Back on the horse! Let's talk substitutions

Ok, so I royally messed up but now I'm back on the paleo horse... working out... eating delicious clean foods... and getting back on track. YAY!  I've also started writing for frugivoremag.com in an attempt to spread my paleo seed all over the planet! (as gross as that sounds)

Today I thought I'd talk a little about substitutions.  Everywhere I look I see it.  Paleo banana bread, paleo cookies, paleo ice cream, paleo pizzas, paleo beer... just kidding about the last one (p.s. hate to burst your bubble but gluten free is not paleo, it's made with buckwheat and a special brewers yeast... still grains).  And I think it's funny because the whole point of paleo is to be eating what our ancestors ate and I seriously doubt they were eating paleo cookies... seriously doubt it.

I hear your argument... I can hear it in my head right now... "but it's better than actual cookies."  Hmm, is it? How so?  I'd be curious to hear how you justify it.  Because there isn't any gluten or wheat or dairy or soy and it falls under all the "rules" of paleo?  Right, yeah.  But what is the point of paleo?  Let's talk about sugar.

If you are at your goal weight... and you're no longer addicted to sugar... and you cheat maybe once a month... and you can deadlift exactly what you want and you are supplement and disease free.. I see no issue with substitutions.  But if you're trying to lose weight and kick the sugar, then no substitutions.  NO SUBSTITUTIONS.

I'm not saying you can't do it at all but I can say in my 30 days the only two subs I had were coconut milk and almond butter.  The point is to kick the sugar and carb addiction and if you're eating a bowl of "paleo" ice cream every night chances are you aren't doing that.  Not to mention you are setting yourself up to cheat.  If you're a first timer to paleo I recommend staying away from the subs until you're more advanced.  Like until you know you can control it.  I had this trainer named Corey who was a badass and she would buy a brownie... it would literally take her an entire month to eat it.  She had self-control like I've never seen.  I learned the one bite and let it go method from watching her.  Like after a night of drinking a fifth of vodka we got hotdogs and Corey still ate hers without a bun (although I argue that because I threw my hotdog up out of a moving cab that mine didn't count either).  But we are talking about someone who had been doing this a long time.  Subs are dangerous for first timers.  Subs can lead to cheats.  You need to just get it in your head that food is fuel right now and you need to eat only what you need because for your whole life you were eating what you wanted.  That's why you're fat and disgusting.  So stop it.