You shouldn't be worried by going off plan. That is the whole point of the journal, to detail all of the journey not just the raw paleo part. I had a nice 7-10 day cooked carb holiday that just ended a week ago, and before that had a decent amount of cooked food. You don't have to wait until you have everything just perfect or else you may never start. We all slip up or purposefully go off diet. As for not being of 'one mind', a quick glance through my journal will let you know that I am having significant trouble piecing everything together and feel overwhelmed much of the time. I've gotten some excellent advice from the members here which has really made an impact on my recovery.
Paleo Donk - I'm sure you're right. I certainly know that "being off" can only be a phase, because, after all, where else is there to aim, once I know what is healthy? (At least at this level of my understanding.) It's almost impossible for me to stay eating wrong, and just watch bodily repercussions, for any length of time, any more.
(But I still want to go to my cafe and read the paper tomorrow morning.)
What triggered it was buying lots of venison haunch to eat at the weekend, and when I unwrapped it, it was very gamey - effectively high meat, or headed that way. I'm just not far enough along for that. I couldn't eat it raw. (I've had a poor quality venison before from a supermarket, but that was just like all supermarket meat.) Plus I might have fasted too much and felt light-headed, and wanted to just fill up on anything. We had home made hamburgers and coke, cooked from scratch by one of my nephews. It was really well made stuff, but utter junk by paleo criteria.
The other big thing I noticed today. My dentist asked me to work on my posture and try and breathe through my nose, to help the orthodontic appliances working on moving and expanding the palates. I found my nose passage so limited that I couldn't even
walk and only breathe through my nose. Worse, I couldn't even
wash myself in the bath and keep up the nose breathing. It was too exhausting, and I found myself panting for breath.
Only good diet, and the orthodontic work succeeding, will clear my nasal airway. It's a virtuous loop, and I have to come back to it, no matter how childish my eating urges. (Although madly, with one bad meal, the detox stops and my nose clears. The body's methods can seem counterintuitive - punishing you with a heavy detox when you are being virtuous towards it. In fact, life's a lot like that in all areas.)