Family dragging you down?

TheMrWobbly

Only been on a programme for a couple of weeks and weekdays are fine, however as soon as I am with my family there is pressure for eating out, snacks, and pretty much anything that isn't good for you. Combine with that the constant needs for lifts, jobs to be done, etc and the time for exercise gets seriously limited.

I love spending time with my family but we all need to lose weight and I'm not sure how to encourage them to come over from the dark side.

rdg536

retirehappy posted this quote in an earlier post, and I think it pertains here:

“If you don’t make the time to work on creating the life you want, you’re eventually going to be forced to spend a LOT of time dealing with a life you DON’T want.”

- Kevin Ngo


When it comes down to it, you need to make the choices for yourself and be a good example for your family. They'll follow. It's hard, my family is a feeding family. Every gathering revolves around food. Delicious food! And it's really hard to stay on track around them. But I'm sitting here, 76 lbs from where I want to be and really miserable. Go for a walk and ask them to join you, if they say no then you may just have to go on a walk by yourself a few times. My guess is though, that the kids will want to spend time with you. Make it a game! you can get some of your marathon training in too! haha.
For me, I've just had to be stubborn and say no to the really fatty foods my family makes and I've started making dinner before everyone gets home so they can't really say no to a no-work meal. It's more work for them to make something not-healthy than just eat what I've made.
With eating out, I kind of plan what I'm going to eat anyway. I have a set of foods I get from each restaurant whether its fast food or sit-down. You can look up the menus of almost any chain online or on a smart-phone, so you can stay in control of what you're eating. If they give you grief for eating healthy, take it as a compliment haha! My parents always try to make me feel guilty for eating healthier and it used to really bother me until I changed my thinking on it.
Park your car farther from your stops, stores, work, for your kids too! make them walk farther haha. Do squats when you brush your teeth (takes major concentration..) if you're watching tv with the fam, at commercial see who can do more push-ups you or the fam. If they win they get a reward :P ( I just said this to my friend and she looked at me and said... You win! without doing anything) Good luck!

Monkeybones335

I COMPLETELY feel your pain. When I go to my parents house, they're always pushing the junk.. and often times, we feed off of each others weaknesses. My parents know that I love chocolate so they buy me something chocolate and how am I to say no??
Will power is hard to keep sometimes.. It's really hard but hang in there. You have to keep reminding yourself why you're doing this. Be the example for them. Show them how well it's paying off for you and maybe you'll turn out to be the motivation they need to lose that weight too. You can't force them to lose the weight with you. All you can do is be that example. Not to get all religious here, but one of the things I keep in mind for myself in a lot of situations is the serenity prayer.

"Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference".

The only person you can change is yourself.

Good luck!

nowiners

One of the most difficult thing about eating clean and well is satisfying the 11 year old and 13 year old. Especially the 11 year old boy that loves cheese pizza, mac n cheese, bean and cheese burritos......and hates everything else. It can be maddening. Focus. I keep thinking the example will rub off one day.

radmack

It will rub off some day. My youngest, who was a very picky eater and lover of junk food came home from her first year at college eating all sorts of healthy foods!

Brans34

I agree! When the family is gone, I don't have a problem eating well and staying on track with my calorie counting. However, as soon as they show up, they want everything! Right now, I don't have anything in the house that is really bad for you, and everything I have has to be prepared, so the kids aren't just getting into stuff. My problem shows up around dinner time! I have 4 of my own boys, a picky boyfriend (that didn't like ANY kind of vegetable until we got together and is very slowly adding a few into his eating habits because I keep making them and griping at him till he eats them), and he has 2 boys. My oldest 3 boys will eat whatever they are given. They may complain a bit about something, but they eat it anyways. His oldest one will usually eat his food without too much complaint also. However, his youngest one is 7 1/2, and we have a 2 year old together. The 2 year old is quite picky just because he's 2. The 7 1/2 year old has to nearly be force fed anything that doesn't come from a fast food place or a homemade version of something you can get from a fast food place; ie. chicken nuggets, french fries, burritos, hamburgers. Trying to come up with a dinner that everyone will eat is very hard, and it usually ends up packed in a lot of calories, like macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes and fried chicken. I have found that it is the carbs that kill me. I can eat all the meat and cheese and vegies and fruit I want, and as long as I do a little exercise every day, like take a 30 minute walk with my baby, I lose weight. As soon as I have a slice of toast, I automatically gain 1-2 pounds back by the next day. That is depressing to me! Do you know how hard it is to feed a family of 8 and not use some kind of bread or noodle AND make something that everyone won't complain about? It's no wonder I haven't lost a single pound in the last 6 months! Luckily, I've only gained 1, too. lol