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Is your significant other(boyfriend/wife/husband/girlfriend/partner) paleo? How has paleo affected your relationship?

Bonus: did you meet them through paleo? :)

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36 Answers

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YES! We're both paleo! Hayley and I met on the set of a music video shoot back in March. She was the key HD Makeup Artist and I was the drummer in the band. That day, she told me a little bit about Paleo (She also mentioned something about being sore from deadlifts!) Needless to say, I was VERY curious about my mystery fitness / healthy makeup artist.

We eventually started dating, and slowly but surely she started getting me to eat Paleo too. I was always into weightlifting and eating healthy, so my transition was smooth as could be. After a long weekend at the beach, I not only declared that I was going to go strict Paleo, but we both decided to start a food blog based on Primal & Paleo recipes.

Its been wonderful for us both, being a constant source of support and encouragement! I've been paleo for over 3 months, Hayley's been paleo almost a year! And this month, we both undertook doing the Whole30.

I am one lucky dude. Oh, and I forgot to mention - she is gorgeous and a real sweetheart too.

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I married someone who eats sandwiches and cereal regularly -- he does very poorly on my diet and I do very poorly on his. We're happy that our lives don't need to overlap to that degree. (We also don't wash each other's laundry or even sleep in the same room most nights.)

Depends on how you measure compatibility, I suppose.

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I'm paleo and my wife is primal. I like to think it has affected our relationship positively (despite a few arguments here and there about what's ideal), but our love of nutrition and desire to live life to the fullest has brought us closer.

We didn't meet through being paleo/primal. I started CrossFit, and decided to eat this way based on the logic and results I saw in others. She finished her degree in nutrition, and understands paleo/primal to be an optimal way to eat based on her own opinions (and I'm sure my results helped too!).

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I wish my girlfriend was paleo :(

I think she got scared of me when I told her I ate a chunk of a cute innocent lamb for dinner. Then when she asked "You would never eat rabbit, right!?" I replied with "Of course not! ..too lean."

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I went Paleo about 5 months ago - Dh had no inclination to as he neither had health problems or was overweight - quite the picture of health really - Low cholesterol and such - but after 3 months and seeing how it affected me he decided to do it too ( and the kids!) He said he feels wonderful on it and gets grumpy when I let the kids go off track because he always wants to eat Paleo.

Lots of Gut problems he did not realise and hayfever and grinding of teeth have settled down

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I don't have one, but when I do, he will probably have to be Paleo (at least 90-95% of the time) as it's pretty much my life. I can't imagine living with someone who eats cereal and sandwiches- it just wouldn't work for me.

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Needed= paleo dating site. Though you can find paleo men on normal dating sites by searching for paleo :) – Bread-Eating Beelzebub Sep 23 2010 at 1:25
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This isn't a paleo dating site? Crap. – Bobby Sep 23 2010 at 1:28
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Get everybody on OKCupid (it's free) and add the Paleo tag to your profile. It's a start. – JJ Sep 23 2010 at 1:50
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When you ask the butcher if he carries grass-fed beef, make sure to do a quick look around around in case any paleo guys get a sparkle in their eye. – Kamal Sep 23 2010 at 1:54
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"Get everybody on OKCupid (it's free) and add the Paleo tag to your profile. It's a start." that's how I found my hot paleo!date :) – Bread-Eating Beelzebub Sep 23 2010 at 2:56
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I met my ex-fiancé on a yahoo nutrition group dedicated to Weston Price, whose work subsumes the world of paleo as well as goes beyond it. We started flirting online sort of (actually I asked about a guy she had mentioned she dated in the past) and then we took the discussion off-line. We exchanged pics, started writing long emails, instant messaged every day for long periods of time, and finally phone calls that usually lasted an hour a day (and had to be cut off because of work/time pressures, not because we wanted to hang-up). A few months later she was on a plane from Maine to Seattle to spend Christmas with me and my family.

It was great not ever having food being an issue. Ever. We cooked together and she even impacted my family in a way I never could if only because they realized I wasn't the only nutty one out there. :-) We made separate food (which I normally don't recommend) but ate with my family and let everyone have access to what we prepared. It was a hit many times over, especially with one of my sisters (and her straight from Italy husband) who basically is a real fooder anyway though not as articulate and informed about it as her older brother.

Our relationship didn't make it but on the food front we never had a problem and it was quite enjoyable indeed. I could never hook up with someone who wasn't on the same page with me in this area. I can only imagine the battles we would have when children join the family (among other things).

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Mellisa, my spouse is Paleo, as you already know! Originally, she wasn't convinced that going paleo would do anything for her. Since I shop and cook in our household, she fell into a 70%-80% category anyway. As she started feeling better in general and seeing results she soon went full paleo herself. Now she is a motivated paleo eater!

As a bonus both my wife and I attended a MovNat seminar this summer and now spend time working out together as well as eating together. Overall, I think this lifestyle has had a HUGE benefit on our relationship.

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My husband is "default" lacto-paleo/primal - he eats whatever is put in front of him, as long as it's tasty. I just convinced him to give up gluten (meaning: even the occasional sandwiches he buys at work)...but to do so I had to give up (ack!!) chocolate. Still not sure I will make it, but if it means a gluten-free husband, it might be worthwhile. :)

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My husband and I have been married for nearly four (4) years. I've been into primal/paleo for about 1 year 4 months. He's into it; but only as much as he needs to be. ;)

At home and at work, he eats what I prepare for him or what I've purchased for us to eat, which is mostly paleo (with some raw or cultured dairy and sometimes real ice cream).

Occasionally, at restaurants, he eats what he likes - burgers with the buns, cake-y desserts and things like that. He rarely orders pasta anymore. He's always parroting what I've said about grains and legumes to people who ask him why he eats a BIG-ASS-SALAD for lunch at work even though he's 6'1" and only 175. Dude has no need to lose weight.

He's not interested in doing all the research, reading all the blogs, and listening to all the podcasts; but he's glad that I do and doesn't ask me to buy crap for him. :)

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Well I was going to write a big long answer, but you basically wrote it for me. Not married yet but 4 years together and he's exactly like that. – Kat Sep 23 2010 at 2:56
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Snap! Same here - the beau eats what I give him for breakfast (Nola) and dinner, and orders salads for lunch. But he'll still go have Mexican/pizza/carbs if he's at a work lunch. He use to be an absolute sugar junkie though - very rare now, though I think he might be slipping... I'll just wait til his gut comes back and let him turn it around on his own! – Girl Gone Primal Sep 23 2010 at 7:16
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@ gillibean yup, and nice not to be questioned about it, except for when they sincerely are interested in things like "What does fooditem do for health?" @ Girl Gone Primal - yes, I love how after slowly changing his ways, now when he eats crap like pizza, he notices that he doesn't feel well. You don't need to preach much if he gets physical reminders of what eating bad food is like! – Kat Sep 24 2010 at 2:21
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Well, my experience is similar to some others: my girlfriend understands the gist of paleo and has been influenced by me to change her diet -- not all the way, but enough to make our eating styles very compatible, and, more importantly for me, she is willing to cook paleo and loves the challenge. She's quite happy to have picked up some real facility in cooking meat, for example (since that's part of any well-rounded chef's skill set). She probably eats 70/30, by her own estimation and mine. And she feels better because of it.

I actually wasn't going to post on this thread, but I couldn't resist after what just happened about 10 minutes ago. My girlfriend was preparing a dessert for a potluck dinner with friends tomorrow, when she realized, to her consternation and my glee, that there was no sugar anywhere in the kitchen.

Victory!

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No :( He just has zero interest. I've tried, pleaded, preached.... He WILL eat whatever I make though, he has no complaints about the food but he won't keep it up on his own outside of what I make.

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No., I also get the arguments like: "why do we live longer, then (if we are eating like crap)?" etc., but he has to eat what I prepare, but I try to be accommodating occasionaly throughout the week and make him a sandwich with bread. I think I am more healthy than he is.

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Living longer doesn't mean living better. I think we all know someone who has had a major surgery, cancer or otherwise at an age well before 40. I wouldn't call that living better. Health isn't JUST about longevity. I think you're probably healthier than he is too :) – Diane at Balanced Bites Sep 23 2010 at 2:21
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We 'live longer' because infant mortality is MUCH MUCH lower than it once was. Death by childbirth is also much lower. And we have have fewer children. We are also better at keeping people near death for long periods of time. But mostly, it's the infant mortality issue that made for the big change in 'lifespan.' – Eva Sep 23 2010 at 3:19
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Why we live longer: - modern sanitation (we don't throw our nasty trash out the window anymore) - modern healthcare (especially in child birth) - penicillin (who dies from infection anymore) - abundance of food (yeah, Ding Dongs are better than zilch in a drought, or other environmental, scenario) - life expectancy in the US as recently as 1900 was only around 40 years old. Paleolithic man did pretty well, even on average! - and all indications point to Hunter-Gatherers maintaining their health right on through to old age (those that made it). – Angelo - Latest in Paleo Sep 23 2010 at 16:31
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My husband is paleo, but he started before me :)

After a few months of seeing a great impact on him, I dug into it more and haven't looked back since! He's the type who'd be happy to just microwave chicken breasts (I have teased him for years about eating leftover meat from a baggie) and gnaw raw vegetables, but I'm much more of a foodie. So he's ecstatic that I've taken it and run with it, because now we have awesome food that is also paleo! He's a bit stricter than I am but we're both pretty committed.

Now that I know what I know, I can't even imagine being with someone who wasn't paleo or at least pretty close.

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My girlfriend is celiac and mildly lactose intolerant and eats pretty much the same as I do. We don't eat to strichly apart from the gluten. I tend to do alot of cooking and buying food. I have converted her to some stranger foods like organ meats and seaweeds.

However I'd never mention "paleo" or similar in real life as I don't like labbels. We just eat healthy home cooked foods. As she has been eating progressivly better over the years she now finds processed gluten-free breads and cakes do not make her feel good. Coconut pancakes are a favorite though :)

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Whoa, coconut pancakes? I'd like to hear more about that. – Shilpa Nicodemus Sep 24 2010 at 18:01
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yes. It took me a while, but I converted him. We started the diet together. I would spout off the scientific proof that paleo was good for us and now he is 100% on board.

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Yes, my husband is, although he's very happy to cheat when he eats out or someone at work brings in brownies. My sympathy is limited when he spends the night on the toilet. He recently told me that when I threw out the veggie oil, canola, cooking spray, margarine, and wheat, rye, and barley flours a year ago that he had thought I was crazy and we'd have to buy some more the next week, and how much it would all cost to replace. At the time he just smiled and nodded. He's a good guy :)

Since then I've explained the science, he's gotten into it, and can't imagine life without bacon, butter, moist meats, and especially heavy cream, whose praises he sings daily.

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My hubby is skeptical about my food choices, but he is humoring me with a wheat-free month right now. I hope he sees some effects and decides to stick with it, or at least to limit his overall wheat intake.

I know it would be a good move for him because he and many of his family members have digestive issues that they consider "normal" problems (acid reflux, etc.). One relative recently had to have a portion of her colon removed (cancer). I realize diet can't solve everything, but his family is truly on the SAD diet and so I can't help but blame their many health issues on their own choices.

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YES we are both Paleo! :) We met playing volleyball, started as friends, took us 3 years to get our act together and start dating. So when we started dating we already knew that we had similar interests. (What I’m trying to say is, if you meet someone through Paleo I think it’s a great idea! You already know that you feel similarly about health, wellness, and FOOD!) We started at a CrossFit gym a few months before our wedding for vanity reasons and they turned us on to Paleo.

Anyhow, HE started on the Paleo bandwagon. Our gym was having a 30 day challenge, I wasn’t up for the challenge I was just getting used to working out again I didn’t want to have to worry about food. Plus I was skeptical and I didn’t want to give up my mac & cheese. I told him if this was something he wanted to do then he would have to buy the food and make the meals. He did. I ate Paleo for lunch and dinner but for breakfast I had oatmeal (I thought I was being healthy!)

When I started to see results in him, as well as how miserable I felt after breakfast but not so bad after lunch and dinner I gave it a 100%. Now, 9 months later, we’re still eating Paleo but I’m more INTO Paleo than he is! (well at least the websites and books and such) :)

I think Paleo has brought us closer together. We share inside jokes about SAD and “being healthy”, also we share meal ideas, and when we go out to eat or we’re around non-paleo friends both of us have to make changes to our meals or specifications to the waiters. It is also nice because someone has your back when people start asking questions or attacking you for the way you eat (sometimes I forget the science-y stuff and just remember how I feel or our results). It is definitely team building!

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My DH is less paleo than I am, but I have some control because I do the cooking most of the time.

He tends towards sweet things like juice even though it is EVIL for his diabetes. When I convinced him to be more paleo for awhile his AIC level was normal- but I can't seem to convince him to stay on track all the time.

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No, my spouse of 23 years is very supportive but will not give up grain (bread and beer - I'm switching to cider) or legumes (hummus, refried beans) and won't eat fish (hates it) or pork (because they're supposedly self-aware).

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Never dated a Paleo, I've met plenty of vegetarian girls though.

Although it's a long way off I'm pretty sure it will have to be mandatory in a long term relationship, at least some kind of awareness around food and nutrition.

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No, she doesn't care all that much about nutrition and health, sadly.

On the positive side, she doesn't like wheat or bread or overly sweet things, and likes meat and seafood, so she's more paleo than most people are!

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My husband eats whatever I feed him... and I make 99% of everything he eats, sooo... he's pretty much paleo, asides from a meal or two out a week :)

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NO. And not likely to change either. He's skinny fat and can eat whatever he wants. He doesn't believe in working out at all. He does run occasionally. Eating what he ate is a lot of how I became obese. He's still not used to the "new" me and it's been years now. I think he keeps thinking I'll eventually give up and go back to my old ways.

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my husband is vegetarian. he has recently started eating fish, so we eat together a couple nights a week. he sees the drastic difference in me since going paleo and totally supports it. hes even doing a grain-free month right now, and feeling really good but hates how limited his food choices are and is getting a bit bored. im trying to talk him into adding beans, buckwheat, rice and lentils. he is not willing to eat meat though. ESPECIALLY not CAFO meat. i totally respect that. he is a compassionate and empathetic person, and thats largely why i married him.

i should also add that we both share the same ideas about eating clean, whole food so that helps a lot. he isnt sitting here pounding miller high life and stuffing his face with twinkies. its really just the meat where we differ.

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My wife has been heavily influenced by paleo ever since I started it last year. She at least keeps almost 100% paleo at home cooked dinner times since we cook for both of us. However, despite all the information that has been communicated, she doesn't see a need for her to cut out gluten and other refined carbs. Biscuits, mac 'm cheese, etc will never be taken off her menu I suppose. One positive is she used to be quite a sugar junkie, and that has been reduced dramatically.

We have our first baby on the way any day now. If there were a way I could convince my wife that we should permanently eradicate the house of (at the very least) all gluten containing items by the time our child is weaned, I'd pay good money for that. I can't recall if I've read any well controlled studies on gluten and young children.

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My partner is doing Weight Watchers and the really interesting thing is they have just revised their point system and what is really interesting is that their point system is VERY closely aligned to the Paleo system more so now than before. She lost 60 lbs doing WW before but a lot of the allowed points included Fat Free, Low Fat - chemical sh*t storm items, which now they discourage over fruits and veggies....just interesting.

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My wife continues to eat a "traditional" diet but she watches what she eats within that context, is of a healthy body weight, looks good and has no health issues so I'm fine with her choices. We take turns cooking, so we just have to be creative with meals so they can fit both our diets. For example, if we make a meat sauce she'll have it over pasta and I'll have spaghetti squash or zucchini ribbons. She's supportive on my choice, but jokingly said she'd give me up before she gave up her bread or pasta. (We've been married over 21 years so I know she's joking.)

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No. We are both old punk rockers and very Southern, so it was a big deal when I gave up PBR and fried chicken (the PBR took quite a while). He almost always eats what I eat for dinner, which is properly paleo...fortunately he's also not picky whatsoever and loves liver and such, as well as pretty high cuisine for a country boy (years in the restaurant industry). His diet has definitely shifted healthier because I went paleo about a year ago and shortly thereafter moved in with him.

But the boy still drinks way too much, and way too much beer, keeps tortilla chips and salsa around, will eat gas station taquitos, drinks soda, etc. He also doesn't cook anything more complicated than a sandwich, so if there aren't leftovers in the fridge, he often resorts to the (admittedly amazing) taqueria down the street.

As to how paleo's affected our relationship, he has something to tease me about (being a nutrition geek), and I have something to tease him about (that slowly encroaching beer belly). He's pretty supportive, though, and is thoughtful in things like restaurant suggestions.

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