The detoxing period seems to be on its last leg. My headaches have gone away and my patience seems to be restored. I also have been experiencing two solid nights of rest.

Nichole, on the other hand, is still deep into her detoxification. Her emotional wiring seems to be hay-wired. She would be stable and peaceful for a few hours, then out of nowhere her insecure evil twin sister would appear and complain about the food and have massive headaches. It’s not too pleasant for the boyfriend, me, but I know it’s not really her.

In my opinion, she’s dealing with it well and I keep reminding her that it’s all part of the detoxing process. She knows that the gain far outweighs the current struggle. I expect her to detox for at least another week.

Tonight was a big test: we had our first major open meal. We had Nichole’s parents, uncle, and her little cousin over for a social gathering of great conversation and food. You’ll see the menu below in the "dinner section" and it was probably the extreme opposite of the Paleo Lifestyle- grains, sweets, and fried food.

Nichole and I made a conscious effort to not let the Paleo lifestyle interfere with our relationships. I mean, let’s face it, the Paleo Diet is not a common lifestyle among the mass population. If we are entertaining guest, we are not going to push our diet beliefs and values upon friends and family. We value the intimacy and relationship more than the food we eat. So, we will adapt and enjoy the non-Paleo food when present.

Another situation we have found ourselves in is when friends or family have us over for dinner. Do we request a Paleo meal or not? What do we do when they serve us a heaping plate of pasta?

Well, it depends on our values. We value relationships over food, so we eat what’s present and enjoy it. If our host asks what we want for dinner, we keep it general requesting seafood or chicken. When we get to appetizers and dinner and see that it’s the furthest thing from Paleo, we thoroughly enjoy the non-Paleo-ness.

To make the Paleo lifestyle work I recommend flexibility be a top value. You are not going to gain back the thirty pounds you lost from one night of pizza and hot-wings. As you continue in this lifestyle, you’ll find your sweet spot ratio of Paleo meals to non-Paleo meals. Right now Nichole and I are doing 85% Paleo meals and 15% non-Paleo meals. Next week we will bump it up to 90% Paleo meals and 10% non-Paleo meals. Finally, in the last two weeks of the trial we will do 95% Paleo meals and 5% non-Paleo meals.

I believe that once the Paleo trial is over, Nichole and I will probably live at 90% Paleo and 10% non-Paleo per week.

Today’s Meals

Breakfast:

• 250g of Paleo Sloppy Joe’s
• 460g of grapefruit
• 195g of banana

Lunch:

• 145g of chicken saltimbocca
• 154g of cantaloupe
• 100g of mixed salad that included: green pepper, avocado, tomato, and Mrs. Dash’s salt-free seasoning

Dinner (Open Meal):

• 3 pieces of chicken and artichoke brick oven pizza
• 3 buffalo chicken wings
• 1 small whoopie pie
• 10oz of red wine

It was an enjoyable open meal. At first I thought I was going to go "buck-wild" and eat tons of food. But, my body wouldn’t appreciate that and I consumed moderately.

After the non-Paleo meal was complete, I felt extremely tired and sluggish, which is something that doesn’t happen on Paleo meals. It made me appreciate the Paleo lifestyle and I look forward to the high energy Paleo meals of tomorrow.