PLEASE READ!! How can I convince my family to eat healthier?
ztuins
Posts: 9 Member
My family eats junk food all the time and almost no fruits and vegetables. My family makes a healthy dinner occasionally (grilled chicken, asparagus, Brussels sprouts) ,but most of the time they eat fried foods, fast food, and restaurant food. I've tried to get my family to eat better but my mom (who cooks our dinner) says we can't eat healthier because my 4 picky brothers won't eat the food and her recipes never turn out so she wastes money on produce. I got her to cook healthy for 1 week, but at the end she said she was tired of cooking. I felt really good that week too and I loved her cooking. I eat a healthy breakfast and lunch but not dinner so I really need to convince my family. Thank you!
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Replies
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Do the cooking yourself4
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I agree ^^^ you should do the cooking; it is a great life skill and you can help your family in the process
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You can't. ...end of. You do you and let them do them1
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I agree ^^^ you should do the cooking; it is a great life skill and you can help your family in the process
This^ .....it's a really good skill to lean and eating healthier is a process. Not something that's going to happen over night unless they share the same motivation. Does everyone in your family want to (or need to) lose weight?
Instead of striving for radical changes, how about compromise. Try to meet some where more towards the middle.
When the family goes for fast food, how about adding a nice veggie side dish. You can have McNuggets and salad or a cheeseburger & roasted carrots. You will be introducing healthier dishes, but no you can't force people to change.0 -
I agree ^^^ you should do the cooking; it is a great life skill and you can help your family in the process
This^ .....it's a really good skill to lean and eating healthier is a process. Not something that's going to happen over night unless they share the same motivation. Does everyone in your family want to (or need to) lose weight?
Instead of striving for radical changes, how about compromise. Try to meet some where more towards the middle.
When the family goes for fast food, how about adding a nice veggie side dish. You can have McNuggets and salad or a cheeseburger & roasted carrots. You will be introducing healthier dishes, but no you can't force people to change.I agree ^^^ you should do the cooking; it is a great life skill and you can help your family in the process
This^ .....it's a really good skill to lean and eating healthier is a process. Not something that's going to happen over night unless they share the same motivation. Does everyone in your family want to (or need to) lose weight?
Instead of striving for radical changes, how about compromise. Try to meet some where more towards the middle.
When the family goes for fast food, how about adding a nice veggie side dish. You can have McNuggets and salad or a cheeseburger & roasted carrots. You will be introducing healthier dishes, but no you can't force people to change.
Everyone in my family is overweight, other than me and 2 of my brothers who are strong and leaner than the rest. They don't want to change even though they are overweight because they think healthy food tastes terrible and they won't even try my food unless my mom cooks it. My mom only will let me cook certain dishes that look good with little vegetables in it. Any other ideas?
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Get a job, save up, move out, choose your own food.
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I hate to say it, but there's not much you can do for them.
They like eating what they've been eating and the negative consequences aren't bad enough for them to want to make a change.0 -
OP, how old are you?1
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My mom only will let me cook certain dishes that look good with little vegetables in it. Any other ideas?
Huh? Why will your mom only let you cook certain dishes?
I take it you're quite young and stuck living at home for a bit yet? I think this is probably part of you becoming an independent adult and deciding how you want to live your own life. You may need to create a bit of emotional distance.
What's her take on the issue? Does she feel offended that you're 'rejecting' her food? Is cooking a way that she shows love to her family? Does she just not want the mess and fuss of two cooks in the kitchen?
I'd suggest sitting down with her and having a chat, adult to adult. Explain that it's really important to you to be able to eat healthily and you want to find a compromise that works for both (all) of you.
Could you have small portions of the main meal she makes and bulk it out with salads, fresh vegetables, even microwaved frozen peas?
Could you cook your own meal before or after she cooks for the rest of the family (or they get take out?). You can pre-make big batches of healthy casseroles or whatever and just heat to a portion to eat when the family eats together?
You cannot change anyone else's behaviour so have a look at how you can get what you need within the situation you're in.
Best of luck!1 -
I agree ^^^ you should do the cooking; it is a great life skill and you can help your family in the process
This^ .....it's a really good skill to lean and eating healthier is a process. Not something that's going to happen over night unless they share the same motivation. Does everyone in your family want to (or need to) lose weight?
Instead of striving for radical changes, how about compromise. Try to meet some where more towards the middle.
When the family goes for fast food, how about adding a nice veggie side dish. You can have McNuggets and salad or a cheeseburger & roasted carrots. You will be introducing healthier dishes, but no you can't force people to change.I agree ^^^ you should do the cooking; it is a great life skill and you can help your family in the process
This^ .....it's a really good skill to lean and eating healthier is a process. Not something that's going to happen over night unless they share the same motivation. Does everyone in your family want to (or need to) lose weight?
Instead of striving for radical changes, how about compromise. Try to meet some where more towards the middle.
When the family goes for fast food, how about adding a nice veggie side dish. You can have McNuggets and salad or a cheeseburger & roasted carrots. You will be introducing healthier dishes, but no you can't force people to change.
Everyone in my family is overweight, other than me and 2 of my brothers who are strong and leaner than the rest. They don't want to change even though they are overweight because they think healthy food tastes terrible and they won't even try my food unless my mom cooks it. My mom only will let me cook certain dishes that look good with little vegetables in it. Any other ideas?
You can only make changes for you. Lead by example whenever you can. "Healthy is relative," by that I mean don't make your definition too restrictive. Fast food can be part of a healthy diet. An all fast food diet, is not likely healthy by anybodys definition.
Your family members have to want to change, and have to want to lose weight.0 -
I struggled with the same thing when I lived with my parents, and unfortunately an still trying to lose the weight I gained living with them. I suggest having a serious heart-to-heart with your whole family, or at least your mother; it sounds like she probably does a lot, so making a deal like "I'll do the dishes if you make a veggie dish for me" might work. It's hard living with family who doesn't share the same views on health as you do, and it's even harder when nobody will compromise. I would definitely express your feelings using "I" statements, try to stay away from blaming or accusing because people get defensive and won't compromise if they feel like they're being attacked. I think with a little tact you can come to a compromise that works; if not, you can try talking to someone at school about other options. Good luck OP!0
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How about buying yourself a frozen ready meal and some frozen veggies that you can microwave in a single serving, tell you will cook your own?0
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what you bring in is what they will eat. My daughter LOVES Italian Ice, but if its not there she'll go for grapes, oranges or frozen fruit. Whats on the table is what there is to eat. DONE. They will eventually catch on or starve. Also you can incorporate things like. dates, pit them mash them add cocoa powder mix smooth out in a pan and you have brownies (sprinkle chopped walnuts on top). they are really good and not as bad a as eating an actual brownie. Its a start. you just dont tel them till they eat it, SURPRISE!0
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I agree ^^^ you should do the cooking; it is a great life skill and you can help your family in the process
This^ .....it's a really good skill to lean and eating healthier is a process. Not something that's going to happen over night unless they share the same motivation. Does everyone in your family want to (or need to) lose weight?
Instead of striving for radical changes, how about compromise. Try to meet some where more towards the middle.
When the family goes for fast food, how about adding a nice veggie side dish. You can have McNuggets and salad or a cheeseburger & roasted carrots. You will be introducing healthier dishes, but no you can't force people to change.I agree ^^^ you should do the cooking; it is a great life skill and you can help your family in the process
This^ .....it's a really good skill to lean and eating healthier is a process. Not something that's going to happen over night unless they share the same motivation. Does everyone in your family want to (or need to) lose weight?
Instead of striving for radical changes, how about compromise. Try to meet some where more towards the middle.
When the family goes for fast food, how about adding a nice veggie side dish. You can have McNuggets and salad or a cheeseburger & roasted carrots. You will be introducing healthier dishes, but no you can't force people to change.
Everyone in my family is overweight, other than me and 2 of my brothers who are strong and leaner than the rest. They don't want to change even though they are overweight because they think healthy food tastes terrible and they won't even try my food unless my mom cooks it. My mom only will let me cook certain dishes that look good with little vegetables in it. Any other ideas?
How about helping your mom cook some of the dishes she cooked during the experiment week? This way you get some healthier food and she doesn't have to do all the cooking by herself. You can also buy some steam in bag veggies (about $1 a bag). This way you can bulk out your meals eating less of the high calorie stuff and the rest of the family doesn't have to "suffer".0 -
Alluminati wrote: »OP, how old are you?
That was going to be my question too0 -
You can't change how they eat. You can only change how you eat. I'm not sure how old you are, but if you still live at home and your mom does all the cooking then really your only options are to limit your portion sizes (I am one who believes in moderation, there are no good or bad foods so you can still be at a healthy weight even if your mom cooks "unhealthy" foods), or to move out and do your own cooking, or buy your own groceries and prepare your own meals and don't eat what they eat. You cannot make anyone change their eating habits if they don't want to.1
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punkahontas71 wrote: »what you bring in is what they will eat. My daughter LOVES Italian Ice, but if its not there she'll go for grapes, oranges or frozen fruit. Whats on the table is what there is to eat. DONE. They will eventually catch on or starve. Also you can incorporate things like. dates, pit them mash them add cocoa powder mix smooth out in a pan and you have brownies (sprinkle chopped walnuts on top). they are really good and not as bad a as eating an actual brownie. Its a start. you just dont tel them till they eat it, SURPRISE!
The OP lives with her parents and sounds like she may still be a minor. I think her mom has the attitude that she (the OP) will eat what she (the mom) makes and the OP wants her to make healthier options. This isn't an adult who is trying to get her partner and kids to eat healthier.0
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