One way to stay motivated to get started and stick with the Paleo diet is to track your progress. For some people, this will solely be based on weight loss. But it’s a good idea to look beyond the numbers on the scale as you determine the effectiveness of the diet.

You can take photos of yourself at the beginning and then weekly to see if you can visualize any changes. You can also keep a journal about your energy levels, any health problems that you’ve experienced, and generally how you feel.

Seeing problems improve and getting closer to your goals will help you stay committed to the Paleo diet – even when it’s tempting to give up. The longer you do it, though, the better you’ll feel and the more results you’ll be able to document.

When you’re getting started with this new way of eating, it really helps to have a plan. How you plan depends on what works best for you. But at the very least you should have a weekly meal plan.

This makes it easy to know what you’re going to eat for your meals rather than having to make last minute choices that could throw you off track. Some people even prefer to plan further out – such as a 2 week or even one month plan.

For each day of your plan, you should have a breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snack options. You may not always stick perfectly to your plan, but having one will help you adhere to the Paleo diet most of the time.

One of the greatest causes of failure is not being prepared, so this one step could mean the difference between success and failure. But once you’ve decided what to eat, you need to make sure you actually have what you need on hand.