Marc1152-
I am late on this particular thread so perhaps I have missed some key information you have provided. I have tried to read as many responses as possible but it is pretty voluminous. You seem to consume a lot of meat and saturated fat and I do understand the differences in meat between wild game and domestic, grain-fed vs. grass-fed etc. Since some individuals who are susceptible to gout due to increased levels of purines or high uric acid levels may have a difficult time with this diet.
If it is not too invasive of you I have a couple of questions Ii would like to ask as a measure of how well your diet might be working for you. This would at least give me a reference point:
What is your age?
How long have you been using the paleo diet?
Have you recently had your cholesterol and triglyceride levels checked? If so, what is your most recent total cholesterol level? Your HDL/LDL ratio and total triglycerides? Have there been any rise or fall in your BUN and creatinine levels that might reflect liver and kidney health?
What sort of exercise program do you follow?
Thanks
What is your age?
59.8
How long have you been using the paleo diet?
I would describe my eating as Low Carb High Fat (LCHF). The Plaeo Diet is naturally a low Carb type Diet but they had an overly politically correct view of fat until recently. They said to eat "Lean Meat" which is an error both in terms of what Paleolithic people ate and in therms of optimal health. They have happily reversed course on this point.
So I was eating in line with Weston Price, which meant I used Raw Dairy and ate local grass fed meats etc etc.. I would also cheat, especially during the fasts. But I did not count carbs properly or understand how much fat is really needed to stay healthy and lose weight.
I am now on a strict LCHF Diet. I have a better understanding that you need far more fat in your diet than what I had been consuming. There is a good book "Eat Fat to Lose Fat" by Sally Fallon and Dr. Mary Enig (Weston Price Leaders) that I read years ago that really didnt penetrate my thinking. But today the book "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes and many associated LCHF lectures online have straightened me out.
Here is where I am at personally. You need lots of fat in your diet. You must add fat in order to stay satiated and to get your body to adjust to a fat burning metabolism. That adjustment takes about six weeks. Butter, Cream, Lard and coconut oil are my best friends.
That is also in line with the Atkins Diet except that they would allow you to add back in more carbs after your adjustment ( the "Induction Phase"). Taubes is critical of that and I agree. Here is the prime point.
Carbs are addicting especially grains ( not to even mention sugar).
You can not eat them...ever. They tickle your pleasure center in the same manner as many drugs. You in fact form an addiction and when you withdraw them from you diet you actually display the symptoms of addiction withdrawal.
I would cheat here an there and then YoYo. A small bite of this or that or the occasional full spaghetti dinner breakdown. I was setting myself up for failure like an alcoholic who drinks only on Saturday night.
I am doing far better now. My tummy is flattening nicely. I have adjusted to a fat burning metabolism. The trick is to keep your insulin levels very steady, which I am doing. My energy is much much better and I am never hungry. If I do feel low from taking in very few carbs, I can feel it and my antidote is a banana. I get all my carbs from vegetables and occasional berries with heavy cream.
Even my sinuses have cleared. I was always stuffy. I snored. I can now breath out of both nostrils easily. I think the mucus was an allergic
reaction to the grains, even though they were occasional only.
Have you recently had your cholesterol and triglyceride levels checked? If so, what is your most recent total cholesterol level? Your HDL/LDL ratio and total triglycerides?
This may be another whole discussion. There is no causal relationship between having high Cholesterol and your health. None. Inflammation is the culprit. LCHF diets are very low inflammatory diets. Your body makes cholesterol to patch the inflammation. Your body needs cholesterol. Your levels will rise and fall depending on the season, your stress levels. So I think it is better to treat the causes, inflammation and not worry about the effect, Cholesterol coming to the scene like firemen to a fire. I supplement with Fish Oil
Consider this. Many people with high cholesterol don't have heart attacks. In fact Elderly Women with very high cholesterol have the longest life spans. Many people with very low cholesterol do have heart attacks. There is obviously something wrong with the lipid theory.
We can talk more about this later if you want. Here is youtube with Gary Taubes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6anV4z5Oi-k Have there been any rise or fall in your BUN and creatinine levels that might reflect liver and kidney health?
I dont know. Statin drugs are a far bigger threat to liver health and I refuse to take them. High Insulin levels and being overweight is a big threat to you liver ( fatty liver), I control both.
What sort of exercise program do you follow?
I walk my dogs twice per day. And i stand hour after hour after hour in Church

So here is something to think about. Humans have been eating low carb high fat diets for almost the entirety of our existence. Why then would our natural human diet be bad for us? Why would newer foods, never before in the human diet be the key to good health?
Finally, here is a fun fact. When was the first recorded heart attack in the United States?
Answer:
1921