I have to have the whole house free from tempting non-paleo food items. I have pretty low control after 8pm when it ocmes to sweets, so I know that there can't be any around. My hubby is super supportive fo the diet (he lost 40lbs), and I try to make really delicious meals all the time so he doesn't feel as though he is missing out. Our son is 2, so it's easy to keep him on board - he really has no knowledge of anything else.

I really have to commend those people on here who can do the paleo thing by themselves in a house full of tempting SAD food items. Way to go!!!!

I have a vegan boyfriend who I pretty much consider family. Luckily, he's a bit of an organic-head as well so we definitely have things we DO agree on. It has been a MAJOR point of conflict in the relationship (him: animal rights, me: good health), but we've found (and are still finding) grounds on which to compromise. We go to organicy restaurants where he'll order a vegan BLT and I'll get a naked (no bun) grass-fed lamb burger. We also go to farmers markets together, albeit we visit different stands. Our cooking/eating compromise is: we make our own main course(him: beans, me: meat) and have a veggie dish we can both consume (eg zucchini salad with olive oil or sweet potato fries). It's still difficult, but the challenge of compromise has only made things more interesting and has allowed me to expand my veggie recipe repertoire. yay :)

I often make meals that are partially paleo, meaning I'll make a big pot of sauce full of veggies and ground chicken and pork (I can get away with that because I'm allergic to beef), I serve theirs over pasta and mine just heaped in a bowl. Everyones happy!

The same for other things, I'll make cream infused sauces and pour it over fish and load mine up with veggies and theirs with roasted potatoes or something that will make them happy.

I've been doing this for about 8 months now, while I'm learning....but I do not want to spend more time in the kitchen than I already do (making ghee, consummes, lara bars, drying fruit and nuts)....

As long as I don't serve them zoodles they are happy!!

It's just my husband and me at home (I'm strict paleo, and he's not so much), so I cook paleo for dinner, and he eats it. I also refuse to have anything un-paleo on my shelves at my eye level (he's tall, I'm not, so what's on the top shelves is his domain!).

He does eat off plan regularly, but it's at breakfast and lunch (which I figure he can make for himself), and has always had one of those metabolisms that can handle it. He also has been so indoctrinated by CW that he just doesn't get it at all -- not that he doesn't want to get it, just that everything I tell him goes through the "healthy grain" mentality, and gets stuck. When he sees his doctor, he tells him he's been on Atkins (LOL), even though I'm cooking paleo with some carby veggies, and he eats english muffins for breakfast. God love him; he'll never change, but after 25 years, I'm okay with that. <3

After 7 months of Paleo-Primal-VLC Primal my wife, whose favorite foods include macaroni and cheese, papa john's pizza, mashed potatoes/potato chips, and "fruit flavored" candy (all washed down with diet coke of course) has begun cooking meals like jambalaya (beef, chicken, shrimp, and okra with a tomato base), eating pork cracklins, drinking pastured half/half with coffee (vs her old diet coke), having bacon and eggs for breakfast, etc.

She still indulges in her old "favorites" but the balance is definitely shifting.

The major breakthrough came when I stopped trying to change/judge her and just focused on being really happy with how I am eating. If I would make a paleo/primal meal, I'd offer to make it for her as well, and would make a point to incorporate things that she does like (such as this pulled pork cooked in coconut water).

If she says, "Oh, I want pizza so bad!" I don't frown, make a comment, or give her a hard time. I'll simply smile and acknowledge that I heard her with a pleasant "yeah" and nod of the head.

Resisting someone else just makes them push back harder. If you create a welcoming, inviting atmosphere, enjoy and are content with what you are doing for yourself, and let go of the need to control others, you might be surprised.

Of course, this is coming from someone who took about 5 years to come to this conclusion, but hopefully you're not as stubborn as I am!

Fortunately, I'm not surrounded by SAD food like you, Korion. In my house, it's just my husband and I. There are NO non-paleo foods in the house and he eats just about everything I make. However, he does love him some pizza or bread or pasta when he eats out, and it used to really bother me.

I've always been a health nut but he hasn't. We were married a year ago and I've just recently decided I'm not going to get upset about the way he eats anymore. I've decided it's his body and he knows that he feels better/worse when eating certain foods. Someday maybe he'll come around on his own and be as paleo as possible with me. In the meantime, there's less cortisol coursing thru my body now that I've accepted that :)

I am slowly working on it, A work on progress. McDonalds got cut to once a month or two months and for the past month Bread has been off the menu, which is actually a biggie, first week the kids were whining but now they have forgotten all about it. Pushing for the eradication of all crap oils next. When I cook, it's paleo something with rice ( there too much rice in general but it keeps the peace - a concession I am willing to make - could be worse!)

My nephews were over today and it was up to me to cook for them, they got an awesome beef based paleo stir fry and sweet potatoes. "Hey" they said "your strange food ain't so bad, you are not just a vegetable monster after all!"

like in the movie 'Contact', when converting non believers - it's all about: small moves Ellie, small moves.

Nope, they're not. But they live healthy for SAD standards. So wholegrain bread with very little sugary stuff on it and just good, real food for dinner.

It gets hard when I try to get rid of the pasta in a dinner (or at least serve seperately), but they got used to it by now and we server paleo and non-paleo parts of a dinner seperate so everyone can eat what he/she wants :)

Oh, my dad does eat a banana every day and says he is paleo xD

They're not, although my husband and daughter will eat whatever I cook so mealtimes don't become a big issue. The stuff we always had before is pretty much what we have now, but I just leave off the bread or pasta or whatever for myself. I'll have my burger wrapped in lettuce or leave off the rice and just have meat and veggies, that kind of thing. Occasionally I will get hungry early and will eat something on my own. Those are the days that they get the foods I don't normally eat, like fried rice or spaghetti. It all seems to work out pretty well, but we tend to be pretty relaxed about mealtimes anyway. Sometimes we eat together, sometimes we don't. I imagine it would be harder if you are trying to always eat together and satisfy a whole group of people.

My boyfriend has become more paleo since going low-carb and listening to lots of podcasts about the effects of sugar and grains on the body. Neither of our parents are even close to Paleo and probably never will be--they don't eat healthy at all. But we try to encourage them to drop the veg oils and use reserved bacon grease and stop eating frozen tv dinners. My dad is pretty interested in paleo due to him have a number of health problems, and is more open to eating healthy than my mom. I've got him using ghee (he made his own! lol) & grease for frying, baking whole chicken quarters & eating spinach and yams and broccoli, and cutting back on the milk and yogurt.

My extended family isn't, but like Dirk-Jan, they generally live healthy SAD standards. My husband is on board most of the time, and I fight the good fight with my kids.

My husband's diet would make the typical SAD eater cringe. Mostly he consumes donuts, chips, fried pies, beer, Coke, and pasteurized whole milk. I make paleo meals for our family, and sometimes he eats them, sometimes he saves his appetite for snacks later. I do insist that we all sit together, though. I wish he would eat differently, but I also know it's pointless to try and make him. Our kid, who isn't old enough yet to have an opinion in the matter, eats strict paleo with me. Not looking forward to the power struggle when the little guy realizes that Dad doesn't eat vegetables.

My family is not. I have always done all of the shopping. I have started cooking more. I have gotten rid of all of the oils except Olive Oil and Coconut oil. Purchased the best eggs I can find. We get pastured butter and serve some kind of meat for lunch and dinner and eggs for breakfast. But SAD foods and snacks are everywhere. I have gone to 2-3 meals a day and have stopped snacking altogether. This year I hope to get the family onto less sugary drinks and less sugar in general. We make more food than ever before from scratch.

My husband and kids weren't Paleo when I first went myself, but after they saw how great I felt and how important it was to me - they all joined. It's been an amazing journey of improved health over the last 15 months since.

My family (sisters, BIL, step-mother) have all gone Paleo in the last few months after seeing our transformation. The best you can do is take care of you and the rest will follow. It doesn't make it easier, but we can all attest to the fact that there's no greater reward than feeling amazing with pristine health.

Best of luck - visit our site or e-mail us if you need ideas of encouragement!

Stacy http://paleoparents.com

I have struggled in my head with this but I want to make sure I am fully ensconced before I start to manipulate my families meals more. It takes a lot to keep me on track so I'm not planning to involve them to the same extent yet.

It is hard to be around pizza and so forth at home but it is the same at work. I have become used to it now but I admit it is not ideal.

I have replaced some foods for my 4 and 6 year old. I have also started brainwashing them. Hee hee hee. No veggie oils in the house and meat/eggs pastured. I emphasize veggies and fruits with my kids. They still eat fish sticks, bread, ketchup and cereal etc. though.

My husband is not paleo and was always a gym rat before he became a stay at home Dad 6 years ago. He hears my diatribes and has tried a few things like homemade coconut ice cream. I respect him a great deal and would want it to be his own choosing. It is hard enough to be at home with the little kiddos and I'm not going to pile more on him. He's a great husband and Dad.

I will say though...when my children eat bread I feel like I'm poisoning them.

My fiance will generally eat what I make (100% paleo food) but will buy snacks and bagels as supplements.

I think the best you can do is make really delicious paleo food and keep somewhat paleo desserts on hand. Dessert and taste seems to be the game changers for most people. If your kids are hoping for ice cream and you give them a home-made coconut milk ice cream with berries it's going to be a win-win situation.

We're 100% ancestral, so it is much easier. I think there is some conventional salad dressing in the fridge somewhere for the 80/20 people, but absolutely no sodas and snack bags, no bread, no toaster oven!!

Absolutely not. I'm in a similar boat as the excellent post by sherpamelissa above.

However, I'm fairly confident that at least 80% of the food in my home is at the very least, homemade and not commercially derived.

My wife makes the bread that her and my son eats. She uses that bread dough for the pizza my son eats. She does not use veg/corn/soy oil when making that bread, instead opting for warmed coconut oil or some other "whole" oil. When I quarter poultry, we slice the breast into strips and bread/fry them in coconut oil then stash them in the freezer for my son's "raptor nuggets" (he's got a thing for dinosaurs). In fact, our justification for getting a KitchenAid was so she could make bread dough, and I could make sausage/ground beef.

It has made for a peaceful household, at least when food is involved. Dealing with my wife's apologies when she eats something I won't is the most stressful thing I have to deal with, but I cannot control that.

Many times when I cook dinner, I'll cook a small pot of rice, or grill some toast for the family to eat on the side so we can all share in the main course. When they embark for dessert, I simply do something else (or I eat a chunk of baker's chocolate with them).

i eat strict paleo. they hate me for it and and i dont care.its my life, i dont make them eat paleo do i.