All right! I'm committed to 7 days of damn near perfect paleo. My one exception is black coffee because I don't want the withdrawals during this. It is going to be hard enough as it is.

I am going to completely abstain from dairy, it has been working its way back into my diet. Insidiousness! Also going to avoid any non-caloric sweeteners.

My health has been in a downward spiral with a very bad back (lumbar spine disk degeneration and arthritis) and generally achy joints and much stiffness. I suspect dairy, but it could be the legume flour (lupin, low carb) I've been eating far too much of.

Then there's the weight gain. I'm up 4 pounds today from drinking a little gluten-free beer, a bit of wine, and having some bree cheese with sugar sweetened cranberries on top. Bad, bad, bad. It all made my feet swell up so much they were about to burst out of my new shoes.

Day one!

Plan today is:

Breakfast: cold pork sausage and hard-boiled eggs

Lunch: Roasted chicken with garlic-EVOO chopped spinach

Dinner: Hmm... could be salad with chicken or something else with that yellow squash I spiral cut into spaghetti strings.

I'm feeling strong and determined this morning. Go me!

Let us know how it goes.

Has anyone found a good low carb, no milk product, non-dairy creamer? I don't like almond milk and coconut milk is not that tasty to me.

There's the Paleo creamer, I've made it a few times.

http://forums.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=418335

I have added a bit of sweetener or Da Vinci syrup in the past and it was awesome.

Oh, I just realized this isn't the recipe I used. I did this:

1 can coconut cream (thicker than coconut milk)
1-2 raw (or pasteurized) eggs
sweetener (optional)
flavoring (optional)

Mix very well in a blender or with immersion blender. Keep refrigerated and use within a week.

First day down, celebrated with my last piece of 85% chocolate. All right, not perfect, but close!

Day Two -- accidentally put a little 1/2 and 1/2 in my coffee this morning... I was 1/2 & 1/2 myself (half awake, half asleep). So I poured out the rest of the H&H so it won't happen again tomorrow.

Down over 2 pounds from yesterday, but not too surprising, I was bloated up pretty good.

Day 4 -- After I get 7 days in, I'm going to have a regular LC day and have some dairy and my Lupin flour cinnabon (low carb).

I went a bit nuts on those seaweed sheets that are roasted in seasame oil and heavily salted, but other than that, I've done really really well. Yay me! **pat on back**

No significant weight loss other than a pound of water... story of my life. :\

It doesn't seem like staying away from diet soda is doing much of anything for me yet.

No major improvement in issues like back pain, knee pain and stiffness... yet.

Lost 4 pounds of bloat and the pants are fitting better. I've decided to cut this down to a 5-day and have some non-paleo, but LC things, over the weekend. Then Monday I'll get back to the stricter paleo.

Nancy, I'm so glad to see how well you are doing with this program. It is never fun to see someone you respect struggle and I'm glad to see you've found something that is really working for you.

I hesitate to even ask this, but why if you are having such good success with this new way of eating, would you want to quit after 5 days? Why not do the initial seven you committed to, then add another 7? I'm sure you must have good reasons, but for the life of me, I can't figure them out.

Actually, I have some ideas because now that I think about it I am having what might be a parallel struggle. Someone challenged me this morning about it. I've been thinking it over since I read it, and paired with this post, am beginning to reach some clarity.

Anyway, congratulations of your success to date.

Well, I can't really call this that great of a success. I had a 4 pound gain from a bit of unfortunate eating the prior weekend. The four #'s lost was gained during that. No substantial improvement in my aches, pains, and stiffness, which I was really hoping to see.

I'm not 100% decided whether I'll go back to generic LC on the weekends. Still debating that internally. I miss that bit of cheese on an omelet, cream in the coffee.

This is a pretty dull, repetitive diet and I figured a slight loosening of the rules might prevent my brain from staging a full-fledged rebellion.

Maybe I'll see the 7-days through, then take 1-day of LC, go back on until the weekend.

Or I could go 8-days, since Tuesday is a medical procedure, I can baby myself a little on Tuesday with cream in the coffee and an omelet with cheese.

Nancy, I have always resisted giving up dairy, even though I knew quite well it has always bothered me. For years I've done Atkins but still allowed in 2-3 TB of whipped half and half for my cappuccino (I have a machine, dang it). I didn't eat much other dairy or cheese, just a bit, so I always thought "how could this make much of a difference?" Occasionally I'd jettison the half and half for a few days and didn't see a big difference, so I'd go right back on it.

Well.....this time around I DID commit to eliminating it. The most I have is one string cheese, and not even every day. I use butter to sauté mushrooms for breakfast. But nothing else, NADA. Three weeks in I'm down 8 pounds, and for me, that is astounding. So what has made the difference this time? It sure looks like getting rid of the dairy helped me....I'll keep watching this to be sure.

I have a cappuccino machine and LOVE my cappos! I thought I just **COULD**NOT** give that up. In desperation, decided to try Americanos, which is the espresso mixed with hot water to the strength you like. Bit by bit I've come to like it. I don't "love" black cofffee", but gradually I'm getting to like it a lot. I'd still rather have a cappuccino, but until I lose the weight I want to lose, I'm choosing to not drink it. You CAN changes your tastes somewhat. A few years ago I was totally addicted to sweetened black tea, and over time, I got used to green tea w/o sugar instead. It's a process.

Yeah, I suppose I should keep it up for a full 7. If I can get below 183 then perhaps I'm onto something. It seems like 183 has been a sticking point for months and months. Actually, before that it was 181, so the trend has been toward gaining.

I'm drinking black coffee. Not loving it, but it is tolerable. I have some paleo creamer at home which I also am not loving right now.

Someone very wise said on this forum, yesterday, I believe:

A journey of 1000 miles starts with the first step.

Recognize that quote?

Right, but in my case, those steps might be marching in place, which is where I've been for years now.