I plan to start journalling my food from this evening. I figured the best way to make sure I actually do it is to start the thread, so I'll pop a little background here. I'm female, 44 years old, living with hubby and three kids (ages 24 to down to 15). I'm the main cook and shopper of the family. I'm 168cm, medium build, European ancestry, Kiwi but living in Australia.

I started paleo about two months ago. My main reason for trying paleo was I was looking for a WOE that would stabilise my blood sugar - I was getting a lot of blood sugar crashes with feeling faint, queasy, hot&cold, palpitations, mental fog, confused/irritable/desperate. I could go from normal to that state without being consciously aware of feeling hungry in between. My blood sugar stabilised within a week and I don't get any of those symptoms any more. I have more energy too.

There have been several great side effects. I have lost 19kg without trying. I was 90kg when I started, way too much. I'm now at 71kg. The weight I feel healthiest at is in the range of 62-65kg so I'm hoping to lose a little more, but I won't make any specific efforts in that regard unless my weight loss stops. I'm hoping I'll level out in that range naturally. The IBS that I've had for 20 years has gone away. That is life-changing! I've also noticed lots of smaller changes - my skin is moister, nails stronger, etc.

As far as health goes, I had my gall bladder out about 12 years ago, which means I need to be careful with fat. I try to get my fat into me evenly through the day, and I eat some starch (tubers or a small serve of white rice) with fattier meals. I get migraines but they're pretty well controlled at the moment. I've had palindromic rheumatism. I haven't had any flare-ups since I started paleo, not sure if that's because of paleo or weight loss or just coincidence. I would normally go months between flare-ups anyway. I have lactose intolerance so I was on limited dairy even before paleo.

I am still eating New World foods - after I've got the basics of paleo habitualised I plan to try cutting nightshades for three months to see if that improves things further. I'm also eating butter, and not being all that strict in general, eg I might use flour to thicken a sauce. We eat at home most of the time, so I'm not too worried about what I eat when I'm out so long as it isn't a migraine trigger.

I should mention that I loooove good food! I'm a keen cook. Luckily I've always enjoyed meat, fish and vegetables so I don't feel deprived in any way giving up sugar and junk food. The only thing I really miss is dairy, especially good cheeses, but being lactose intolerant I didn't get much of that anyway.

B: whole kipper, apple
L: one large egg and leftover greens fried in duck fat
S: smoked salmon, tomato
D: chilli beef, spoonful white rice, turnip, carrot, broccoli, fresh pineapple

B(late): macadamias, apple
L: leftover roast lamb, pumpkin, chard, all fried up in dripping
this was so filling I didn't feel like my usual mid-afternoon snack
D: fried salmon fillet, large grilled portobello mushroom slathered with garlic butter, spinach, asparagus, spoonful white rice

B: fried egg and kipper, orange
L: sardines mashed with lemon juice and pepper, with chopped celery and avocado
D: kangaroo stir-fry: kangaroo steak strips in Thai lemongrass marinade with onions, sugar snap peas and enoki mushrooms, apple

Yes, when I have a fatty meal with no starchy vegetables I have a spoonful of white rice to help mop up the fat. It's not ideal but I think it has been helping me adjust. I think my tolerance for fat is gradually improving.

Yes I've been losing weight fast in spite of the fruit. I have 3 - 5 servings of fruit per day. That's a reduction for me - I used to snack on fruit a lot, and once I was more aware of what I was eating I realised that a lot of the time when I felt like I wanted fruit I was actually thirsty rather than hungry - I was actually after the water in it.

If I stop losing weight before I get to where I want to be I'll cut back further on the fruit. I think I'm averaging 100-150g carb per day, probably more than I want to be eating long-term. Once I've adjusted fully to what I'm doing I'll change things further. I'd like to get my fructose consumption and insulin down more for the health benefits - type 2 diabetes runs in the family. At the moment I'm having up to five serves of fruit and three of starchy veg per day, probably will reduce that to max three fruit and two starchy veg soon, and increase the non-starchy veg accordingly. Also getting rid of the rice, I'm having it less often and a smaller spoonful each time.

Brunch: omelette with oyster mushrooms, asparagus and spring onions, orange
S: pear, macadamias
D: osso bucco, one boiled potato, chard

Wasn't going to comment but then i noticed the dreaded potato being mentioned in your daily food......potato is not recommended jean, as it has far too many anti-nutrients in it. I'd recommend just ordinary vegetables from here on in.

B: bacon and eggs, blueberries
L: fried kipper, apple
S: one medjool date, macadamias
D: beef patties, fried onions and mushrooms, salad w olive oil/lemon juice dressing

Major win - I've been reading Good Calories, Bad Calories to DH, and he suggested we should cut back on potatoes! Wow - I never thought I'd hear it. And now DS is the only one in the house still eating bread.