parents..

SachaMichel

Hey everyone I've been having a bit of a problem lately (a long time actually) and hoping for some advice

My parents, dad especially, loves to cook for me and they're the kind of parents that like to make me eat large amounts of unhealthy food. Think of their homecooked food as a combination of BurgerKing and PandaExpress...

I'm sort of the health junkie of the family and make my own breakfasts, lunches, and (if my parents don't intervene) my own dinner. My parents don't like it... They want to make it for me. And that's the part I don't understand.

Don't parents want a break from cooking for their kids? Or at least happy that they eat their veggies/fruit and not fatty junk?

I know there's a lot of mums and a few dads on this site so hoping for your point of view ^_^ And what I can say to them and not hurt their feelings >.<"

lanteik

Maybe just try telling them that you are trying to eat healthier; maybe even try making a healthy meal and encouraging them to try it. just an idea

BrendaLee

I'm not sure why, but when I cook, I want my daughter to eat what I make. I think it's the notion that meal time is family time...and you want to share and enjoy the same food. I remember she came home from camp one summer, and was on a health kick, and didn't want to eat the things I was eating...it hurts your feelings on some (odd) level. How about you offer to cook for the whole family some nights?

ivykivy

I started learning to cook when I was 12. When I turned 15 my mom was like forget it - I was on.
Maybe you can compromise by asking them to cook more vegetables (without the salted pork mind you) and fill your plate with veggies a small portions of the other things.

FireMonkey

Lots of people show their love for others by feeding them. My kids are a little older than you and live on their own, but when they come to visit you bet I feed them :happy:

From my perspective, the best way to approach your parents is to talk to them. Tell them what your goals are, you want to lose some weight and be healthier. If they don't understand what you mean, share some recipes or cook a family meal.

When my daughter was in her mid-teens she decided to become a vegetarian. My feelings weren't hurt; I figured she had to make her own choices in life. I started to make meals that included her preferences, with "meat on the side" for the rest of us. Later on she bought and fixed her own food, or we cooked together and made something for all of us. It was fun to try out new dishes.

I think sometimes we're worried about hurting others' feelings but that may not be the case at all.

Good luck!

SachaMichel

@Hanne56: I wish it were that simple! :sad: When I tell them that, they insist I don't need to lose weight... It took me months to convince my mom to switch from whole milk to 2% milk. My dad is also a chef, and like most chefs they're rather... insulted when you ask them to change their recipes =/ He usually makes dinner for us once a week on his day off, but the problem is he makes an enormous amount of it... In the past we would eat leftovers for the entire week till the next day he cooks because we didn't want to waste it (and were too lazy to cook when there was already something there ^_^). I suspect that's part of the reason I got so chunky as a child. I don't know, but making smaller portions probably is strange to him now after years of cooking huge amounts of food for us.

I have talked to him about it... Last year. He was very hurt by it, and even told my mom I was ungrateful. That actually hurt me a lot in turn because I do appreciate him immensely, and so I immediately stopped.

So here I am a year later ^_^ The only difference is I'm graduating this year and need to squeeze into a dress... A big deal to me because I haven't worn a dress since I was eight and probably won't again for another decade :laugh:

Thanks for the tips everyone... I think they would work for my mum because being female she would understand my problem. My dad is a harder case >.<"