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I have been eating a primal diet for a year and two weeks now. Starting Monday my girlfriend was going to try the whole 30 take on Paleo with me for 30 days. Has anyone else started this diet with their significant other and found it successful? Any tips? Any advice?

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Support and love your girl, be gentle with the advice and don't judge her if you see some wavering. Ask her questions, too, so she feels as immersed as you. It takes time, and it can get especially tough when us girlies are getting our periods as cravings can really come rolling in. Look at recipes online and make her some nice snacks, little surprises go a long way. Cook together make it fun :) This is a big deal so be there for her in all the capacity that she needs. I love that you posted this :) Good luck! – jesuisjuba - paleorepublic.com Aug 22 2011 at 22:55
My boyfriend went paleo 2 months ago and I am just starting to adopt a paleo diet myself. I plan on starting the Whole30 in January with him (we'll be living in different states so it'll be hard). That said, I think as long as you support each other you'll do great. DEFINITELY clean out your kitchen to prevent temptation. If you guys have a hard time giving up cream coffee try coconut milk. I just started and I like it a lot. Good luck. :) – Cynthia Dec 6 2011 at 19:52
It worked out really well. She enjoys the no sugar, no wheat thing still until this day. – TedB Dec 11 2011 at 16:00

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Yes, me and my GF just did the whole30. Was your GF eating paleo before hand? This will make a big difference in my opinion. Me and the GF have been paleo for about 1/2 years together, but fairly strict for the last 6 months. I honestly think that it would be very, very hard to go from a traditional SAD diet to the whole30. You need to get used to the paleo idea first. It is pretty hard to do anyway, and if you weren't already committed to the paleo way I think that it would be really easy to give up.

That being said everyone is different, and if you are both committed then you may be fine.

If you were both eating paleo together then no problemo.

Tips and advice. Plan you food in advance. Throw away cheats, and foods that you like that don't fit the whole30. It is quite a big shock when you realise that little things that you may not have normally worried too much about have bad stuff in them. For example, I sometimes used to use Tabasco sauce without even a second thought. Doing the whole30, I realised that it has wheat in it. Same with the hot English mustard that I used to use (soy lecithin). So now we use local made HEM that is really clean.

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Tabasco sauce has wheat in it? – Dylan Aug 21 2011 at 4:29
yeah no shit, that's what I thought. Total WTF moment! – peter Aug 21 2011 at 6:12
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I believe Tabasco is gluten free: celiac.com/gluten-free/topic/… – Joan Aug 21 2011 at 14:46
Interesting, thanks for the link. The ingredients in Tabasco are Vinegar (Alchol, Wheat) Peppers, so I just assumed it had gluten in it. Cheers – peter Aug 21 2011 at 23:11
+1 for planning ahead! – Jules K Aug 22 2011 at 12:13
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Clean out your place of anything you shouldn't eating. If it's around, it's going to get eaten. My n=1 anyway.

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I am sure it's easier that way, but the rest of my family is not Paleo. I had to learn NOT to eat the oreos and hohos and hello kitty cupcakes even when they were right in front of me. I think it made me stronger about dealing with cravings. Just noting that if removing everything is not a possibility, staying on track is still possible. – sherpamelissa Aug 21 2011 at 3:07
I applaud you for being able to do so, I'm getting better at staying strong in environments other than my own though but it's still a battle. – Nutritionator Aug 21 2011 at 13:44
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I finished a Whole30 on August 3rd with my husband and my two teenage daughters. We seriously went cold turkey from SAD to whole30. It hurt like hell for the 1st 4-5 days. But it was great doing it together, because we could encourage each other. I planned, shopped, and prepared the meals. My husband, well, he ate what I cooked. Haha But he loved it. We all plan on sticking with our paleo/primal lifestyle. It was a great thing for us as a family. PS: I also have 5 other younger kids. They are not so paleo, so we are making baby steps in that regard. Good luck!

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Husband and I went full blown SAD to whole30 back in mid jan. We just celebrated 7 months paleo this last thursday. Between us we have lost a combined 95 lbs... ( wow just did that math!) I so could not have done it without his help.

Good Luck!

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That is awesome, congrats! :) – Jules K Aug 22 2011 at 12:14
Wow, that is AWESOME! Good job! – Cynthia Dec 6 2011 at 19:49
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My boyfriend and I started eating paleo cold turkey this January and never looked back. The first few weeks were a little rough. We definitely took our cravings out on each other a bit. But we'd laugh afterwards, and the cravings eventually went away.

We each had a crutch that we used whenever we had a craving. I'd stuff my face with shredded coconut flakes and he'd eat a whole grapefruit (sometimes 4 or 5 a day!). It got us through the transition period. We weaned ourselves off our crutches pretty quick but they really came in handy at first ;)

My biggest suggestion is just to be really forgiving of each other. Since you'll both be going through withdrawals and vicious mood swings, cut each other some slack and dont take any outbursts personally ;)

Also dont offer up any unsolicited tips for refinement of the diet. If you notice she could be more compliant here or there, dont bring it up. Wait till she mentions something like she isn't getting the results she expected or comes to you asking for help.

I wasn't quite as solid as my boyfriend right off the bat. I'd waiver and have something pretty sweet or indulge in too much red wine. It took me a little longer to get comfortable with a strict paleo diet... but I came around ;) So be patient and support whatever changes she does make even if she's not 100% paleo.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

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