Living with parents
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When my son has friends over we have to go out to shop for snacks...the only reason I do it is because as a kid my parents never had the cool foods or drinks at home.. no chips soda or cookies... I appreciate that now but back then it just made me more nerdy than everyone else.
Today, I am a wannabe nutritionist and my parents will not believe anything I suggest regarding healthy food. I guess it's hard for them as parents to accept advice. I eat low carb and it's hard to skip mom's famous spaghetti. So I say nothing, and take steps to stick to my eating style when visiting or vacationing with them.
I used to never eat steak because I thought it was awful.. after growing up eating beef hockey pucks...0 -
I feel your pain....0
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I was cooking dinner the other night and logging everything as I went along. I left the room for a minute and I come back and my mom is putting a huge scoop of butter in the rice! ARGH!!! I rarely even eat butter. So then I have to guess at what ungodly amount of butter was added and go over my calories for the day.
Also unless I'm cooking it is very unlikely that it will be a healthy lower calorie meal. And I hate cooking. Nothing is ever where I think it should be and it drives me insane - I made dinner tonight and I am a huge ball of stress right now!0 -
IKRI go through the same thing. I hope that one day I may be able to actually find a decent job or 2 more so I can move out and actually eat healthy and have no one to complain about it.0 -
I buy and prepare my own food, so I don't have a problem despite living with my parents. They have 'their' side of the fridge, I have mine, and it all goes smoothly.0
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Due to surgery my kids and I live with my ex in-laws. This cranky old woman hasn't cooked in 2 years and will wrinkle her nose up and say yuck every time I make grilled chicken or salmon and then go make a bowl of oatmeal while her husband scarfs down 4 cheeseburgers from McD's. I swear the only thing I have seen them eat in 5 months is McDonalds, oatmeal and microwave popcorn.0
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I understand completely. I've lost 14 pounds since I started my journey, and I want to continue. I live at home, and hoping to move out soon. I think I snapped one day when my mom called me and asked to pick up a pizza on the way home, and I know I had made some meatloaf and sweet potatoes which I could eat and be so much better for me. So I picked up the pizza for them, and warmed up my food to have. They looked at me like I had two heads. Since then, it's been a constant struggle with them. I'm torn between hurting my mom's feelings, and eating healthier. I explained to them that I got diagnosed with sleep apnea at 27, I weigh 320 lbs, I'm at risk for dozens of conditions and diseases, etc. It's my health and I only get one life. It's very hard, but eventually you have to draw a line and stick to your guns. It's taking a while, but eventually I'll get there.0
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It's too bad they aren't more supportive, but this part of your posting caught my eye...
Why do you expect someone else to make an omelette for you? Make your own, then you can control the ingredients....[They] act surprised when I ask to make an omlette instead. ...
It would be nice if they were more helpful, but you can't control others' actions -- only your own.
Oops...
Sorry... I misread... you did intend to make one.0 -
It is hard - my parents serving sizes were way off when I was living at home, but luckily it was always healthy food and as I was active (and a teenager with unlimited metabolism) it didn't affect me. It's been since I moved out of home that I have had issues! But I know I couldn't eat those serving sizes now.
When I go home I do a lot of the cooking, because I like to help Mum and Dad out - a way of saying thanks for having me, but that is cos when I visit I usually stay for around a week, sometimes more - it would be hard to go visit for a day and cook as well! Haha.
For those of you living at home or staying on vacation, perhaps offer to cook dinner a few times a week? Then not only will your parents think you are an angel for helping out but you will be able to get the whole house healthy
If you are just going for dinner for a visit - who cares about the calories? Just eat til you're full, and enjoy their company. They won't be around forever, and they are just trying to make you happy - be happy they care
Haha I remember one time when I went home to visit - when I was at my skinniest (now goal) weight, Mum made a trifle (my favourite dessert, that we only ever have at christmas time) to fatten me up! I ate it anyway, it is my favourite and I thought it was sweet that Mum had made a strictly-xmas-only dessert because she was worried about me hahaha.0 -
Sometimes (aka almost always) it drives me crazy! It makes it so much harder to chose what you eat... tonight for example, along with buying all my fav chips and dips (I know... not everyone in the house is on a diet...) they bought the bread that has twice the fat and half the fibre. Or they'll bring home Mc****s for dinner and act surprised when I ask to make an omlette instead. Then they think I might have a problem when I use the treadmill daily.
Sounds like something miniscule but if you live with your parents, you might understand.
I'd suggest you buy your own food and prepare it yourself. Not sure why you think it's their responsibility to provide the foods you want.0 -
I hear you on this. I live with my Mother, who is the "junk food kid". She doesn't drive so I run most of her errands. Every trip, and I mean every, involves picking her up some cookies. The other night after I picked her up from work, she says she doesn't know what to have for dinner so she called and ordered us some hoagies. I say I can't eat that and I'll find something else when I get home. You would have thought I just robbed her last penny...the tantrum of saving money on the 18" sandwiches, it would cost sooo much more for her to order her own sandwich and I still will use more food and money to make my own meal at home, she doesn't really feel like cooking after she has worked all day(she doesn't usually cook), and on and on and on. I had to eat it just because I couldn't stand to hear it anymore. I do have to say however, even tho she tries sabotage my eating, she does watch my daughter while I go to Zumba, so I guess you just have to take the good with the bad!!! Love you Mom.0
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Sometimes (aka almost always) it drives me crazy! It makes it so much harder to chose what you eat... tonight for example, along with buying all my fav chips and dips (I know... not everyone in the house is on a diet...) they bought the bread that has twice the fat and half the fibre. Or they'll bring home Mc****s for dinner and act surprised when I ask to make an omlette instead. Then they think I might have a problem when I use the treadmill daily.
Sounds like something miniscule but if you live with your parents, you might understand.
oh i understand completely! i live with my father who thinks "healthy" is FRIED sweet potato french fries. he rarely buys anything diet friendly. and HONESTLY i am so sick of hearing "rabbit food" comments. it's called a VEGETABLE. so annoying.0 -
My husband and I live with my parents but my mom is also trying to lose weight so she counts the calories of our meals or leaves me the barcode to scan etc.
It would be so hard if they were against me! I feel for you!0 -
luckily my mom is pretty much on par with my new lifestyle. she and i do the food shopping together and we're always looking for new healthy alternatives to shake up our dinner menu a bit.
however, it's my father who is the picky one! he's a "meat and potatoes" man.... no frills, no surprises. he likes what he likes and that's that. he likes everything bland with no seasonings, and the furthest he will go for flavor is barbeque sauce on ribs from one particular restaurant. BUT he is the most supportive of the two in my opinion. he is a borderline diabetic and was very overweight throughout my entire childhood. after discovering he has an aneurism in his back among many other health issues (HBP, high cholesterol, high sugar levels, etc).... he cut sugar out completely. it took him about a year to make the adjustment, but he lost about 60 pounds that way and looks fantastic for 51. mom and i are constantly looking for sugar free or low sugar recipes for him, as he does tend to have a sweet tooth. he is the one who encouraged me to really stick this out. since his health took a complete 180 for the better, he wants to award me with $1,000 when i hit my 50 pound mark as an incentive to get healthy.
his pickiness poses lots of problems though. my mom and i enjoy seasoning our food, and we both LOVE garlic (my father will leave the room if he even takes a whiff of garlic). i find i'm usually preparing my dinner separately from him so that i can season my beef or fish without grossing him out. my roommates in college used to love my rachael-ray style of cooking but not daddy dear!
do your best to resist. i know it's easier to say than do, but you have the right idea. consider every victory over temptation as another pound lost and another step closer to your goal. prepare your meals/food in advance and prove a point that this is YOUR life and that you will not be forced to live an unhealthy lifestyle. best of luck 0 -
I may not be living with my parents anymore, but I used to at one point. I grew up overweight and my parents were thin. For a long time I was eating different food then them and then we all gave up on me losing weight, partially due to bad diets and them refusing to eat healthy food. My mom thought healthy was ordering the filet-o-fish instead of a big mac. I try not to resent them for how they behaved, but I do underneath it all.
Honestly, if I could do it all over again, I wish I would have sat them down when I was younger and tried to reason with them. Explain that everyone in the house needs to be apart of the lifestyle change and it will benefit everyone involved. The ironic part is my dad was in the Army until I was 17. Crazy! you would think he would have the first on board to help, but he loved/loves his fast food. He now has several health problems which doesn't look good for me either.
Anyway, I would hate for you to look at your parents the way I do when you are 30. It's a miserable feeling.0 -
Parents can be very subtle about encouraging grown children to move out.
edited to fix typo0 -
I'm so glad that I am not the only facing this challenge. As someone else said, breakfast and lunch are usually okay cause I eat on my own. I don't usually get home from work until 7:30ish so dinner is usually made already. My dad is an excellent cook so even when I know the food he makes probably isn't the healthiest, it so hard to resist, especially when I'm getting home from a long day at work. When I first moved back in I informed my parents that I was trying to eat healthy and exercise more. Things went well for a few months but then slowly begun to out of control. It happened so subtly I don't think I really realized it was happening until one I stopped and thought "what the hell have I been eating?" haha. I've tried making dinners and suggesting healthier options such as low fat products, whole wheat pasta and brown rice. Needless to say my dad is not much of a fan. I do know my parents make an effort to keep in mind that I'm trying to change how I eat but it still is a constant struggle. I am hoping to move out in a couple of months and really kick the healthy eating habits into high gear.0
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Get over it. Your choices are yours and you are responsible for what goes in your mouth. You can't convince people to eat the way you want, so don't impose on them for your needs. And if you're visiting parents who's eating habits aren't as healthy as yours, then make plans.
It's food people. Get in your daily essentials and stay under the calories you need to and you'll be fine (unless you have some bad reaction to certain foods). There are people in the country alone who wish they could have a good solid meal daily. Buck up.
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Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
Weigh and measure your portions, adding more fresh fruit and vegetables to your meal. Just a few nights ago, my husband and dad were saying how bad our eating habits were because they've both gained weight in the last 2 months, since we moved it with him. I laughed because I eat the samethings they eat, the difference is I weigh and measure, EVERYTHING. If a serving is 2 cookies, I eat two cookies...Portion control is the key. Up your exercise if you need to burn the calories. It's your body, do what is right for you. Sometimes, our families have trouble adjusting to the changes we make in ourselves because they don't want to see the error in theirs.0
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I can relate. I live with my mom and it's difficult. My mom is the kind of person who likes the IDEA of a diet but fails on the actual discipline and eating differently front. She will want to know every single detail of my diet (and no matter what it's always "you should work out more and not limit your food) but she will add extra food to my plate and buy cookies and unhealthy stuff. It was okay, when I was coming home before her, but right now, she spends the entire day at home (she retired) and when I come back from work, the dinner is already ready and I have very little to say.0
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