Sorry, I disagree with everyone's comments.

The things people say aren't ridiculous. They make perfect sense in light of the fact that we're being fed misinformation every day at every turn. If the powers that be tell you that you "must" have healthy whole grains to get necessary nutrients, how is it ridiculous to believe that?

Didn't we all used to believe some of these things PP (pre-paleo)?

But you will raise your cholesterol through the roof!

But red meat will clog your arteries!

Surely, it will give you a heart attack!

To which I reply "No it won't, and stop calling me Shirley".

"So that's just a glorified Atkins diet, right?"

"But what will I feed my kids? I can't tell them they can't have Oreos because 'they're not Paleo!'"

or

"But my kids are so fussy! I can barely get them to eat anything now!"

"where do you get your fiber? You need grains!" and my favorite "it's not sustainable" (as in, someone couldn't POSSIBLY eat that way for the rest of their lives) as well as bigger carbon footprint....even though I make less waste, try to eat as local as I can and humanely. I budget more for food because im CHOOSING good food over cheap ass convenience. I THINK about where my food comes from and don't just grab boxes and bags and crinkly containers whenever I shop for food. That one just pisses me off.

"How do you live without bread?"

I don't. Clearly I'm dead.

Another fad diet.

"Lard is horrible for you. It's loaded with cholesterol and you can only eat it because you're active"

Same person 10 minutes or so later...

"You ever use Crisco? This stuff is great."

"Oh I could NEVER give up bread!"

"Do you want some milk? Oh wait, caveman didn't have milk . . . or did they? Can you only have it if you suckle it directly from the wild animal's teet?"

Oh My God, what CAN you eat?

Yes, all this yummy grass fed beef, pastured chicken, lamb, and eggs, wild caught seafood plus local and organic veggies and berries really makes me feel oh so deprived ;)

bread bakers put extra gluten in their bread because it provides "stretch"--makes the bread more soft and bouncy (more like store-bought bread). I am not defending bread, I am just saying why they do it. A lot of people have no idea where vitamins and nutrients come from, actually.

"Don't be silly, that stuff won't kill you."

In reference to the suggestion that a coworker of mine try paleo for a week to possibly help her severely debilitating neck and back pain..

"Oh I'm glad it worked for your pain, but I love baking. I just had my kitchen remodeled so the oven would be easier to use when I bake, so I can't give up bread."

I had told her removing gluten and most carbs from my diet had reduced my fibromyalgia and back pain to negligible amounts. I just couldn't believe she wouldn't even try it because she had her kitchen remodeled to make it easier for her to bake gluten filled products while enduring severe body pain.

It floored me...

All that bacon can't be good for you...

All those eggs you eat can't be good for you..

"You should eat quinoa, because you are missing all of its benefits on that stupid paleo diet."

My Doctor is always saying to just eat things in moderation. The problem is that when you add up a moderate amount of grain, a moderate amount of sugar, a moderate amount of bread and a moderate amount of dairy, you are eating a full SAD!

I hear some of the best ones right here on Paleohacks:

-Repeated questions about how few foods you could eat for the rest of your life. Boy that sounds like fun...sign me up...

-Insistance that paleo = low carb. Paleo = Atkins II?

-Leptin reset. Arrogance, ignorance and a touch of bitters makes a nice paleo cocktail.

-Fascination with bowel movements. Talk about ways to put people off their appetite.

-MUFA is not Omega-6. Pass me the aspirin...

Think before you post people! Many of the questions here make paleo look like a weird eating disorder. I'm sure that they all make sense in light of a specific diet scheme, but no one is expert in the details of the plan that prompts the question, and there are dozens of different plans.

With co workers at lunch-

"You eat meat every day? My doctor wouldn't let me do that" as he eats his eggroll & fried veggie lomein.

There's no such thing as evolution...

Can't argue with someone who doesn't care about facts...

Oh I could NEVER give up beer!

As someone far wiser than I commented awhile back: Other people's opinions of me are none of my business. People may say whatever they wish--I know how I feel, how well I sleep, how much more energy I have, how my body is changing.

How could you not eat sandwiches?

I have a friend with celiac and therefore on a gluten free junk diet. He asked why I don't eat gluten and began to exclaim how important gluten is as a nutrient and a plant protein. He's a young man though - time could change things.

Otherwise, people saying they love their pasta and bread too much, that and how animal fat and cholesterol rich foods are bad.

I would rather starve myself than have to give up... (insert random gluten filled snack food). This was in regards to a conversation about calorie restriction vs. Paleo for weight loss.

When I told my mom about paleo, she remarked, "Oh great, what new fad are you into now?"

Whilst watching a co worker eat his second bag of crisps in an hour:

"Is that an avocado? They're really bad for you, really fattening"

"But you don't need to lose weight". Me: "I know, it's for my heartburn and general health mainly." "But you're on medication for the heartburn, what's the problem?" Me: "..."

An extremely intelligent and well-educated friend (with metabolic syndrome and a history of yo-yo dieting) told me that any diet in which you deprive yourself of an entire food group (i.e. "healthy whole grains") ultimately leads to failure. My response was that my mindset is not one of deprivation with respect to grains, legumes, sugar, etc., but rather one in which I am choosing to preserve my health and prevent diseases of civilization. Because of that perspective it is quite easy for me to be compliant. It is a lifestyle after all. p.s. 6 months later she is now "more" paleo than me. And I am happy for her.

"It's not enough carbs for an endurance athlete. Show me someone who wins a major endurance race on a Paleo diet." (I've shown that person more than enough evidence of successful Paleo endurance athletes at the top of their races)

Mostly, though, people are just curious to learn more about how I eat...with little or no judgment.