Becky, I found that once refined sugar was off-limits, it was pretty easy to not eat a whole bunch of formerly-tempting foods. Sugar is in so much food, and most of it does not contribute to my health and well-being. The doing away with grains pretty much eliminated everything else that was tempting.

The lost weight and increased energy has been great, and well worth the effort. You might want to set an initial time period so that you have a goal to reach. I started out with 30 days of no sugar and no grains, and it was hard the first two weeks, but having that goal was very helpful. It's something I will likely do again when I notice that I'm getting a bit lazy around the edges and letting things creep back in.

Catrin, I also had an ice-cream incident about a month ago. It just doesn't agree with me anymore and I have not been tempted to go back to it since. Renting ice cream just isn't that much of a draw, if you know what I mean.

I haven't read any paleo books, and I'm certainly not going to start eating platefuls of bacon. But I will once-in-a-while have a bit of bacon, and I do enjoy my chicken and the occasional steak. My breakfasts are usually smoothies with fruit and yogurt. My lunches are usually turkey and veggies (sometimes in a low-carb wrap, which is fine by me) or a big salad with avocado and salmon or chicken. My dinners tend to be some variation of chicken, sweet potato, and veggies (like greens, broccoli, or green beans--legumes are not off my list). Avocados go with everything!

I like hummus with carrots for a snack. And I do drink tea and coffee with milk or cream. No cereal or oatmeal, though. Just as well since I never liked oatmeal and was choking it down because it was "good for me." So glad that's over!

I really don't have a problem with eating out, as I just choose things that are appropriate. Salads with meats are good, as are fish and chicken, and I get a salad instead of rice or potatoes. Skip the bread, that's easy. I don't feel comfortable asking people who invite me into their homes to make any special changes for me, however. If they serve lasagne or pasta, I'll happily eat it because they went to the trouble and are offering to share their bounty with me. It won't kill me and I can get back to my way of eating easily enough. But that's just me; other people have no trouble asking hosts to make accommodations.