Back in 2015, Mr. Geek came home and announced, “Chrissy, we’re going on a paleo diet!”
This was three years into our relationship. Mr. Geek and I had just taken the big step of moving into our first house together. The excitement was high. Warm fuzzies. “Playing” house. Snuggling every night. Love was in the air, but we were still navigating how to live together for the long haul. Since we were new to this part of our relationship and had no discussions of marriage at this point, I tried to strategize my response.
“What’s this ‘we’ crap? WE aren’t going on a diet. YOU are going on a diet. I don’t need one.”
Yeah. I played that right.
Mr. Geek has been a farter for as long as I have known him–and I think many of his friends and family would say the same. He has always had digestion trouble. He farted in front of me the first night I met him. He almost canceled our first date because of diarrhea, but I was already making the hour-long drive. (I’ll tell that story another time!)
“I talked to the nutritionist at work and he recommended it,” he commented.
“Wait–YOU HAVE A NUTRITIONIST AT WORK?!” I replied. (I’m a public school teacher.)
Again, I was dismissing and avoiding the idea entirely.
The Paleo (Paleolithic) Diet essentially goes by the mantra “if a caveman didn’t eat it, then neither should you.” It is based on the foods presumed to have been eaten by early humans, consisting chiefly of meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit, and excluding dairy or grain products and processed food.
It sounded awful.
No bread? No cheese? The love of my life was telling me I shouldn’t eat some of my favorite meals! I had also just learned how to cook (kind of) and now I had to change everything?!
I don’t remember how, but somehow I agreed to try it or at least support him by making him meals–but it also didn’t make sense to make two separate meals each time. Although we may not be strict Paleo anymore, it has certainly made us think about our diets and lifestyle. It has been almost 3 years and here are the changes we have seen:
- Although Mr. Geek is still the farter (I think he just does it for fun) he has noticed less painful and uncomfortable stomach issues
- Mr. Geek was never a “heavy” guy, but he lost a lot of the stubborn weight he was never happy with
- I certainly indulge more than he does, but I do notice a difference in how I feel after succumbing to the glorious temptation of a pile of cheesy delicious nachos. I am uncomfortable. Cheese is still my weakness. I can live with that.
What was annoying at first has now turned into a challenge. I like trying to convert over some of our favorite recipes to allow our dietary needs. It’s actually a lot easier once you know what you are looking for. I pretend I’m on my imaginary cooking show.
I am excited to share our experiences and recipes with you in future posts.
I’m absolutely rolling at this ahahah knowing him past and present this is extremely accurate!