Change for 1 in a family of 4 ...

MacInCali

Hi everyone! While I've been with MFP for 85+ days, I realize I never introduced myself. My name is Marnie. I am a 39-year-old married mother of 2 from California who works full-time.

While my situation is not unique by any means, it tends to make my journey just a tad bit harder. With that being said, I have found the strength and support I need through MFP friends and tools. You see, I am the only one in my family who is ready, willing and able to make a change for the better. My kids, of course, can eat whatever they please (and should eat whatever they please while they can, lol), but my husband and I cannot.

I work long hours and my husband does the cooking. When he cooks, life is great. WHEN he cooks. Unfortunately, more often than not, I get "the call" ... you know the one ... "Let's have McDonalds/Burger King/Pizza/Fill in a fast food joint, any fast food joint" call .... So on my way home, I pick up the choice of the night. The old me WANTED to refrain from ordering something for myself but felt "it wasn't fair" if I didn't get to partake like everyone else. So I would partake. Several times a week ... 3, 4, 5 times a week.

That was the old me. 85+ glorious days ago, one of my best friends told me about this site, who learned of it through her daughter. One day of logging and I was hooked. I did NOT want to have to log a fast food meal worth hundreds of calories so, guess what? I didn't get anything for myself. I came home, passed out the food to my family, and made a salad/sandwich/frozen meal. Whatever it took. For me, it's no longer an option. Do I have the calories? Sure I do. Is it worth it to me to spend them on fast food? No. Tonight was another fast food night ... Del Taco this time. I came home and made a Lean Cuisine and added two ounces of turkey to it for extra protein.

The old me ate a lot of fast food because I caved to the demands of my family. The old me was 28lbs heavier 85+ days ago. The new me has fallen in love with MFP, has exercised almost every day and has lost 28lbs in the process so far. It is not easy having a family who is not the best support system, but I am proof it CAN be done!

Add me if you can relate. Add me even if you can't relate. Regardless of our individual stories, we're all here for the same reason, to get healthier!

Good luck to you all!! :flowerforyou:

ChaseAlder

It's so hard to feed a family that isn't on board with weight loss I have two little boys (one who doesn't eat anything unless it's smothered in cheese) and a midwestern husband who eats like a teenager sometimes. I swear, he can put a lot away. It's hard to get enough to eat when you have to eat tiny portions due to the high caloric content of the food we make. So I feel your pain.

My husband works out several times a week and he's losing weight despite his food choices, but I can't eat the same things and still lose weight. Hopefully one day he'll come around the a healthier diet.

Keep it up, you're doing great!

robinogue

It's very hard! My husband is retired so my cooking days are over (I work full time) and most days he wants to pick up something quick.

Good luck on your journey, I'm from SoCal so feel free to add me if you like.

NoAdditives

I don't know how old your kids are, but they should be a part of your healthy changes. You should be setting them up with healthy eating and exercise habits so that they won't have to figure it all out once their grown. My kids love cookies and chips but for the most part, their snacks are fruits and vegetables. (Things are a little different right now because I'm pregnant and definitely giving in to my cravings...) My husband has also welcomed the change in our eating habits. I'm a SAHM, so I have plenty of time to do all the cooking, but he helps when I need him to. We recently had to cut our food budget in half which means we only eat homemade meals. I plan them all a week in advance, buy only the necessary ingredients and we eat what I have planned. My husband even enjoys eating leftovers now because the food is so delicious. We feed a family of 4 on about $100 a week. Everyone is healthier, we're eating tons of vegetables and the meals aren't hard to make.

You can plan out meals and find recipes for your husband to cook. To make things easier you can do some of the preparations on the weekend, or you can even cook the meals ahead of time and freeze them. That way you won't get those calls from your husband and everyone can benefit from eating healthier meals.

chubiD

Thank you for posting! You certainly are an example many people should follow.

Congratulations on your success! I hope you can get your family's lifestyle to change little by little. It won't be easy, but it's possible.

Good luck on your journey :flowerforyou:

H_Factor

awesome story!!! I can relate to some of that. My wife supports my journey, but if I don't cook my own meals I'm left choosing between what my wife cooks for the kids (not quite fast food, but not ideal) or some odds and ends around the house. I have found enjoyment in testing new recipes from time to time and I enjoy eating the healthy food I cook. My kids are 5 and 8 so they can pretty much eat what they want, but my 8 year old often asks "is this healthy" and asks me "I'm eating healthy, right Daddy". Its been nice to help set an example for my kids this year in making healthy choices.

I'm sending you a FR.

magiale05

I can soooo completley relate to your post. As I was reading your post I just kept nodding my head in agreement. My hubby is also generally the one who cooks WHEN he cooks that is. My daughter is an extremely picky eater, and getting her to eat anything is a chore. I often find myself relying on frozen meals...microwaveable food because I'm not going to cook a full sized meal for just me. It's very frustrating....more often then not I find myself in the same internal dialouge with myself...do I partake in eating out? Or do I pass this time? What's even more frustrating is that my husband needs to lose weight too. For his health mostly, having high cholesterol and a family h/o heart disease and heart attacks. He just won't listen to me. I guess he isn't ready.

Until then...I just will have to keep saying,. .."No thanks". Congrats to you for being able to stick to it, I hope I can follow your footsteps to success!

sugabebethe1

Totally relate to this Im a mum of four and my partner eats lots and is rarely interested in having the same as me, one of my sons is also considered to be on the autistic spectrum and has issues with food relating to the texture. Tonight has been a typical example, 2 children have had pasta bake with homepride sauce and sausages, the third pizza (4th is luckily only 6 months!!) I had weightwatchers pasta bake with quorn sausages!! the other half had the same as me but decided it wasnt good and only ate half so no doubt ill be making him something else later too!!

BUT thats not going to stop me, If I have to make 3 meals a night so be it. I have lost 15lb in 21days...Im not stopping for conveniences sake!!

annabellj

awesome story!!! I can relate to some of that. My wife supports my journey, but if I don't cook my own meals I'm left choosing between what my wife cooks for the kids (not quite fast food, but not ideal) or some odds and ends around the house. I have found enjoyment in testing new recipes from time to time and I enjoy eating the healthy food I cook. My kids are 5 and 8 so they can pretty much eat what they want, but my 8 year old often asks "is this healthy" and asks me "I'm eating healthy, right Daddy". Its been nice to help set an example for my kids this year in making healthy choices.

I'm sending you a FR.

I think we have to start setting better examples for our kids also. we still eat fast food, but only about once a month. you can make easy meals without having fast food more often. usually i find that i can fix something in about 20 minutes just as easy as picking something up as it takes about the same amount of time and it is so much cheaper. we eat a lot of tacos, burgers, pizza, but usually homemade. i buy 97% ground beef and cook the whole package on the wkend and then put it in ziplock bags separately. it helps to have something in the freezer and if you add some corn, lettuce tomato, and a tortilla, it is much healthier. i want my kids to be healthy also and if they see me eating right it is easier for them to make the right choices. it is hard though and just take baby steps. my son quit drinking soda, a choice he made about 3 wks ago(hmm when I started mfp) and made that choice all on his own. we dont buy much to have in the houise but had some at thanksgiving and he still didnt eat any. so proud of him! your kids and hubby will feel so much better also if they eat better more nutritious foods. i know how hard it is as we used to eat out 3 or 4 time a wk also. being prepared ahead of time is half the battle. the freezer is my friend!

scottberrydsm

Nice post and great job sticking to it!

MacInCali

Thank you everyone for the wonderful responses!

I guess I should have premised my comment about my kids being able to "eat anything" with the fact that they, of course, don't. lol I simply meant that they have the metabolism of youth (wouldn't it be a blessing if we all still had that! lol). I make their breakfasts and lunches everyday, it's just the days when I get "the call" that their dinner is not ideal. I keep certain staples on hand for them "just in case", but I like the idea of the ground beef (in our case, 99% ff ground turkey breast) in individual bags for easy prep.

Thanks again!!