I knew after the 60-day paleo challenge was over I’d relax a bit. Go ape wild and eat some dairy and quinoa. One benefit of being on such a strict cleanse is that when I reintroduce something, I can scrutinize its effects. Are the good feels just the placebo effect? I present to you some tests of the theory.

THE OK 

Dairy: A little (and I mean a little) here and there hasn't had a noticeable affect on me.

Quinoa: I had some for lunch a few days in a row and each time I felt uncomfortably full after. Very different from my strict paleo lunches of the last 2 months.

THE NOT-OK 

Beer: Why am I so... bloated and... slow? I found myself turning back to red wine simply for the cleaner feeling.

Burger WITH bun and fries: It was HEAVEN to eat this at Au Cheval in Chicago the night after the challenge ended. But a few hours later I had trouble sleeping and felt nauseous. The next day at the gym I was sluggish and slow, not up to my Lurong game at all.

THE OFF-THE-RAILS-CRAZY-TRAIN

This weekend I was out in LA and Palm Springs visiting friends and decided to throw caution to the wind. This was no time to live by the rules. So I ate what I damned pleased. Rich meats, butter, bread, mashed potatoes. Tequila and rum and beer and one vanilla gelatto-laden Date Shake.

Oh, and there was hell to pay for all the decadence. I ran 3 miles in the beautiful sun but they were a slow 3 miles. By Sunday night I had basically put myself into a food coma and was a no-show for the partying.

The results are pretty compelling. Clean food = feeling strong, clear, energetic. Cheat food = feeling uncomfortable, sluggish, sleepy. Is it all the food’s fault? Maybe, maybe not. (I'm looking at you, jet lag.)