Eating with a Spouse

ibcsrl19

Does anyone find it hard to eat healthy with their spouse? My husband loves junk food and eating late.

daisiemae123

My husband is generally just happy that I made dinner and will eat the healthy options that I have been presenting. He does like his junk food but gets his fix at work instead of expecting me to have it in the house. Biggest problem is that male metabolism. I start cooking healthier meals and keeping healthier snacks in the house, I've lost 6lbs he's lost 26 lbs.

ReneeCK

I had this problem at first. I would cook something for me, something for him, something for the kids. It was like I was serving a buffet 3 times a day! UGH! Then later, he either ate what I did or he could fend for himself. And, I've found side items for the kids to add to the dinner that I'm already eating! And, if he or my teen bring junk into the house I have them hide it somewhere. Unfortunately, my will power is lacking somedays. If those Oreos are sitting out, I'm grabbing one everytime I walk by them :ohwell:

Now we are to the point again where we all can sit down and eat healthy together

ChampsMom1205

mines too. What I am learning is I have more will power than I give myself credit for. It's hard for me especially on weekends but I manage to keep my eyes on my goals. Don't get me wrong I slip up, but the coolest thing about it is I can start fresh the next day.

ReneeCK

My husband is generally just happy that I made dinner and will eat the healthy options that I have been presenting. He does like his junk food but gets his fix at work instead of expecting me to have it in the house. Biggest problem is that male metabolism. I start cooking healthier meals and keeping healthier snacks in the house, I've lost 6lbs he's lost 26 lbs.

Doesn't that just get ya??!!! Same here with my husband! :laugh:

jcpmoore

My husband is the same.

I fix healthy dinners and eat them. I keep healthy snacks around and tasty teas to sate my sweet cravings. He eats junk. I admonish him to keep the junk away from me. He doesn't do it. I get tempted by junk. I throw junk into the trash. He buys new junk. Rinse and repeat.

gmichaelguy

My husband is the best. He absolutely cherishes anything I cook for him and he shares a commitment to his health and mine. He is very supportive and I'm so very blessed to have him. I'm sorry you struggle with yours, but maybe you can find a way to get him on board with some time and a variety of foods. Keep looking for foods y'all both enjoy. And don't discount his feelings in this, but realize you'll have to work a bit harder and to get on the same page. Maybe some special meal he gets to pick with a reasonable frequency for you oth might help.

ndhr3d

My wife is preggo... and is now craving Texas Toast and Chick-Fil-A like crazy... I hate saying 'no' because she is carrying my son! But I am NOT going to gain the 30lb I've lost thus far!

I'm going to have to start giving her what she wants and I'll just eat something different... but then she feels bad and that's the last thing I want... to stress her out!!!

Crazy times...

gmichaelguy

Another thought: if he likes to eat late then let him. Eat before he does and eat healthy. When he is eating have some fruit or something and still join him at the table.

grrrlface

For the most part mine is good because he's also been losing weight but he can eat so much more than me and get away with it!

It's hard when he gets out a bag of chips and dip and starts eating them as a snack. He offers them to me too which he knows doesn't help because he knows I can't say no! He says he doesn't want me to feel left out, which I guess is nice of him!

Aehisme

I so know what you mean. I like Brown bread, he likes white, he likes chips fried in cooking oil, I like mine done in the oven in olive oil. He likes rubbish like stuffed hearts Yuck!! I like pasta he hates it.
How on earth we’ve stayed married for 36 years is beyond me. Lol

macpatti

My wife is preggo... and is now craving Texas Toast and Chick-Fil-A like crazy

Great cravings!

macpatti

My husband is a health nut, so it's easy for me. He will even eat kale chips with me now! The only difference is he can have soooo many more calories than I can, so he gets to eat more. I have to tell myself that my portions cannot be as big as his.

sandrinamsilva

I always save half my calories for the day I am going to see the boyfriend in the evening. Never fails pizza and beer. Although he doesn't force feed me. I love those two especially together. I just work hard to make sure I am good and in the green at night.

Sharyn913

My wife is preggo... and is now craving Texas Toast and Chick-Fil-A like crazy... I hate saying 'no' because she is carrying my son! But I am NOT going to gain the 30lb I've lost thus far!

I'm going to have to start giving her what she wants and I'll just eat something different... but then she feels bad and that's the last thing I want... to stress her out!!!

Crazy times...

Maybe "cravings" for each woman is different, but I don't understand why you just can't say no. She will thank you for it after she gives birth and is not a million lbs heavier! For me personally, I would get a craving, and then say "whatever" and just eat something. My cravings never controlled me.

ntlpeterson

My husband still likes a good old fashioned fattening meal. When I plan the menu for the week, I ask him if there is anything he would like that week. Then I plan for those hamburgers, taco salads, etc. I try to find lighter versions but if not thats ok too. I keep my calorie count lower for the rest of the day. On the days that we are not having fatty meals, we keep it very light with lots of lean meats and veggies. Some people might not think that this is ideal but it works for us and I get to enjoy all my favorite foods in moderation.

lynnprice

My hubby and I are trying to take the grown up approach to this. We are both trying to be healthier. He has his ways (meaning he can eat bread/potatoes/rice and still loose weight) and I have mine (slow carb) so we're trying to meet in the middle. I try to make things that work for me but he can put on the starches that don't slow down his weight loss. We have lots of crockpot meals and lots of mexican theme meals. He loves a chicken curry, so I fix the chicken and take my portion out before adding the curry part.

I have one free day a week and he goes full steam ahead with me into free day. We plan it and prepare. I guess that's our new bonding experience in this!

We spent a lot of our relationship bemoaning how we wanted to be healthier and eat better and then blame the other for not doing it just how the other wanted it done. It was just silliness on our part. We made room for our difference in every other aspect, it was time to do it in our lifestyle changes.

I'm fortunate because he's much more motivated at the working out portion of a healthier life than I am. He picks me up a lot in that area.

My hubby is Superman in my eyes. I hope I'm half the help to him in being healther that he is to me.

BCSMama

My wife is preggo... and is now craving Texas Toast and Chick-Fil-A like crazy... I hate saying 'no' because she is carrying my son! But I am NOT going to gain the 30lb I've lost thus far!

I'm going to have to start giving her what she wants and I'll just eat something different... but then she feels bad and that's the last thing I want... to stress her out!!!

Crazy times...

Maybe "cravings" for each woman is different, but I don't understand why you just can't say no. She will thank you for it after she gives birth and is not a million lbs heavier! For me personally, I would get a craving, and then say "whatever" and just eat something. My cravings never controlled me.

I'm pretty sure he means that he is saying no to the Texas toast and Chick Fil A for himself, not his wife. I'm assuming she's a grown woman and can eat what she wants without getting permission. I know when I was pregnant I would indulge more than when I wasn't, but would often try to find a healthier version of what I was craving or just eat a small portion of it.

ibcsrl19

My husband still likes a good old fashioned fattening meal. When I plan the menu for the week, I ask him if there is anything he would like that week. Then I plan for those hamburgers, taco salads, etc. I try to find lighter versions but if not thats ok too. I keep my calorie count lower for the rest of the day. On the days that we are not having fatty meals, we keep it very light with lots of lean meats and veggies. Some people might not think that this is ideal but it works for us and I get to enjoy all my favorite foods in moderation.

I like that approach, thanks.

ibcsrl19

I always save half my calories for the day I am going to see the boyfriend in the evening. Never fails pizza and beer. Although he doesn't force feed me. I love those two especially together. I just work hard to make sure I am good and in the green at night.

That is what I have been trying to do, but have found that I don't save enough to cover eating with him.

lynz4589

This doesnt really affect me much because we are both losing weight together but at the start it was annoying dishing out a bigger portion for her than me (used used to everything just striaght down the middle) and she used to think I was giving her more without reason but reality is she needs more as her cal goal is higher and you soon get used to it. We used to eat chinese at least once if not twice a week. we havent done that in well over a month and as soon as one of us wants to the other just says no and sticks dinner on regardless. It certainly helps having someone on the same journey but!

Julienetan

When i first met him, he always bring me to eat lots of good stuff. Later I realise its his plan to make me fat so i will be less attractive to men so he will not have competition.

_LilPowerHouse

Ehhh, my wife loves eating junk food, but she eats very tiny amounts at a time so it really doesn't bother me.. when she cooks dinner she usually will cook something healthy as she likes to eat healthy.. Now all I have to do is get her to workout..hehehehe

KnotNorml

A story very familiar to my own. I will say, however, thanks to my wife's gentle coaxing, I'm on board with the health change. Yes, I am losing more weight and faster, but we don't make it a race. Also, the fact that we are doing this together really works well. Be a good example and perhaps more of us men will become more enlightened.

otrlynn

My husband is generally just happy that I made dinner and will eat the healthy options that I have been presenting. He does like his junk food but gets his fix at work instead of expecting me to have it in the house. Biggest problem is that male metabolism. I start cooking healthier meals and keeping healthier snacks in the house, I've lost 6lbs he's lost 26 lbs.

Doesn't that just get ya??!!! Same here with my husband! :laugh:

I've always cooked pretty healthy, so no problem with what I was making. Generally my husband would just eat more of it, and supplement it with generous pre-dinner snacks of pretzels, peanuts, and red wine. Then he would top off dinner with a BIG bowl of frozen yogurt. His cardiologist told him he needed to lose some weight, so he's been doing MFP for over a week. He's lost about 5 pounds already, mainly with portion control. Me? It takes me at least 8 weeks to lose 5 lbs!

Jimmytreatingtons

I always save half my calories for the day I am going to see the boyfriend in the evening. Never fails pizza and beer. Although he doesn't force feed me. I love those two especially together. I just work hard to make sure I am good and in the green at night.

This is how I do it when. I am going out, make sure I have a good rest of the day before the bad stuff. No point in thinking well I might as well not bother today!

Wife can be a nightmare though as she is not as motivated as me in the gym etc, I have given up trying to help her as it often gets thrown back in my face! I praise her when she goes to the gym and ignore her when she won't go to the gym as that normally involves digs at me for going or not eating sweets etc when she is.

I just do my own thing and remind her of the things she does that I like but don't harp on at, if I have too.

sagetracey

I am so lucky. My husband prefers to eat healthy and has been a great support in helping me to do the same.

Lyssa62

my husband wants to eat junk food. I make healthy meals and he snubs them so for him it's fend or starve.

FrauHausMaus

My hubby is a big, big guy and LOVES junk. He eats what I cook, but usually requests that I cook extra carbs (he loves Texas toast) or some sort of fattening dessert. I try not to give in, but it's tough sometimes. He makes me feel like I am being mean to him when I don't let him eat himself to death.

Usually when he eats crap, I just feel really sad. We hardly ever go out to eat together, but I know he eats fast food at least twice a day (McD's bags piled up in his car) and it breaks my heart.

GretchenReine

I used to have an issue with it because he can eat just about anything...but...he has started trying to eat healthier in an attempt to help me...so we're good now! LOL

TubbsMcGee

At first it was tough, but after a while he got used to it and hopped on board the healthy train, too!

Now I have HIM telling me that certain foods won't fit into my macros, and helping me with portion control :laugh: