how do I separate my diet from my husbands?

shirleydegrave
shirleydegrave Posts: 6 Member
edited November 13 in Health and Weight Loss
I love my husband, but he is Mr. fastfood, carbs, meat & potatoes, fried,...everything that puts on weight..I know I need to eat much different, but how?

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Replies

  • cosmonew
    cosmonew Posts: 513 Member
    I just stopped eating what he cooked and ate. If you cook for him, still cook for him, just don't eat it. Though this isn't ideal for everyone it worked VERY WELL for me and the hubby likes the way I look now and no longer asks if I want his "fat" food.
  • Intentional_Me
    Intentional_Me Posts: 336 Member
    I sometimes (most of the time) eat a separate meal from my family if it isn't easily weighed/logged. I don't really mind it too much. It leaves leftovers in the fridge for my husband to take to work.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    Eat less of it. Problem solved.
  • cardiacmommy
    cardiacmommy Posts: 52 Member
    GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »
    My daughter and I are vegetarians. My son and husband are not. This brings up an interesting problem in our house.

    Fortunately, none of us mind left overs or some quickly-thrown together type meals.

    A lot of what I do involves either cooking on a staggered schedule -- cooking for the vegetarians while the omnivores eat leftovers of what I cooked for them the prior night OR making two separate quick, throw-together meals that only have a slight variation, like pasta, salad, and sauce -- or say a frittata and salad and I'll throw some sausages into a pan to accompany it for the meat-eaters.

    If you put some thought into it, you can come up with plans like this to accommodate different diets in the same household.

    I can understand you not necessarily wanting to eat fast food. I don't understand how you can't work around meat and potatoes or what's wrong with "carbs".

    If you're low carbing, he likes meat and potatoes... just eat the meat and make vegetable side dishes out of fibrous veggies for yourself. Problem solved.

    If he wants pasta, just make yourself some zoodles and make a meat sauce. Have yours over the zucchini with a lot of cheese.

    This. My husband does a lot of the cooking and he likes to make high cal carbs. I take the meat and either make a salad bowl with it over romaine or spinach...or Spiralize zucchini to make a bowl. Taco meat, fajita, chicken, pork, etc. I try and cook one two nights a week and i make higher veggie meals.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,170 Member
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    Eat smaller portions. Watch your calorie intake.

    This.
  • DanniB423
    DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
    My husband is the exact same. I just eat smaller amounts and make sure to always have a salad or veggie to have more of if I'm still hungry. Sometimes I'll skip the starch. Sometimes not. Just depends on my goals for the day.
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
    We cook what our teenage boys will eat. Lots of meat, potato, fried stuff..etc. Everything a growing teenage boy will scarf down, ask for more and be hungry in an hour. So.... I eat the same stuff but smaller portions. The days when I could eat 1500 cals multiple times a day are long gone. Now it's about CICO and I control that by portion size.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    shirleydegrave wrote: »
    I love my husband, but he is Mr. fastfood, carbs, meat & potatoes, fried,...everything that puts on weight..I know I need to eat much different, but how?

    Four of us in one house doing four different things. I'm the only one on MFP but my wife cooks based on what I need. She doesn't count calories for herself but eats a lot of fruit and vegetables. My daughter is more "health food" conscious and buys her own stuff. My son eats crazy amounts of all the wrong things, but also exercises like crazy. We're all getting positive results!!

    Just cook what he likes, but eat less of it, and skip some items if you know they're having a bad effect on your goals. I'm glad you're trying to eat together as a couple.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    OP, are you the one doing most of the cooking or is it hubby or a combination? Similarly, who makes the shopping list in your family?
  • IremiaRe
    IremiaRe Posts: 801 Member
    I cook a lot of things with a lot veggies in them - I just put the starches on the side. My husband has grown used to Beef Stew with no potatoes in it - I just make boiled potatoes and put the stew over it like gravy - for him. I eat the no potato version with some cottage cheese for an extra protein boost.

    Weigh and measure everything for you... make lavish use of the recipe generator - so you will know what calories are in what you have cooked - don't forget to count the oil for browning veggies and such.

    Fast food? Make the best choices you can... there are salads, or higher protein options. I do boneless chicken wings at Sonic... that sort of thing. If you know in advance you will be doing fast food - PRE-LOG what you are going to order. It will save you endless pain and suffering. You can plan your day around the fast food... And try to just say "no" when fast food is suggested - or let them eat FF and you go home and eat something good for you. I always have some cold cuts and cheese around. Worst case scenario I can always drink a protein shake as a meal replacement.

    You don't have to completely deprive yourself... just try to do the best that you can and stay within the infamous calorie goal.

    Also - if you live with a junk food junkie - it might be good to set a nice slow weight-loss goal... like 1 lb a week. Otherwise, it is going to be very difficult to stay within CICO goals.

    Good Luck!
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,989 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    Eat less of it. Problem solved.

    Actually, I think that may cause a big problem, not solve it. A lot of people are suggesting that the OP eat the same food as her husband (fast food, fried, etc) but just have smaller portions. In theory, yes, of course that would work. But in practice, because those foods are so calorie dense, she would probably have to eat a very small portion to stay within her calories for the day. I'm guessing she would probably not feel satisfied eating half a hamburger, one slice of pizza, etc. I know I wouldn't and would probably end up overeating. OP, I would encourage you to eat more satisfying foods that you can eat a hearty portion of, even if it is different from what you husband wants to eat. Lean grilled meats and veggies can fill you up without the calorie bomb.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,630 Member
    My husband and I eat differently.

    He eats breakfast, I don't.
    He eats sandwiches for lunch, I don't.
    He likes peanuts as snacks, I don't.

    He makes his own breakfast, lunch, and snacks ... and I make mine. We do the grocery shopping together and he buys his food, and I buy mine.

    As for dinner, he makes that for the both of us. Sometimes it is identical, sometimes mine is slightly different.

    There are no rules that say you have to eat the same thing as another family member.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    shirleydegrave wrote: »
    I love my husband, but he is Mr. fastfood, carbs, meat & potatoes, fried,...everything that puts on weight..I know I need to eat much different, but how?

    We essentially eat the same dinners but I have less starchy carbs and more green veggies. He's on his own for breakfast and lunch. I have trained him that if he wants high calorie food like pizza to plan in advance so I can work it into my calorie budget. He gets the "I have only X amount of calories to spend per day" model.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    SuzySunshine99 wrote: »
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    Eat less of it. Problem solved.

    Actually, I think that may cause a big problem, not solve it. A lot of people are suggesting that the OP eat the same food as her husband (fast food, fried, etc) but just have smaller portions. In theory, yes, of course that would work. But in practice, because those foods are so calorie dense, she would probably have to eat a very small portion to stay within her calories for the day. I'm guessing she would probably not feel satisfied eating half a hamburger, one slice of pizza, etc. I know I wouldn't and would probably end up overeating. OP, I would encourage you to eat more satisfying foods that you can eat a hearty portion of, even if it is different from what you husband wants to eat. Lean grilled meats and veggies can fill you up without the calorie bomb.

    Well, in practice I plan meals and prelog and still eat what my family eats mostly. I weigh my food. I hit my protein goal. I look up nutritional info for restaurants.
    I have meat, potatoes, bread, pasta, oatmeal, casseroles, sandwiches, fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables, nuts, yogurt, cheese, etc.
    I don't fry everything. I bake or grill things. I may pair a hamburger with a salad, 2 slices of pizza with a salad, skip the rice sometimes and just have more vegetables with my stir fry. I put more vegetables on my plate. I may cook with less oil or use milk instead of cream. I put less cheese on my taco. I use a vinaigrette dressing and use less. I drink water or unsweetened tea.
    I eat a smaller breakfast and more calories later in the day. I don't eat dessert every day.
    You can eat the same foods as your family or do minor alterations.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    SuzySunshine99 wrote: »
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    Eat less of it. Problem solved.

    Actually, I think that may cause a big problem, not solve it. A lot of people are suggesting that the OP eat the same food as her husband (fast food, fried, etc) but just have smaller portions. In theory, yes, of course that would work. But in practice, because those foods are so calorie dense, she would probably have to eat a very small portion to stay within her calories for the day. I'm guessing she would probably not feel satisfied eating half a hamburger, one slice of pizza, etc. I know I wouldn't and would probably end up overeating. OP, I would encourage you to eat more satisfying foods that you can eat a hearty portion of, even if it is different from what you husband wants to eat. Lean grilled meats and veggies can fill you up without the calorie bomb.

    Ya, when I do have pizza I also have a big salad so I will be full on less pizza and overall calories. Pizza isn't especially satiating to me - without the salad, I can eat a LOT of pizza.

    When I have a burger, I skip the fries and have broccoli.
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
    edited November 2016
    I buy the groceries and cook the meals taking everyone's likes and dislikes into consideration, I just get the healthiest and lowest calorie version possible. From there its a matter of preparation, portion size, and planning. Hubby knows I log, count calories, and portion out my meals. He won't (even though he's been told to lose weight). He gets bigger portions, no fruits and veggies, I get smaller portions with the fruits and veggies. He also does his own version of intermittent fasting. I eat meals and snacks as needed. So do our kids. My daughter is also on MFP so she pretty much does what I do. At least I hope so.
  • Verity1111
    Verity1111 Posts: 3,309 Member
    Well, I have a 5 person family. Two of my kids are nonverbal and one is for sure autistic. The other is almost 6 and she is the oldest. My boyfriend is the only one who eats meat. The other 4 of us are vegetarian. So...we all eat different foods. Literally, often we all eat something different and no two people eat the same thing. So that's how...you just eat different and if it's too tempting then you leave the room or ask him to do so.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    SuzySunshine99 wrote: »
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    Eat less of it. Problem solved.

    Actually, I think that may cause a big problem, not solve it. A lot of people are suggesting that the OP eat the same food as her husband (fast food, fried, etc) but just have smaller portions. In theory, yes, of course that would work. But in practice, because those foods are so calorie dense, she would probably have to eat a very small portion to stay within her calories for the day. I'm guessing she would probably not feel satisfied eating half a hamburger, one slice of pizza, etc. I know I wouldn't and would probably end up overeating. OP, I would encourage you to eat more satisfying foods that you can eat a hearty portion of, even if it is different from what you husband wants to eat. Lean grilled meats and veggies can fill you up without the calorie bomb.

    It's not a problem if you don't make it one. I eat the same foods as my hubby who is skinny and trying to bulk. It's really as simple as eating less and watching your calories as well as filling a meal out with less calorific options. I sometimes have fries with my burger or I might have broccoli. It's that simple. CICO.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    Eat smaller portions. Watch your calorie intake.

    I mean yeah, but, that would be miserable.

    My husband and I eat differently, we just do. He has to fend for himself some of the time because I ain't making two meals every time. Sometimes there is a component in common which helps. It is what it is though, you just have to plan and be ready to spend a little extra time you are responsible for putting food in front of him.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Too many calories makes you put on weight. You can eat anything and lose weight as long as you eat appropriate portions.

    A nutritious diet will make it easier to not eat too much, because you will feel more full.

    Are you unsure what constitutes a healthy diet, or asking how to structure meals for two people with different goals? Please clarify.
  • frannyupnorth
    frannyupnorth Posts: 56 Member
    A while ago I compared mine and my husband's BMR (basal metabolic rate or how many calories you need to keep you alive in a coma), his is ~800cals more a day than me, basically an extra dinner a day!

    I hate to feel like I'm missing out when eating with him in the evenings so I have a couple of strategies that I use;
    -eat a smaller but satisfying breakfast (I tried quite few different things but now I have those 100cal bread thins with a carefully weighed 20g of peanut butter & a babybel cheese as I found this enough to get me to lunch)
    -have a 2 egg salad lunch (2 boiled eggs, salad veg & splash of balsamic vinegar) & yoghurt on weekdays at work
    -2 pieces of fruit as daytime snacks
    -normal evening meals like home made curries, stews and casseroles padded out with various vegetables (squash, carrots onions, peppers, spinach etc.) but try to stick to ~50g carb servings for myself (no more than one of 250g potatoes, 60g rice before cooking or 75g pasta before cooking) and give my husband a portion more appropriate to his calorie needs.

    My hubby takes couple of massive sandwiches to work and has more fruit than me, and soup so hits his calorie requirements easily. Perhaps your husband could get his fast food fix at lunchtime or another meal that you wouldn't normally eat together?
    On the whole we tend to cook things at home most nights, occasionally we eat out or have takeaway but no more than once a week. I think home cooking makes it easier to pad out your normal food with low cal ingredients. Veg for stews can be bought frozen and ready chopped making it literally no effort to add.

    Good luck finding out what works for you. If you want to PM me I can suggest some easy recipes for you.
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