Eating with a Spouse

BrieLP

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.

Ugh I have this problem too... My hubby weighed himself everyday last week and lost like 5-6 lbs and I lost 1.5 urg!

donna_glasgow

my hubby is a wonderful cook, and cooks for me as i am useless in the kitchen ... i count myself very lucky

SairahRose

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...

If she's craving that, then it basically means she wants a chicken sandwich... she doesn't have to eat the fried stuff .
Okay - I'm from the UK and have no idea what that stuff tastes like :P But I know that when I was craving a particular type of food it was because of something in it, not the oil it comes in.


Saying that - I know exactly how you feel (the OP). I'm trying to get the whole family to eat properly and healthy, with a few treats once in a while, but the 7 yr old and his father just want junk, and the partner wants to eat said junk late at night. He keeps saying he wants to lose weight, too.. but does nothing.

Busymomshantell

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 just do the grilled chicken without the breading or the Grilled chicken salad from Chick-Fil-A (I love their food - and will splurge on occasion). Congratulations on the new baby boy you will have soon. You are going to be a great role model for him to be a healthy, active person.

Busymomshantell

My hubby and I are both doing the change of lifestyle together. We both have a fitbit and he loses far more weight than I do by far. But we work together. He eats whatever I cook and logs it to see how much he can have. My hubby is 6'2 and I am 5'2 and he has far more weight to lose than I do. But it drives me crazy, because it seems I have to work twice as hard to burn my calories and he doesn't do as much as I do and burns over 1000 calories more than I do. I know size is the factor, but still drives me crazy.

MCproptart

Hubby does most of the dinners at our house. It took a few weeks of me being firm and saying no to this or that, but he's on board now. He really likes the changes he's seeing in my body and I'm not waking him in the night as often with sleep apnea. Now he writes down everything he puts into a meal--though I still have to nag him to include olive oil, salt, and butter, which he thinks are negligible. So thankful he's on board!

I have had to be strong, too. When he comes to bed with a dish of ice cream--I don't have to have one, too. When he comes to bed with a bowl of cereal--I don't have to have one, too. He has to eat calories before bed for his health--I have to resist eating a few hours before bedtime for mine.

Besides food, there's activity. He likes to sit and watch movies and feels left out if I'm not with him. So, I'll be in the same room, but I'll be doing yoga poses or lifting my "smart belles" rather than just being a blob.

It takes strength to pull yourself out of a rut, and even more strength to resist gravity pulling you back down into it. But both of us are excited for the day when I can get back into that little sunflower dress I was wearing on the day we met 15 years and 75 pounds ago!

TheArmadillo

I buy mine some junk food - full fat cola, biscuits, pastries for breakfast and we tend to have some sweets in for the kids. The thing is I am going to be around crappy food so I need to know how to deal with it. And I have, mostly successfully.

I cook the evening meal and I make something healthy (well most of the time ). But I do make something I think they'll like. I use skinnytaste.com a lot at the moment and also bbcgoodfood.com and make healthier versions of food they like with plenty of flavour. None of us like bland food and that's what put me off dieting before. I am a fantastic cook though :bigsmile: I like trying lots of different recipes and get bored easily so they don't always get the same thing twice whether they like it or not :laugh:

For my husband, breakfast is cola and sometimes a pastry or biscuits (choc digestives), lunch is leftovers made into a burrito (so not too bad he adds salad) and dinner is healthy. He drinks usually a beer every evening and sometimes has some leftover dinner if he's hungry.

MrsIgou

I struggle w/weight loss and my spouse is a "meat & potatoes/gravy" guy. Four course dinner every night!! It is very hard. I have no willpower and he calls me beautiful the weight I am (he says then he doesn't have to worry about the competition). I have gained 51 lbs since we married 2-1/2 years ago!!! I am so disgusted w/myself and exercise?!?!?! HA!!! No time! I have lost 8 lbs in 12 weeks!!! I wish I could close my eyes at night & wake up skinny! It is hard work to keep on a healthy regimen - but I am trying! I am now trying to make a dinner he wants one night and a healthy one that I prefer the next. He seems okay for time being with this routine. Last night we had roast beef/potatoes/gravy/carrots and corn on the cob. Sundays are big feast night - usually the standard is a roast w/all the trimmings. But I eat 2 eggs/toast for breakfast and a snack of string cheese for lunch to save calories for that dinner on Sun. evening. Tonight we have lettuce salad w/tomatoes, peppers, carrots, red cabbage & grilled chicken breast. :indifferent:

FrauHausMaus

Besides food, there's activity. He likes to sit and watch movies and feels left out if I'm not with him. So, I'll be in the same room, but I'll be doing yoga poses or lifting my "smart belles" rather than just being a blob.

I really like the idea of working out while watching a movie together

nxd10

We eat healthy together but I don't always eat everything he does and certainly not as much. So I don't eat rice or white flour tortillas and eat high fiber/low carb ones instead.

Slowly he's changing his cooking to accommodate what I don't eat because he likes his cooking to be appreciated.

Yesterday he brought home chips and dip. I ate 2. He and my son ate half the bag. I eat more tomatoes. It's okay.

It's hard because he does a few hours of tai chi every day and I have a desk job. So I do eat better than hum, but he also legitimately needs way more calories.

Impy84

No i don't find it difficult to eat healthy with my booskie. I cook for me and he either eats it or he doesn't, if he cooks and it's not on my list of foods to eat. I portion control or substitute whatever the problem item is with veggies.

My weight is my responsibility.

now_or_never12

I don't find it difficult at all. I am the one who cooks ... when my husband and I moved in together it was our deal that I would cook and he would do the clean up. I make healthy meals most of the time. He gets more than I do. If it's an unhealthy meal I just have much less than he does.

The only time I make meals different is when he eats meat. I am a vegetarian and he's not so I will cook meat for him and than make myself another option. If it's chicken, veggies and potatos for him I'll have the veggies and potatos and add something else for me.

My husband choose to eat what I eat. I am making a lifestyle change and never expected him to follow me on it but he has which is great.

ashlielinn

Initially it was difficult for my boyfriend and I, but I always made it very clear this was a priority to me. I love to cook, and even though we both have incredibly busy schedules, I make sure to cook at least one meal a week. Whenever I cook, the meal is always low cal and healthy, and I'm sure to tell him so after he comments on how delicious it is! He's definitely becoming more conscious of what he eats from hearing me talk about it. Slowly but surely, they come around

sugboog29

My husband is usually very supportive....however lately he has been on a frozen yogurt kick! I do go and if I have calories left will get a VERY small portion of low fat, but usually non fat yogurt! He is satisfied and I don't blow it!

Now.....my sister in law is another story! She is constantly trying to sabotage me! Went to her house Saturday and she had t-bones, twice baked potatoes, grilled portabella's, and wilted lettuce. I shared the t-bone with my husband (he got the most of it), measured out the potatoes (she couldn't believe that), had a spoonful of mushroom, and a spoonful of wilted lettuce! THEN...she brought out the cake (my nieces birthday) and homemade icecream. I had a small sliver of cake, and one scoop of vanilla, and one scoop of strawberry. She tried to add more ice cream to my bowl, but I wouldn't let her! At least she has finally stopped asking me if I want a cocktail! She knows I won't because of the calories and that I am not that big of a drinker! She did tell my other SIL that she would NEVER let me be thinner than her again! Guess she better hurry it up....cause I am!!

abbylg1983

It's very difficult, but for a different reason. He's a big meat and potatoes guy, and I am the kind of person who when single would eat cereal for dinner. Maybe scrambled eggs or spaghetti if I was feeling super ambitious. I'm not a vegetarian but I don't like most meats- chicken breasts, pork chops, steak, etc. all taste dry to me. I have the palate of a 5 year old I guess. Anyways, before he and I were both on diets (I am trying to lose weight, he suffers from acid reflux and is cutting out all things acidic or fatty) it was enough of a struggle trying to come up with things we both liked and dinner time was supre stressful. Now that half our staples are out (chili, tacos, pasta, etc), it's even more challenging. Most days we just get takeout- he can get his meat and potatoes, and I'll get a salad. He doesn't mind if we order two different meals, but he's got a real hang-up about making two different meals, even simple ones. No clue why.

Onaughmae

It is difficult....I keep it simple. I make whatever I am going to eat. He either eats it...or he is on his own to get whatever he wants. I quit making two meals. He is a big boy and can feed himself If we go out, I make sure we are going someplace where I can get something that I want to eat also.

Lina4Lina

I modify meals for my husband. I have to keep some things in the house for him to eat as he needs a higher calorie intake. Although I eat rice, often I will make a primary dish and serve my portion over greens while server his over rice with a side of greens. He also realizes that I can't eat like him so he understands that if he has a snack in the middle of the day, I may not have a snack with him.

littlehedgy

I have this problem for sure. My fiance can and does eat more than I believed to be humanly possible. For years growing up his family didn't buy anything that wasn't prepackaged or processed. Because of this he doesn't really know what is or is not healthy. I have seen that man put away an entire package of spaghetti noodles and Alfredo sauce by himself. In one sitting. He thought he was being healthy becuase it wasn't a frozen dinner, or a greasy burger. He also drinks soda like water, usually 2 Pepsis a day. It is hard for me to be around all the food he brings home. Not only do I want to indulge but I worry about his health in the future. My solution so far is to hide healthy stuff in out dinners. slowly but surely

barfleurjo

I don't find it hard to eat heathily with my boyfriend. He's pretty fit, does archery and diving as his hobbies. He does have a big appetite though so I find myself cooking extra to make sure he has enough and then I end up putting more than I need on my own plate too. It's sharing a bottle of wine that's the problem. It sounds anal but I've actually measured on my wineglasses where a 175ml and 200ml amount would be so I can pour out the wine accordingly. I drink slower than him and then he usually ends up finishing the bottle. Probably not good for him but we'll address that issue another time!