320+ 57 year old, no motivation.

cris12

I need serious help, not for myself but for my father, who is 57 years old and has struggled with weight issues for as long as I can remember being alive. He has been on one semi-successful diet before which I considered really unhealthy (all he would eat were the shakes prescribed by the nutritionist, surviving on a very low amount of calories a day). Needless to say he gained it all back, and more.

The recession unfortunately dissolved his construction company, so he has been unemployed since last year. His attempts to get a new job are close to none, so all day long he watches TV and only gets up to cook for my brother and I or to use the computer. Yesterday was a frustrating day and for once I couldn't keep my mouth shut. He had breakfast in the morning, for lunch he had two huge plate fulls of rice, shrimp, scallops, and a cream-based sauce, ice cream for dessert, and for dinner he had a bowl of soup (again, cream-based), and not one, but two sandwiches with pork, cheese, and a bucket of mayonnaise.

He has been aware of my ''diet'' for some time now, and I've been mentioning how certain ingredients he uses are high in calories and unhealthy. I sent him an email with recipes from skinnytaste that I thought he would like, along with ''here are some recipes, people who are losing weight can eat tasty things,'' to which he replied ''and people that don't want to lose weight?''

I can't remember when was the last time he went to a doctor, not because of being oblivious, but because he hasn't been to one in well over 5 years. I need to help him... somehow, it kills me to think he's at risk of heart problems and will lead a shorter life. I just feel like he already accepted his fate, and I need him to reconsider before things get worse.

One option I thought was to get my mother to sign up on MFP and log things for her, she's not technologically-savvy but with my guidance I'm sure I could get her to lose weight (although not as obese as my dad she is still overweight and has been making attempts at following what I'm eating).

ANY help, from anyone that used to be in this weight range, would be greatly appreciated. What made you know you had to loose weight and it wasn't too late? What made you think it was possible to be healthy again?

hroush

Sorry, but can only fix yourself. You can show him all the bad things that will happen to him, implore him to change, threaten, yell, ignore, but in the end he has to choose to change.

I have tried to get my wife to eat better and exercise, but she just doesn't want to. Oh, I know she wants to lose weight, but she doesn't want to put forth the effort.