Also - high recommendation on this dish I made last night: https://www.joyfulhealthyeats.com/paleo-baked-salmon-with-avocado-salsa/
Salmon with avocado and then I also made zuchinni noodles with chopped up butternut squash to have the salmon with. I was unsure about the avocado with salmon but really loved it 
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O alsooooo, my average for the past 24 hours has been 72mg/dL with a std dev of 14mg/dL ?!?!
I feel like a normal now
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Let’s just say I know a lyric-maker, and he was inspired by your post. 
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I just want you to know I’m dropping lyrics and no real comments because I don’t think Cocoa Pebbles, whatever-Sun-Dried tomato crackers, and creamer with a splash of coffee qualify as Paleo. If I’m wrong, let me know. Please.
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“Paleoish”. Close enough 
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WEEK 1 DEXCOM DATA
Time-frame 1 = non-paleo
Time-frame 2 = paleo (except for one day over the weekend where alcohol was involved 
)
Takeaways for me, based on this first week of data. Paleo time-frame:
- lower average (though I will say for both sensors, they lagged quite a bit with picking up when I’m no longer low)
- smaller standard deviation
- almost 0% time above my high boundary (145 during the day and 160 at night)
- more time below my low boundary - though I’m working on this and the past few days have been better since I’ve been trying temp basals and smaller boluses
And for context - I have not changed anything about my amount of sleep or exercise between the two weeks. These are just trends, nothing definite, from short time frames. However, for trends they’re optimistic for me! I’m most excited about the smaller standard deviation.
I think tweaking basals to be a little lower and backing off with being so aggressive with boluses are some things I’m going to keep working on to minimize lows (I’ve made a second basal profile for paleo so I’m not messing with my normal diet basal 
)
I’m planning to upload my pump data to see how my insulin use has changed paleo vs non-paleo and will upload it once I have that
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I’d love to see that if you do get the chance. 
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Avg TDD non-paleo (3 weeks of data prior to starting paleo diet): 40.1u/day
Avg TDD paleo(ish) (1 week of data, where 1 day I had drinks, and some non-paleo snacks 
): 30.675u/day
Paleo:non-paleo TDD: 76%
Avg basal/day non-paleo: 22.857u/day (57% of TDD)
Avg basal/day paleo: 20.875u/day (68% of TDD)
Paleo:non-paleo basal: 91%
Avg bolus/day non-paleo: 17.243u/day (43% of TDD)
Avg bolus/day paleo: 9.8u/day (32% of TDD)
Paleo:non-paleo bolus: 58%
Seeing these numbers definitely is pointing me in the direction of cutting my basal further (since I keep cutting it and keep going low - I will try -30% tomorrow and if I keep leaning low then will follow with -35%.) Since I’ve had to treat a decent amount of lows since going paleo, and since I believe cutting basal and some bolus will help with that, I’m guessing that I require even less insulin to stay in range while paleo, maybe 60-65% of what I need while non-paleo.
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Can I be annoying and ask if you’re also cutting back on food overall? Like… I guess not just that you’ve changed your food selection but that you’re trimming down calories??
The reason I ask is because I don’t know anything about the paleo diet, but I do know I can see similar changes when I am eating less… sometimes even if I’ve actually increased my carbs a little… With that being said though, I am a grazer. So cutting out the snacking can mean a significant change so maybe we’re not talking the same thing.
Love what you’re doing. 
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Not annoying at all! I was kinda wondering the same. Non-paleo and paleo I haven’t counted the calories or like just total food amount mainly because 1. I’m too lazy and 2. I know personally when I start focusing on the calories and portions it can be a very slippery slope to unhealthy eating and mental states. I’ve just been eating until I’m full (while non-paleo and while paleo). I think it could be that less food and less caloric food (than my usual non-paleo diet) is needed to make me feel full on the paleo diet because of the types of food that fall into paleo?
I definitely eat more in the mornings while paleo than non-paleo to set myself up to not be hungry through the mornings.
I think while at work I eat about the same, maybe more while paleo to correct for the lows that I’ve been having (whereas non-paleo I’m more comfortable chilling low for a bit knowing that I have a bunch of carbs from snacks or lunch that should be kicking in soon). But I haven’t had like random days (maybe once a week or every two weeks) of a super caloric lunch like while non-paleo, but those weren’t my norm I’d say.
Nighttime for dinner I’ve been eating about the same I would say, maybe less snacking while making dinner just because of less snacky options for paleo that I have around the house at the moment (like, while non-palep, cereal that I like to have just a handful at a time here or there (that totally adds up!)) DEFINITELY less snacking while paleo for post-dinner, but mainly that’s because I get pretty dang full from my dinners; tonight I had I would guess 2 cups of chicken, asparagus, pepper, jalapeno, tomato, cauliflower rice stir fry with sides of a cup of steamed zuchinni and a cup of mixed berries (so like a lot of food for a dinner in my eyes but now I’m hangin out, normal dessert time, pretty satisfied still).
But these are my guesses really since I don’t pay attention too much to amounts on and off the paleo diet! I could be eating a ton less and just not know it! Day to day it feels about the same as while non-paleo, maybe less because of snacking while home at night.
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And my less dessert eating (while paleo) definitely helped with those overnight highs (while non-paleo) you can see above, which is where a decent amount of my non-paleo std dev comes from.
However, something I noted before - trends up or down during the day while paleo are a lot more shallow which is super great for me. I can show a day non-paleo against a day paleo once I upload to tidepool to show how paleo is just a lot more flat whereas non-paleo teters up and down around the range I’d like throughout the day. And that is what I’m really looking for by going paleo because essentially for me that means less time sugar surfing, less hassle overall (time and mental energy), to get the goal numbers I’d like. Which will be huge once I move onto the crazy busy, stressful lifestyle I have coming up
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I know I’ve let this question sit a while…
It’s just more restricted than paleo. 
Basically, the idea is to eliminate any foods that could possibly contribute to inflammation in your gut, and focus on nutrient-dense, gut healing foods. It eliminates grains, dairy, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds, nightshades, alcohol, processed/refined sugars, oils, preservatives, chemicals, etc. Pretty much you eat meat and veggies, with limited fruit (ideally max of 20-30g fructose/day), making sure to incorporate plenty of fish, offal, bone broth, fermented foods, etc.
Unfortunately for me, I need to take care with high histamine foods, so bone broth and fermented foods aren’t ideal. I’m planning instead to do smoothies or herbal teas with collagen powder - that really helped me when I was pregnant and dealing with major gut inflammation.
I’ve been gradually cutting out most of the things from each food group/category for the past few months, and I’ll be going all-in AIP on Monday. Tonight I’m actually on here to distract myself because I wanted to eat butter chicken one last time…dinner was nearly 4 hours ago, and I’m still miserable. I haven’t been eating spicy food or tomatoes for quite a while. At least it’s giving me the motivation I need to stick with it. 
I will pop on occasionally to share good recipes I try and hopefully good results on BG/insulin needs, since I’ll be cutting out all the refined foods/sugar.
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@LarissaW thanks so much for sharing! I was off the grid for a bit and missed your start, but I hope it’s going well. The number differences are pretty interesting!
We’ve done paleo/primal in the past for years, and the BG differences were pretty substantial. And I define it as eating meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and not eating processed foods, grains, legumes, or dairy (unless you consider dairy part of a primal diet). I’m sure as someone mentioned above that there are plenty of variants, and you could split hairs about what’s contained if you so chose. But I think most people understand Paleo to be a diet consisting of whole foods. We both experienced some weight loss as a side benefit. And EH’s BG control was so much better and more predictable - he’d correct with juice or fruit. We’ve let it slip though and interestingly enough are just getting back into it this week (prior to reading your post). I’m trying to sort out some gut issues too, and it was recommended by the doctor I’m seeing.
And @Pianoplayer7008 I wish you luck as well! Good to see you here! And I hope you’re feeling better soon!!!
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Thank you for explaining AIP so clearly, @Pianoplayer7008! I totally know that feeling of just wanting to distract yourself from thinking about food And I’m totally looking forward to seeing your recipes and also trends/results you’re seeing!!
And @TravelingOn - I don’t know if you remember mentioning going for a diet change on a different thread to manage the lifestyle change, but it was really that recommendation that got me to thinking about doing paleo again!
But I would totally love to see both of your progress updates as you (and EH!) cut certain processed foods out. Also any recommendations on handling the change in insulin needs!
I took a step away from paleo over memorial day weekend since it was a lot of seeing old friends and celebrations but I’ve getting back to it this week and am planning to keep doing paleo for the next few weeks before heading off the vacation. Updates to come!
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Also curious about this. You weren’t going into paleo to lose weight, but it just kinda happened?
That kinda goes along with what @Nickyghaleb was asking about above:
My impression is that with paleo I may eat less overall because it takes less paleo food to make me feel full. Do you get that same feeling about it? Thoughts??
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This is my impression, too, from whenever I inadvertently eat “paleo” – not that I set out to, but it’s just what ends up on the dinnerplate. Paleo usually reduces or eliminates grains, and hence weight-adding-when-in-large-quantities-especially-in-the-absence-of-exercise breads, pastas, pastries, etc. But more significant, perhaps, is that paleo restricts or eliminates processed and junky foods, which tend not to be satiating for a long period. After all, handfuls of dry cereal as a snack are not very filling. 
There’s also the “New Year’s resolution” psychology. When people start a new eating plan, they often feel a general sense of renewal, so they may also become more active, drink less alcohol, stop mindlessly snacking, go to bed earlier, and so on. Benefits all round. (Same as starting an exercise regimen, or stopping drinking alcohol, or whatever. These things are hard to study in isolation.)
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UGH but they’re so good.
Ya, I agree with that. I don’t think I’m advertently trying to eat less, exercise more, quit the snacking (definitely not drinking less), but I probably am unconsciously. So it’ll be interesting to see if my lower insulin needs stay that low over a longer period of time, as in when I don’t have the “sense of renewal” and newness of the paleo diet! In the past I feel like the lower need for insulin and less effort in management maintained over months, but I wasn’t paying attention to my diabetes all that much then
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I’ve eaten 99% paleo this week (with a few added restrictions, getting me closer to AIP), which meant a decrease in total carbs and change in type of carbs, though I haven’t been counting. I’ve probably gone from 200+ carbs per day, which included rice and corn, to closer to 150ish, and those primarily from starchy vegetables/fruits/honey. I expected to see a decrease in insulin needs, but was surprised nothing changed at first outside of meals becoming more effortless to bolus for, as far as staying in range. Then last night I crashed. Low after dinner, took it a while to come back up, bolused for a snack and ate more, because I was starving still, almost crashed after that but caught it…I decided to go ahead and decrease basal, so took 3u last night instead of my usual 4u. I also ate a 10g carb banana/almond flour “cookie” before bed (literally just banana and almond flour with some baking powder) with no bolus. Stayed flat at the bottom of my range (low is set <70) all night, waking at 91 on fingerstick. I realized it was probably a hormonal shift; timing of diet changes coincided just so with my cycle that I didn’t see a drop at first due to hormonal insulin resistance.
I thought I would hate being so restricted, but so far I’m actually enjoying it. It helps that I love veggies, and I can still make some favorites. We’ve had a chicken “shawarma” I love (it’s not true shawarma, but that’s what the recipe is called) and I made a stir fry last night. Otherwise just been eating grilled/roasted meats and veggies for dinner.
The hardest part for me is no eggs and no nightshades (reacting to them). That really restricts what I can bake and how I can season foods. I’m also having a little trouble with satiety - spent most of yesterday starving despite eating plenty of food - so I’ll probably have to track macronutrients for a few days and see if I’m not getting enough in somewhere.
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Sorry, bonkers busy week, and I wrote this and never finished and hit send. My bad!
Awesome! I am so glad that you didn’t get offended. 
EH decided to try it to see if BG control would be better. He found that that was the case, and I found when I joined him in the diet to be supportive, that I also had a ton of improvement in G.I. symptoms, itchiness, and generalized malaise. We also quit being massively starving between meals and before breakfast. And yes, weight loss was an added benefit. This was back in 2013 when we started the paleo thing. Since we’ve let it slip and I’ve gained all the weight back and so has EH. He’s spent quite a bit of time in the last year and a half doing more sugar surfing and eating whatever he wants and the pounds have crept back on.
It’s funny to be aiming in the direction of paleo again and fighting with myself over it. Previously I didn’t feel deprived, I chose the diet, and it was fine. Now I feel like I’ve been told I have to do it and I’ve been eating sugar lately and stopping it is so much harder! 
Psychology of food is funny!
@Pianoplayer7008 Congrats on sticking with it and enjoying it! I think you’re on to something - that eventually the cravings subside and stuff that you’re making tastes amazing and you feel better. I am sorry about the loss of eggs though - that is rough. Is flax or garbanzo off the AIP diet? I assume it is. I’ll keep my eye peeled for AIP options. I really like Diane Sanfilippo’s book Practical Paleo. She talks about various autoimmune conditions, and has good recipes in the back.
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Yes, seeds and beans are not AIP, but at this point, I’m still debating going full AIP. I’m beginning to experience more symptoms of my muscle disorder (which happens when I cut carbs 
), so I’ll see this week if I can manage to get in enough compliant carbs (without doing more sugar, ha!) or if I’ll have to do more modifications to my current plan.
I love, love, love the Practical Paleo book! I was actually geeking out this week over how similar her suggestions are to those my doctor had me follow when I first saw her (the 4R protocol, in particular). 
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