give you more fat. If you eat turkey at home you can heat it and put butter on it.

A piece of fruit is fine, just don't eat tons of fructose. Starch is good too. And as many non-starchy vegetables as you want.

Have fun with it!

As you read more and gain more knowledge about the Paleo diet and lifestyle, you'll notice you're gonna (have to) constantly be tweaking certain things.
Are you gonna VLC (very low carb) or moderate carb?
Are you gonna avoid all dairy?
Are you gonna eat potatoes or not?
Are you gonna start taking supplements such as a multivitamin, fish oil, vitamin D, vitamin K2, magnesium, etc.?
Are you gonna start avoiding nightshades?
It's a never-ending journey of what you think is best for your body.

I also stumbled upon that site when I was first looking into Paleo. Mark's Daily Apple kind of gave me the final push I needed. Personally for me, I started Paleo doing moderate everything (fats, protein and carbs). Then took out fruit completely, lessened my consumption of nuts, increased my fats through coconut oil and ghee, tried to balance my o6:o3 ratio naturally (meaning no supplements, just avoiding chicken and eating more salmon), but I do take other supplements, tried VLC and felt like it wasn't doing anything so I increased carbs by re-introducing sweet potatoes. You get the picture. The devil's in the details and there's constant debate about EV-ER-Y-THING.
I think the main point I'm trying to make is everyone does something different. You have to listen to your body and make the proper adjustments in order to feel the best. One thing is for sure: you're already making a huge difference by deciding to cut out the grains/sugar/legumes/etc. You will have more questions, guaranteed, and sometimes you're gonna wanna shoot your brain out from all the overwhelming amount of info. But welcome to PH.

I've been following Kurt Harris' outline since November 1st and have seen dramatic improvements in my overall health in just 2.5 months.

http://www.archevore.com/get-started/

Also read his Paleo 2.0 article for more background info.

Congrats!!! You are on a great start. You will tweak things over time. Potatoes are an option I am currently pursuing.

no need to go without fruit... though you should eat more veggies than fruit for sure. get remainder of fat and proteins from animals. simple as (no) pie

Since you are starting paleo, I thought I'll share a great compendium about Paleo Lifestyle that I created: http://is.gd/paleo Cheers!

1. What ever path you take make sure not to be to hard on yourself if you "mess up". Just think, you have another opportunity at your next meal to do your level best to eat clean, healthy and with less and less chemicals and contaminants.
2. If you are trying to lose weight. BACK OFF the scale. I am a large person and it has taken me 1 year TODAY! to move 21 pounds, however, I have much more muscle, not crazy muscle but toned calves and much better looking arms and my torso is looking better all the time. I try to notice how my clothes feel and how much smaller I feel in some shirts and jeans...this to me is a great motivator.
3. notice your moods, skin, breathing, hair, nails, (bowels) everything to see what has changed. if you search through the messages you will find where we have listed all the good side effects we have noticed. Some so small that it doesnt dawn us till months later...

Best of luck. If you are radically changing your habits, for example if you smoked, drank coffee, drink alcohol, drink sodas, and tons of carbs remind your self this will be tough in the beginning. Decide what you can live without TODAY and change as you go. Before I stared Paleo, I was a non drinker, non smoker, non soda drinker. I still drink coffee with heavy cream and tea and my carbs come from veggies and rarely fruit. So I think my transition was smoother than others but I still was really tired by week three. You MUST be prepared to feel that exhaustion. If you havent read about it, this may catch you off guard. But your body must convert from using sugar for fuel to using fats. Read all you can, make notes about what makes sense for you today and tweek it as you learn more!

Theresa

Awesome and congratulations! I was a competitive swimmer for years and now get it done via CrossFit and lifting weights - 4 days a week, and just general skipping about. What works for me isn't ideal for everyone, it was loads of tinkering until I got it right. I based it all off of a Paleo lifetyle that I saw in progress, it's still in affect as a matter of fact, but needed to add some additional items in. So adjusted and playing until I was at optimum level.

I definitely like Jaminet and Harris, explored Wolf and some others, and the ongoing N=1 experimentation. This is a crazy wonderful experience and instead of giving you "do this don't do that" I will just say.. have fun with it, it shouldn't be a chore. When you adjust and find that nutrition spot that works for you? Wowzers, it's amazing.

Note: I'm happy to edit with a day of meals if you're curious :)

Regarding my comment in the top post above and its 'extreme' level. I find that it sometimes is good to point out extremes and here is why. People tend to become 'extreme'.

When you tell a person that they can eat meat on their new diet, they hear 'EAT MEAT!!', and chickens, cows, salmon, pigs and most other things with a face start disappearing rapidly, multiple times a day 3+. If that person decides they want more protein, down goes some protein products, its a normal response. This is ok doing Paleo.

When you tell a person that they can eat Veggies on their new diet, they hear 'EAT VEGGIES!!', and first salad then cucumbers, squash, celery, onions, spinach, romaine, sweet potatoes start to disappear.Often 3x+ a day.That person may add in some 'greens' sups. Again, this is ok doing Paleo.

When you tell a person that they can eat Fruit on their new diet, they hear 'EAT FRUIT!!' and suddenly bananas, mangos, berries, apples, oranges, kiwis, begin to become extinct in their kitchen. That person then makes a leap, and starts consuming orange juice and/or honey (raw or not) on top of multiple fruit servings per day, just like w meat and veggies. THIS, is not ok. Its not ok for me. Its not ok for clients of mine. I believe science proves this is extremely unhealthy for most people.

People are creatures of habit, especially on 'diets'. I've had more people than I can count ask me why they cant lose anymore weight. A quick look at their diet and I find out they are 'snacking' on Almond Butter all day and eating a Genetically Modified Fructose bomb at each meal and then of course I get the 'What? Its Paleo, isnt it?' No, actually its not.

Before any suggestions, I'd like to know your reasons for following Paleo.

Here's why...

If you are starting out with some weight to lose, I'd suggest keeping potatoes down to a minimum. Those of us with insulin issues tend to overeat/binge unrepentantly when starch is invited to the party.

If you are fit, but overall health is your concern... potatoes might be your friend. They are a whole food and a compact energy source... although pound-for-pound sweet potatoes will provide considerably more nutrients.

If you are trying to resolve some sort of skin/intestinal issue, then going bare-bones paleo (safe starches only, avoiding nightshades (peppers/tomatoes/eggplant/some berries) might be the right way to go.

There are several paths to take, but knowing what your goals are will help you choose.