Opposite Diets -- Need help!

fairestthings
fairestthings Posts: 335 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hubby is doing a marathon towards the end of the summer. I'm trying to lose weight. He is needing and craving LOTS of carbs and food and this does not help me AT ALL. I need some help with balancing us out. Any suggestions?

Replies

  • trinitrate
    trinitrate Posts: 219 Member
    Make combination meals where you can substitute one or two ingredients to make something heavy carb vs. low.. An example,

    Make a good meaty spaghetti sauce, then serve it over a solid portion of pasta for your husband. Take the same sauce and serve it over shredded spaghetti squash for your self. Most of the prep is the same, you're only cooking the squash separately, and the only real carbs you'll be taking in will be from the tomatos.
  • angeljessie54
    angeljessie54 Posts: 4
    That's a great idea!! i'm always looking for ideas to keep my hubby and son happy and full and me under calories/carbs and sugars.

    oh i also cook Jamie Eason's turkey meatloaf muffins at least once a week. It's a hit for all of us and works for all of us!
  • fairestthings
    fairestthings Posts: 335 Member
    Thanks for the suggestion, trinitrate :) I'm trying to get creative ideas to only have to substitute a few things. Our kitchen has turned into a huge mess every single meal because I have to cook separately for our toddler, my husband and myself!

    Angeljessie - I wish I liked meatloaf! I'd love for something that would make us all happy!
  • pdworkman
    pdworkman Posts: 1,342 Member
    Eat the same foods in different proportions. Make a salad, veggie, starch, and protein for supper. He takes lots of the starch, you take a small portion of the starch. And why do you have too cook differently for the toddler?
  • Sharonks
    Sharonks Posts: 884 Member
    I cook the meat separate from everything else. Then I usually eat a salad and some other veggie. Everyone else eats a starchy side and veggie. Toddler should be able to eat some variation of what everyone else is eating. I still feel like I cook a lot and at times I just give up trying to eat the same thing and will cook two whole different meals.

    Since I low carb I can't even come close to eating a lot of the same things as my family. I have made pizza on a regular crust for them and then used the same toppings on a flax seed crust for me. Same thing with enchiladas, I make red chile sauce and meat then fill a low carb tortilla for me and corn tortillas for them.
  • fairestthings
    fairestthings Posts: 335 Member
    Our daughter eats mostly what we eat, but sometimes she just doesn't like it. We don't come from the mindset that she must eat what we put in front of her. She eats so healthy that I don't mind making her a quick box of organic mac and cheese or some noodles with tomato sauce. Unfortunately we cannot be harsh with her for food as she just had her feeding tube removed this year and her weight is heavily monitored by doctors for now.
  • issyfit
    issyfit Posts: 1,077 Member
    Taco salad for you, nachos or tacos for him.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    Also remember that you don't have to be low carb to be losing weight. Just because low carb is something that works for some people, doesn't mean it's the only way. I actually lose weight faster and more steadily when I maintain a higher carb ratio, like 45-50% then when I had my carbs set lower. Even just a few days of heavy carb eating can re-kickstart losing for me.

    Obviously everyone is different, so low carb may be what you need. But I'm just saying that carbs aren't necessarily an evil like many people make them out to be with weight loss. :)
  • cPT_Helice
    cPT_Helice Posts: 403
    bump
  • jickalina
    jickalina Posts: 43 Member
    I used to do Low Carb (found something that suits me better, personally). But when i did, I had the same problem. My quick fixes: salads and omelets. If I made steak and potatoes, he get the potatoes and i toss it in a salad or chopped it up and made an omelet or turned it into a soup. Think about how you can use the same ingredients and use it in three different but simple applications. Also, pre-make what you can so it'll feel like you're only making one dinner. On Sundays I roast a big batch of veggies the on weeknights, you can cook your fish, chicken etc and you eat it with your veggies, he it's it with what you need. Do this with cauliflower mash, spaghetti squash, salads, stir fry even soup bases!
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
    Why don't you just start training with him for the marathon? You don't have to actually run the marathon or even do the super long runs with him, but just start training to be able to. Then you'll need more carbs and won't have to have two different eating plans. ;-)
  • fairestthings
    fairestthings Posts: 335 Member
    Also remember that you don't have to be low carb to be losing weight. Just because low carb is something that works for some people, doesn't mean it's the only way. I actually lose weight faster and more steadily when I maintain a higher carb ratio, like 45-50% then when I had my carbs set lower. Even just a few days of heavy carb eating can re-kickstart losing for me.

    Obviously everyone is different, so low carb may be what you need. But I'm just saying that carbs aren't necessarily an evil like many people make them out to be with weight loss. :)

    Unfortunately I need lower carbs :-/ I gain weight very quickly on a higher carb level. It's a shame because I LOVE LOVE LOVE bread. A lot.

    Why don't you just start training with him for the marathon? You don't have to actually run the marathon or even do the super long runs with him, but just start training to be able to. Then you'll need more carbs and won't have to have two different eating plans. ;-)

    Because I have injury prone knees that don't even like me running 1.5-2 miles on a treadmill :-/ I cannot run regularly at all.


    Everyone who's given advice, thank you!! :D
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    Unfortunately I need lower carbs :-/ I gain weight very quickly on a higher carb level. It's a shame because I LOVE LOVE LOVE bread. A lot.

    Then may I recommend Chompie's Carbs...Not! bread. I get it at a local market but I've also seen it online. I found it when I was experimenting with low carb and love it so much that even though I stopped the low carb ratios, I haven't been able to give it up. I eat two slices pretty much every single day. My favorite is the cinnamon raisin (it hardly has any raisins, so it's more of just a cinnamon bread) but the Multigrain and Sesame are both awesome as well.
  • StrawberrySt
    StrawberrySt Posts: 235
    I often swap any carbs (pasta, rice, bread) for baby spinach leaves

    It's so good with most meals and you can add a bunch with very little calories
  • fairestthings
    fairestthings Posts: 335 Member
    I often swap any carbs (pasta, rice, bread) for baby spinach leaves

    It's so good with most meals and you can add a bunch with very little calories

    Awesome idea! Thanks!

    I'm going to do that and maybe use spaghetti squash for noodle replacement. We'll see how that goes!

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