Working out/ eating healthy with a spouse who doesn’t

lpw612
lpw612 Posts: 8 Member
in Motivation and Support
I live in a small apartment with my husband and I want to start doing beach body work outs when I get home from work @5. However, I feel bad kicking him out of the living room and making him go in the bedroom for an hour. I also want to cook healthier but my boyfriend is a picky eater. How do I meet my fitness and food goals when I have to “tip toe” around him?

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited October 2018
    take up running, then no one is in anyone's way.

    i'm sure your partner wouldn't mind for an hour, i used to do that to my husband before we had a bigger house with an actual gym room. i don't think 1 hour 2-3 times a week is unreasonable.

    if you're the cook then you may have to do 2 meals if he is that picky and doesn't eat stuff you deem 'healthy'
  • amgreenwell
    amgreenwell Posts: 1,267 Member
    First, ask your significant other to cook while you work out. If he's just sitting around anyway and he is picky then him cooking for the two of you sounds like the perfect thing for him to do. Decide on your menu ahead of time so you aren't sabotaged by high calorie food.
    If that's not an option then meal plan weekly and run it by him before grocery shopping. Make sure he is going to eat or at least try everything you cook and go from there. Some things can be substituted without the picky eater even noticing, like low fat sour cream, olive oil mayo, fat free milk, etc.
  • RealWorldStrengthLLC
    RealWorldStrengthLLC Posts: 552 Member
    edited October 2018
    mountainmare wrote: »
    Just cook what you want--if someone who is older than 12 doesn't like it then they can fix something for themselves--and if the person is 12 or younger be a grownup and tell them to eat their dinner. I never understand what is meant by "cooking healthier" Do people always just cook hot dogs and never have a vegetable or salad with their meal?

    ^ This

    Tell him this is the food you're going to cook, and offer to cook for two. If he doesn't want it, cook for one and tell him to prepare his own food.

    That's how it works in my house - granted its with friends who are roomates, not a SO, but the point still stands...before I started tracking we used to do meals together, take turns ordering or buying ingredients and cooking etc. Once I went to eating "cleaner" and I went off on my own and now I take care of my own food and the other 2 do their thing together most of the time. I still offer to make food once in awhile but it usually gets turned down and they just make what they want, I make what I want, I hit my macro and cal goals, everyone's happy.

    EDIT: oh, and mountainmare on your hot dog question, yeah that's pretty much the case in my house. My salmon, steak and eggs, salads, fresh wild trout, brown rice and ground beef, steamed veggies etc. get turned down in favor of something deep fried, from a box, takeout, or grilled dogs and burgers with fries 95% of the time. I dont mind - at least I don't have to worry about food disappearing.
  • mk2fit
    mk2fit Posts: 730 Member
    Well, um, husband or boyfriend? OK, moving on. Have whoever work out with you. If he is not ready to do so, have him start dinner while you exercise, whether it is Tae Bo, running, walking, whatever.

    My husband does not run with me, nor does he exercise with me using videos. He DOES walk with me, which is pretty cool. He has jumped onto the healthy, low calorie food bandwagon (tho he does eat ice cream after I go to bed).

    Oh, and he comes out and walks while I run and cheers me on!

    Good luck!
  • RAinWA
    RAinWA Posts: 1,980 Member
    For the exercise, ask him to find something else to do for an hour while you work out. Surely he can give you some space if he understands it's important to you.

    For cooking, you can adjust to fit both of your needs. My husband can't cook, needs to gain weight and can be picky. So if I'm doing a protein, starch and vegetable I just make sure the vegetable is one he'll eat (he'll eat most proteins and starches) and add butter, cheese, sauces, etc. to his. He gets more starch, I eat more vegetables. If I want a stir-fry, it's really no big deal to throw a chicken breast in the oven or on the grill for him and heat up leftover rice or instant mashed potatoes.

    If your husband can cook, split up the duties and just eat less when he cooks and add more vegetables. Getting him to at least try some of what you are having is good and if you can divide up the cooking he may be more receptive to trying new things since you are also trying the things he likes.

    It's worth a shot anyway. Of course, you could always tell him to just cook what he wants and you'll do the same.
  • RAinWA
    RAinWA Posts: 1,980 Member
    73CL350 wrote: »
    Someone above said: "if your husband cant cook". I hope they meant "ca'nt cook because both his arms were amputated in an industrial accident"

    Zero excuse for anyone to not cook and clean for themselves. Absolutely zero.

    Well aren't you *sweet*.

    Sometimes people mean exactly what they say. Sometimes "can't" actually means "can't".

    That said, yes, every able bodied person should know how to cook, etc.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    my husband was a bit of a food snob and he liked to eat. so we worked on a menu that worked for both of us. i just ate a less and filled up more on vegetables.
    i would get up early and put the tv on very quiet so i could work out without waking him up. also, ran without him. on the occasion he chose to workout, he was a gym rat. i'm not. to each their own
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    edited October 2018
    My husband is a total food snob. It's interesting being that I do all the cooking! LOL I have to work around his "issues" but it's fine. I try to fill up on lots of vegetables at our meals but other than that I just make the same normal meals we usually eat.

    As for beachbody workouts, I'm sure you can ask him nicely if you can use the living room TV for an hour to do your workouts... do you have another TV in the bedroom that he can use? If not he can always keep you company. You can also take up running or get a gym membership, you won't be in each others way then.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    What does eat healthier mean? In what way is he picky? What do you normally cook?

    Exercise wise, maybe take up running or go to the gym
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
    So if you are working out in the living room...why doesn't your husband/bf spend that hour in the kitchen making himself dinner?

    If he doesn't know how to cook, I'm sure he could find some youtube videos. I doubt he'll starve if you don't fix him dinner every night.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    edited October 2018
    mountainmare wrote: »
    Just cook what you want--if someone who is older than 12 doesn't like it then they can fix something for themselves--and if the person is 12 or younger be a grownup and tell them to eat their dinner. I never understand what is meant by "cooking healthier" Do people always just cook hot dogs and never have a vegetable or salad with their meal?

    I agree, I never understand what people mean when they say they want to "cook healthier" like what are you cooking that is so unhealthy that you need to completely change your meals? Maybe just eat a vegetable... that doesn't require much effort.
  • ShayCarver89
    ShayCarver89 Posts: 239 Member
    I have 3 kids who obviously aren't on a diet, and a fiance that isn't. It works just fine. Sometimes he'll eat chicken and rice with me, sometimes he takes his happy butt to taco bell and leaves me alone. Also I cook whatever for my kids because they're my kids and I don't want my house burnt to the ground.
  • VirtualMellie
    VirtualMellie Posts: 68 Member
    I wish my husband could get on board with me.. it'd be a great motivation for both of us.. but he is so hung up on fast food.. and quick meals.. it makes shopping at the store on a budget hard.
  • Chrystalanne90
    Chrystalanne90 Posts: 9 Member
    Eventually my husband is going to see how bad his weight gain is getting. At the start of the year, his 6 pack showed through without him flexing. Now he has a protruding belly and can't even see his abs when he flexes. I've lost 65lbs, I told him no know what I'm doing but he is so picky and doesn't want "healthy food and I'm not cooking a separate meal for him so he gets pizza and instant noodles

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