my husband thinks that I am ungrateful

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Replies

  • meeshymoosh
    meeshymoosh Posts: 23 Member
    miteyme wrote: »
    How do I explain to my husband that a box of chocolates is an unsuitable present for a chocoholic overweight wife in the second week of a weight loss diet. Incidently I responded by eating 15 in quick succession before our birthday tea which included a raspberry and cream dessert cake made by his 92 year old mum. The outcome is 1500 Cal daily excess, an exploding tummy and a deep feeling of resentfulness. Help me!

    So just so people remember, this is OP's original comment. I think we've really chased some rabbits here xD

    OP - Freeze the rest for treats, thank your husband for caring and giving you a gift, communicate it's not that you're ungrateful, but you're just concerned about self control, and suggest flowers or a healthy dinner cooked by him in a sexy outfit next time ;)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    The resentfulness is what I picked up on, but I think the subthread about "you aren't ready" started after the sabotage comment and then the comments about "would you bring a bottle of whiskey to the local AA meeting" type comments, which weren't (mostly, at least) OP.

    Anyway, communication is obviously the answer to the present problem.
  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
    After nearly 18 months, I'm done losing weight, 37 lbs, and now down to 115 lbs and STILL have NO willpower to say no to ice cream. So instead, I control my environment and never stock any in my house and when I need to get my weekly fix, I have to go to the store and buy just 1 or 2 pints and eat it within a few hrs. If I had a partner living with me, I would forbid them from stocking half gallon tubs of ice cream. Family members who make it harder for you to lose weight, are jerks.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited October 2016
    You don't have to eat them. If you don't have the willpower to resist then you're not ready to lose weight!

    I can't wait to use this advice on my infant niece when she starts learning to walk. "If you're still reaching to the coffee table, you're not ready."

    OP is not an infant. That really should be relevant.

    EDIT:
    Obviously, someone with no control over their chocolate moderation has developmental milestones to reach. Just because it's character development vs. neurological development doesn't mean it isn't development. Just because someone is grown, that doesn't mean they don't still have growing to do. Everyone who has trouble losing weight faces a similar issue. What I'm saying, and what others have already said in response to that same comment, is that just because you haven't overcome every hurdle, that doesn't mean you can't continue making progress losing weight. Saying she isn't ready is absurd.

    Actually with that explanation it makes a lot more sense to me what you meant.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    _dracarys_ wrote: »
    You don't have to eat them. If you don't have the willpower to resist then you're not ready to lose weight!

    I can't wait to use this advice on my infant niece when she starts learning to walk. "If you're still reaching to the coffee table, you're not ready."

    Someone whose brain isn't fully developed vs. someone whose is...hmmmm
    You don't have to eat them. If you don't have the willpower to resist then you're not ready to lose weight!

    I can't wait to use this advice on my infant niece when she starts learning to walk. "If you're still reaching to the coffee table, you're not ready."

    So now a baby reaching a developmental milestone is equivalent to someone being unable to stop thenselves stuffing their face with chocolate? Just no.

    Obviously, someone with no control over their chocolate moderation has developmental milestones to reach. Just because it's character development vs. neurological development doesn't mean it isn't development. Just because someone is grown, that doesn't mean they don't still have growing to do. Everyone who has trouble losing weight faces a similar issue. What I'm saying, and what others have already said in response to that same comment, is that just because you haven't overcome every hurdle, that doesn't mean you can't continue making progress losing weight. Saying she isn't ready is absurd.
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    You don't have to eat them. If you don't have the willpower to resist then you're not ready to lose weight!

    That seems a really silly POV to me

    Some people are ready to resist everything and others need to make baby steps getting toward that - or they have some foods which are always triggers to them and they are better off not having them in the house at all ( and nicely asking spouses to buy alternative gifts next time)

    having great will power is not a goal in itself - finding a way to manage your lack of will power (eg by not having boxes of chocolates in the house) is the better approach for some people.

    I disagree. Having great willpower is what makes losing weight easier. If you don't have great willpower, you should probably take steps to improve your willpower as it will benefit you greatly...not only in weightloss either but in life. In a way, taking steps to improve your willpower will better benefit your health and wellbeing than losing weight in and of itself.

    Agreed but it's easier said than done! Or everyone would be thin...

    Didn't say it was easy, said it was something worth working on rather than avoiding.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited October 2016
    You don't have to eat them. If you don't have the willpower to resist then you're not ready to lose weight!

    :laugh:
    I eat chocolate AND am losing weight.
    Your point? Rude and invalid.
  • cqbkaju
    cqbkaju Posts: 1,011 Member
    edited October 2016
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Never said or claimed it was the easier way. But since when was easiest the same as best?
    It seems like many people would rather you handled others (or them) with kid gloves instead of laying it on the line.
    Going into something thinking it will be easy helps set you up for disappointment and then failure.
    Accepting that parts of this will be hard -and being reminded of it- helps to keep our goals realistic and attainable.
    No one is ever going to develop willpower or self-control for you and in fact people will often sabotage your efforts, even if it is accidentally.

    Taking the easy route is what got many people so far from their fitness goals in the first place.
    Face it, own it and then beat it.

    If you do the hard parts first then everything else will be easier, in comparison.
  • Amberonamission
    Amberonamission Posts: 836 Member
    I'd just thank him and toss it in secret. Then some days later tell him real easy future gifts could be pedicure gift certs... or whatever floats your boat. I like that he is getting you things.. It isn't the gift it is that he thought about what you like.. liked.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Sometimes my husband surprises me with food I didn't want. I always say a heartfelt thank you first because I appreciate the thoughtfulness and would have very much appreciated it in different circumstances. Then I say gently, "But, I wasn't going to get this again. At least for a little while." And hug him. I might give it to our kids or ask him if he wants to take it to work, or he can have it at home (put it in a cabinet that I don't eat food from).
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    cqbkaju wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Never said or claimed it was the easier way. But since when was easiest the same as best?
    It seems like many people would rather you handled others (or them) with kid gloves instead of laying it on the line.
    Going into something thinking it will be easy helps set you up for disappointment and then failure.
    Accepting that parts of this will be hard -and being reminded of it- helps to keep our goals realistic and attainable.
    No one is ever going to develop willpower or self-control for you and in fact people will often sabotage your efforts, even if it is accidentally.

    Taking the easy route is what got many people so far from their fitness goals in the first place.
    Face it, own it and then beat it.

    If you do the hard parts first then everything else will be easier, in comparison.

    Exactly. Recognize what you struggle with and intentionally work on THAT. Don't hide from the difficult, seek it out and push against it. Be stronger.

    I used to be incredibly shy. So do you know what I did about that? I listed out what situations made me uncomfortable and then intentionally did those things until they stopped making me uncomfortable. Speaking in public is scary? Volunteer to give speeches. Dancing in public is scary? Go to your local mall put on some headphones and practice your dance moves in the middle of the mall. Numb yourself to it and eventually you will wonder why it was ever such a problem for you. Sometimes you even find that things you used to fear you actually love.

    People talk about improving themselves but then avoid things that are hard. Improving yourself is about identifying what you struggle with and then doing that thing over and over until you don't struggle with it anymore. If instead you try to avoid it then you will always struggle with it for the rest of your life.

    I definitely relate and agree with this!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I was in a course recently and talked about 3 zones: the comfort zone, the learning zone, and the danger zone. It suggested that the 'learning zone', as the name suggests, was where most development and learning occurred - a place beyond your safety net and the comfort of what you know, a place that pushed your boundaries into unknown and foreign territory, but one in which you still felt enough safety that you could experience and take in the situation. However, beyond that was the 'danger zone' - a place described as being so far outside of one's comfort zone, that a person would literally would shut down, impacting negatively on their ability to experience, take in, and learn from the situation.

    It's super trendy lately, but I keep reading about a similar concept -- lean into discomfort -- which really related to me, and it's definitely I find beneficial (although hard) too.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    I was in a course recently and talked about 3 zones: the comfort zone, the learning zone, and the danger zone. It suggested that the 'learning zone', as the name suggests, was where most development and learning occurred - a place beyond your safety net and the comfort of what you know, a place that pushed your boundaries into unknown and foreign territory, but one in which you still felt enough safety that you could experience and take in the situation. However, beyond that was the 'danger zone' - a place described as being so far outside of one's comfort zone, that a person would literally would shut down, impacting negatively on their ability to experience, take in, and learn from the situation.

    I think these can be useful lenses for viewing situations. What can you do to push yourself into that learning zone, while respecting and acknowledging the things that might constitute the 'danger zone'? I think it's unreasonable to suggest that everybody is ready to jump straight into the danger zone, into situations that may completely overwhelm them. There's nothing wrong with baby steps, trial and error, and striving to push your edges in a way that facilitates (rather than hinders) your development and growth.

    Note: These obviously change as a person, situation, etc. changes.

    I think I'd agree with that. Thing is though the more time you spend pushing yourself the futher away the "danger zone" becomes. If you are used to putting yourself into uncomfortable situations then it becomes harder and harder to push yourself so hard that you actually shut down. If you avoid anything difficult on a regular basis and then are confronted with difficulty you are much more likely to crumple.

    Using this zone concepts language I guess I'd argue the more you put yourself into the learning zone the further and further you will get from the danger zone.

    Thinking about it in terms of exercise someone who has never run tries to run then they are going to get incredibly sore even from a short run. Someone who runs all the time would have to do some pretty incredible run to actually get sore.

    If you seek out discomfort then you get used to that and discomfort isn't going to tilt you. You want to be able to run without getting sore? Then go for runs as often as you can. You want to be able to be in a room with chocolate and not lose self-control and eat it all...then put yourself into rooms with chocolate as much as you can.
  • danika2point0
    danika2point0 Posts: 197 Member
    @Aaron_K123 Totally. I think you have actually described it quite well, and is sort of what I meant by the added in 'note'. These zones are constantly changing as a person grows and develops. You will consistently need to push to continue to keep pushing towards the brink of your learning zone. It's not like the 'zones' are static or fixed by any means - A constantly evolving process that one can use to continuously push their edges. E.g. the bar for discomfort gets ever higher as you push and what was once in your 'learning zone' or even 'danger zone' can quickly become 'safety zone' material!
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    @Aaron_K123 Totally. I think you have actually described it quite well, and is sort of what I meant by the added in 'note'. These zones are constantly changing as a person grows and develops. You will consistently need to push to continue to keep pushing towards the brink of your learning zone. It's not like the 'zones' are static or fixed by any means - A constantly evolving process that one can use to continuously push their edges. E.g. the bar for discomfort gets ever higher as you push and what was once in your 'learning zone' or even 'danger zone' can quickly become 'safety zone' material!

    Agreed. In so many ways training your willpower or training your self-confidence is no different than training a muscle. It gets stronger from use and you are less likely to injure yourself if you take the time to build up some core strength.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited October 2016
    You don't have to eat them. If you don't have the willpower to resist then you're not ready to lose weight!

    :laugh:
    I eat chocolate AND am losing weight.
    Your point? Rude and invalid.

    At first I thought it was pretty rude too. But don't you think he's right in a metaphysical way? the only way to lose weight, or maintain weight, is to resist in general. It's like saying, "If you don't have the willpower to balance, you're not ready to ride a bike." So as kids we took off the training wheels, and took our lumps on the gravel or pavement, and learned how to ride. Or...didn't.

    You and I can have chocolates because at a certain point, we resist, and if you are like me, this is a skill I have worked very, very hard on, and it's not been easy, and it's not been fun, but the more I develop the skill, the better I am at it. I still fail badly from time to time, but I pick myself up, dust myself off, keep a stiff upper lip, and get back on the bike.

    To me, the post came across as "if you cannot resist at all, you're not ready to lose weight" which was a black and white way to approach this. I would have agreed with "learn from your mistake and create steps to help you on the path to moderation so you don't end up binging if you're presented with a similar situation" which would have worked better for OP considering their state of mind over the matter.

    Telling someone who is obviously distraught over what happened and how they handled the situation that they are not ready because of how they handled their situation can easilly push someone with obvious binge issues into more binging. Yes, they should take full responsibility for the way they responded to the situation, but they CAN get better. It may have been that they heavily restricted calories and foods prior to the binge, too.
  • cqbkaju
    cqbkaju Posts: 1,011 Member
    edited October 2016
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    I think I'd agree with that. Thing is though the more time you spend pushing yourself the futher away the "danger zone" becomes. If you are used to putting yourself into uncomfortable situations then it becomes harder and harder to push yourself so hard that you actually shut down. If you avoid anything difficult on a regular basis and then are confronted with difficulty you are much more likely to crumple.
    I work with and train people who sometimes need to put themselves in harm's way, unfortunately.

    I know how they work under pressure because I have put them under stress and they know what they are capable of under threat. My people train under those conditions.
    Occasionally they have to deal with real threat situations and I am grateful that that have always been successful.

    Then there are those who do not go to extra training (mine or others) or do not take their roles and responsibilities as seriously.
    Those people often have not done as well when things went south, in my experience.
    One individual I am thinking of quit his role the next day.
    He was not injured but he was scared and he did shut down.
    Fortunately one of my guys stepped in and only the bad guy was the worse for wear.
    My guy deciding to go the extra mile & train harder; being used to the "danger zone" saved someone's life.

    Sometimes people have to be shoved into the "danger zone" to know what they are capable of because they do not want to go very far out of their comfort zone.

    Think about how some kids learn to swim: they are thrown in and issued directions.
    At the time you are reacting as if your life is in mortal danger, because you don't know if your crazy uncle will jump in and save you or not.
    But you learn the basics of swimming and you are no longer scared of it. Over and done with.
    Now anything the swim coach tells you to do pales in comparison to Uncle Bob yelling "Kick your legs!"

    Putting pretty labels on it is just another way to sugar-coat the fears and habits that hold people back from reaching their goals or their potential.

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    why could you not just eat one and then bring the rest into your work place or something..?
  • RavenLibra
    RavenLibra Posts: 1,737 Member
    If you received a knife would you start cutting something right away? If he bought you a gun, would you lock and load and become Rambo? It is perfectly okay to accept a present, ANY present. In fact it is the courteous and respectful thing to do. THEN when you get a chance it is also perfectly acceptable to share that gift, or to conveniently "forget" it somewhere.

    The responsibility for what you decide to ingest is your burden and yours alone. NO ONE makes you eat, learn, feel... those choices are yours... accept that, or accept that you will continue to disappoint yourself. and if you choose the disappointment, then you need to reflect on WHY the person staring back at you in the mirror doesn't deserve to succeed in her aspirations... once you have had that long hard talk...you may be ready to find a path to success.
  • upoffthemat
    upoffthemat Posts: 679 Member
    I think back at any time I have bettered myself at anything. Whether it is sports, school, or public speaking and it never happened without putting myself into situations where failure in some degree was definitely an option. I had to push myself and learn new skills and new attitudes. In school and public speaking it was actually pretty easy, I was uncomfortable, but I got better the more I did it, I learned what worked for me and got more efficient as well.
    Sports maybe isn't as good a metaphor. Sometimes I had to go out and lose, but even when I lost I watched what the people that beat me did, I mimicked them, adapted my game. The one thing I think sports did teach me is that every time I failed I learned what I did wrong, analyzed it, and worked to correct what I was doing to avoid it happening the next time. Sometimes the other guy will win no matter what I do, but that doesn't mean I don't win next time.

    As far as the OP goes, look at this as a learning opportunity. These are things that are going to happen, make a plan for them, be better next time, but realize it is you that hold the power, not your husband.
  • janekana
    janekana Posts: 151 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Why is one piece of advice considered good advice while the other is considered overly harsh or somehow wrong or foolish to even suggest? What is the difference between self confidence or willpower and muscle strength where one you can suggest improvement without coming across as rude and one you cannot?

    For me its basically the same probelm and therefore the same advice. Oh, your lower back is weak? Well perhaps take some time to work on strengthening it. Oh, your will power is weak? Well perhaps take some time to work on strengthening it.

    This is what I find so irksome about society today, people would rather coddle others and call good advice "rude" because they just don't want to own up that they have to put in the effort. I've seen a lot of people with negative mindsets, they just want to wake up and magically be skinny and then resent those who are skinny. If someone tells them to exercise or control their diet, they'll lash out and claim that it's not their fault for being so overweight, it's "genetics".

    Honestly, it's so frustrating to see, especially when that kind of mindset is becoming more and more prevalent in society.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Just to share a weakness I have with regards to weight management its an open buffet at parties. If I go out for dinner at a restaurant where I am handed a menu I can order something that I consider healthy and when it arrives guage the portion and eat accordingly no problem. But, if its a full buffet at a party I will grab a little here, a little there and end up overeating by some unknown amount. Does that mean I avoid buffets? Hell no, that means I go to buffets. For a while that means I'm going to be fatter than I should be but eventually I will learn how to control myself in those situations and when that happens I won't have to think about it anymore.

    My overall plan is ths. I identify each weakness I have for weight management and one by one I conquer them by meeting them head-on and practicing control. Once I've knocked the last one out then I basically won't have to struggle anymore, maintenance will become more natural...there won't be situations where I tend to lose control.

    If instead I tried to avoid absolutely every situation where I might lose control I'd never improve and quite frankly thats impossible so I'd keep failing and beating myself up about it later. Like I said, no way to live.