I think your definition of paleo may be too rigid. Paleo is an idea. A philosophy. It's an umbrella that can and does encompass many different foods and combinations of foods as well as some other lifestyle choices.

Paleo is also about personal responsibility. Making your own decisions based on your own thoughts and your own body and then dealing with the consequences both good and maybe not-so-good.

I think that's exactly what we discuss here. Oh and I'm one of those kind of paleos.

I love your emphasis on "Today" with this question. It points to the fluid nature of these things: what works today may not work tomorrow.

To answer your question: I started off primal, but due to an autoimmune diagnosis, I'm currently paleo (Robb's autoimmune protocol).

I started Primal, considering going Archevore but now consider myself ancestral.

I figure ancestral can include recipes used by traditional societies, including very slow-rise (water kefir) sourdough bread (only as a holiday treat) and fermented foods such as water kefir, full-fat yogurt and veggies including sauerkraut.

Basically, I don't think we were meant to eat just a few foods. I also think natural processes using the sun and microbes are fine.

I'm determined to permanently avoid manufactured food-like products.

Well, first of all, I'm very curious as to why you think the term paleo has a very specific definition, and what you think that definition is (and who defined it)? I guess I think that my paleolithic ancestors surely must have experimented plenty with food, and that people in different places had very different diets from each other due to availability. I personally eat a diet that has evolved from years of self experimentation, and I don't know what the label is for it...its just perfect for me, for the most part, for now. I eat grassfed beef, organs, pastured poultry, grassfed lamb, pastured pork, eggs from my pastured hens, wild salmon, wild trout, shellfish, sardines, low sugar vegetables in season, some nuts, stevia, tea, coconut, some tubers, some winter squash, a little fruit, fermented fruit, veggies and beverages mostly homemade, fats such as ghee, butter, coconut oil, chicken fat, duck fat, bacon fat, lard and tallow...

I'm Primal with a side of Ray Peat

ETA:

...and low FODMAPS...and occasional rice crackers/corn chips!

For me this means:

Meal 1(when I eat it--I often IF): 3 free-range eggs scrambled in butter with lactose-free sour cream & salsa, black tea with cream & 2 tsp sugar.

Meal 2: Grassfed Meat with greens, kombucha, dark chocolate, home-made low-sugar "jello"

Meal 3: Chicken Liver Paté or Salmon Paté on Rice Crackers, black tea with cream & 2 tsp sugar. Ice Cream and/or Dark Chocolate

I'm meat n' tubers low food reward paleo. No nuts, seeds, fruit, or vegetables in my ancestral diet, just pastured animals and plant storage organs. I quite enjoy my safe starches; while not physiologically required, they give me tons of energy that I for all intents and purposes need as a trail-running, carless, insulin sensitive, hard-studying student. That's the beauty of the paleo framework: my paleo isn't the paleo of a recovering type 2 diabetic, and that's ok!

I eat things that once had faces, came out of something with a face or grew from the ground and started off as being green. I stay away from fructose and regularly put little stickers on fructose containing foods at the grocery that say "FRUCTOSE = POISON"

Uh-oh... I knew there were slight differences or variations, but I thought Paleo and Primal and Ancestral basically meant the same thing!

I'm "Archevore" myself (where does this variation fit in with the other labels?), since that was my introduction to the diet aspects of this lifestyle, and so far it's working very well for me. I'm not a fan of labels in general, but I know everyone recognizes it as Dr. Harris' outline.

So I eat pastured chicken/eggs and butter, some heavy cream (no half&half or milk), occasional aged cheese, beef (about 75% grassfed), a mix of wild caught and farmed fish, fresh shrimp from the market, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, bananas, plantains, occasional white rice, mustard/collard greens, carrots, asparagus, etc. I had also been eating some 85% chocolate occasionally, but I'm now working on removing all pre-packaged foods of any kind and just eating whole, fresh, real everything.

I'm focusing on simple, basic, "essentials" for the first few months (I just started all this on 11/1) to give my body a chance to adjust/detox/whatever, while at the same time learning to prepare and cook food properly for once. I'm 32 and up until now I've mostly only ever made typical SAD box food at home. For me, this = shame.

I'm looking forward to branching out a bit in the coming months once I learn to cook more, but for now I'm cautious/curious about each food or ingredient I select.

I feel like I'm starting with a blank slate with respect to eating, so simple seems to work best for now.

It would have been a bit more thoughtful of our ancestors to have taken the time to put their daily numbers into Fitday! This black box is so frustrating! Custom food: roast honey badger.

I'm Euro-paleo. Since my genetics allow me to digest milk efficiently i have a limited quantity in my diet to increase my protein and allow me a good carb source after hard workouts. Other than that i keep it to lean meats, veggies and occasional nuts and fiberous tubers.

I started with WAPF, tried Wolf-style paleo, switched to Sisson-style primal and, coming full circle, settled on WAPF without grains (I don't really do much dairy either).

I'd consider myself a Harris-esque Archevore who also eats low-FODMAPS for my IBS. I am experimenting with a little white or pre-soaked brown rice, haven't quite found my groove yet there. Not doing any dairy at all right now, but hope to bring some it if my symptoms stabilize.

Individualistic paleo. I've figured out what works and what doesn't. What I tolerate well, and what I don't. I question all paleo "rules" before implementing fully in the long term.

Paleo would never have received any mainstream notoriety without the original "purists" who believed that true Paleo didn't allow for any modification.

But since the word of Paleo has begun to spread, the definition of Paleo/Primal/Ancestral/etc... has become a little fuzzy.

IMHO, the strictest form of Paleo is the best & healthiest for all of us.

However, I really, really, really enjoy my morning cup of coffee with cream. It's worth the little bit of mucus I get in my throat after drinking.

And when I'm out with buddies, I will down a few non-Paleo beers.

And that's okay....for me.

I'm Paleo most of the time, except for when I don't want to be Paleo

I am PHD/WAPF with lots of cheats :-).

Started "pure" Paleo, and have moved gradually to PHD + raw milk. I do the occasional cheat, but am probably 95%+ compliant. The milk is because I'm trying to put on muscle ... one of the reasons I introduced safe starches as well, to power better weight workouts.

Since there is a history of heart disease in my family, I also supplement a lot of K2 and it's supporting vitamins.

I eat mostly meat, eggs and veggies.

We went the Paleo route because my husband had serious health problems following Type A Bloodtype Diet (80% vegetarian grains and legumes). I had some benefits being a Type O (Paleoish/Paleo-like - few grains and legumes, lots of red meat!) but I was didn't get the body comp and resolving of health issues as much as on a Paleo version of health.

I was low-carb organic (but still eating SAD) for about a year before Paleo and saw some benefits but not as much as Paleo.

The hubby and I started Paleo in Oct 2011 and successfully reintroduced dairy (90% pastured) a month later and so became Primals.

We got lazy in wintertime (Jan-April 2011) due to poor produce selection and accidentally went VLC and LC Primal.

We had a few minor new issues, so then put in safe starches and small amounts of white rice back in. These solved those minor issues. Since June 2011 we have been following the Perfect Health Diet version of Paleo.

I'm Paleo 2.14. New release allows for nut intake, but only on Mondays and Wednesdays.