Weight Loss and Nutrition around family.

leaaahxo
leaaahxo Posts: 4
in Food and Nutrition
I'm young and so live at home still and I'm desperate to start eating healthily. However, my family eat extremely unhealthy. I've asked my mum to buy healthier meals. She does for a couple days and then goes back to buying the crap. I'm really getting down about this. Has anyone got any tips that can help me lose weight by making the best of this situation??

Replies are greatly appreciated :) x

Replies

  • hungrypotato
    hungrypotato Posts: 1,642 Member
    Have your mom buy lean cuisines. They tastes great.. Are not the healthiest food but are portion control. I eat those all the time. They are healthier than foods like McDonalds and chips n stuff
  • wlaura88
    wlaura88 Posts: 69 Member
    Could you possibly go grocery shopping with your mom so you can help her pick out healthier options?
  • laineybz
    laineybz Posts: 704 Member
    I have my own shelf in our cupboards and a drawer in the freezer purely for my things lol. Ask your mum to just buy some (not loads) of healthier things for you. My family thought i was crazy (they still do!) for doing it but i have the willpower to see it through despite what they said.
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Could you possibly go grocery shopping with your mom so you can help her pick out healthier options?

    great idea
  • georgina1970
    georgina1970 Posts: 333 Member
    Perhaps sit down with your Mum and plan some meals together for the week, before going grocery shopping.
    My favourite cookbook at the moment is Jamie Oliver's 15 minute meals. Yes, it does take me longer, usually about 30min if I'm not familiar with the recipe. At the front of the book he has a pantry list. Each week I check it to make sure I have every thing on his list, then I know I can at least cook anything from his book. Tonight we're having Lamb Kofta's - so easy, everyone serves themselves around the table and loves it. Note my kids are 10 & 11yrs old.
  • RumpusP
    RumpusP Posts: 163 Member
    Why don't you take the money you make and buy your own grocery supplies and cook for yourself? That way you don't have to be tied to your mom's/family's unhealthy habits. They can eat what they're used to, you can eat healthier.
  • SbetaK
    SbetaK Posts: 400 Member
    Perhaps get your mom some healthy eating cookbooks. Or magazines like Cooking Light, Dlean Eating... Nothing works better than beatuiful photos of savory dishes that can get the mouth watering and stimulate appetites and turns out they are healthy, too! You can print recipes from websites, check out library books,....maybe offer to be the "guest" family chef for the night and introduce something new for your family...
  • ellend17
    ellend17 Posts: 58
    I know this feeling! It's hard enough to resist temptation without being made to feel like an idiot for trying! But it gets easier eventually.
    I've got into the habit of buying my own fruit and stuff so i know there is always some in the house for my lunches etc. Same with treats, I have a tin which I keep my own low cal chocolate bars etc in so when i feel like a sweet treat I can dip in there without bingeing on calories.
    Also, I find it easier to just say yes once in a while and have a smaller portion of whatever they are having, or switch their white rice for brown rice with curry for example. Hope this helps, I know what you mean though, I can't wait to move out and be in charge of my own meals! :smile:
  • SbetaK
    SbetaK Posts: 400 Member
    Clean Eating, not clean! :D
  • cyoka13
    cyoka13 Posts: 288 Member
    As others have mentioned, perhaps you can go shopping with your mom. I would take that a step further and offer to prepare meals "x" many days a week. Your mom may feel right now that eating healthy tastes bad, is hard to prepare, etc. If you prepare some of the meals, that may help alleviate any apprehension she feels about cooking healthy.
  • leaaahxo
    leaaahxo Posts: 4
    Thanks for all the suggestions guys!! It really helps alot! :D
  • FixItDuck
    FixItDuck Posts: 112 Member
    Take charge of some of the family meals. Great opportunity to improve the health of your family AND introduce them to some new meals. It also take some of the burden of preparing meals off your mum! Maybe you can help out with grocery shopping too - or even take responsibility for this?

    My 5 year old will happily plan a family meal and be the "head chef" in the kitchen (OK so I do most of the work, but he's still responsible for the meal), so I'm sure you can do it too!
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    start cooking some of the meals! It's a lot of fun especially when you make something good, you learn how to cook better, your mom gets a day off, and you can help your family eat healthier.

    think simple meals like spaghetti and a nice homemade sauce, soup and bread, maybe tacos, fish if you are daring.
  • ohenry78
    ohenry78 Posts: 228
    Oh man, better watch out for the "get a job you hippie!" crowd. They'll have you believing that MFP is My Financial Pal and giving 401k advice.

    Srsly though, the best advice may very well be to get a small side job to bring in a bit of cash, and pitch in to purchase the things that you want. Because no matter how important it may be for your health, unless the rest of the fam is completely, 100% in with helping and doing this for themselves as well, it will keep going through this same cycle.

    If that isn't an option, then as others have said, offer to cook. Then you get to pick the ingredients and portions and such.

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