How to do I help my husband gain weight while I lose weight?

kristinc1027
kristinc1027 Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
My husband has an extremely active job that requires him to basically walk 15 miles a day. He is 5' 10" and weighed himself last night at 148, which is more than 10 pounds less than his normal weight. He drives a lot also, so has to eat in the car on-the-go. I cook all of our dinners and I always cook pretty clean meals, incorporating lean proteins such as chicken and lean beef. I know he needs to eat more, but I don't know what of. Currently he eats pop-tarts and muffins as snacks, and corn dogs for lunch. Obviously these aren't the healthiest choices, but it's what he likes that is easy to eat with one hand. We are newlyweds and are on a budget, so we can't really afford to incorporate more protein than we already do. I feel like he does not eat enough during the day and needs more high-calorie, nutrient-dense foods that he can eat while driving. What he is currently eating is not cutting it. Does anyone have any diet tips for him? I really don't like having the pop-tarts, cereal, muffins and ice cream in the house because it makes it that much harder for me to resist them in my health journey, but they are high-calorie, so I feel like he needs them. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you!!

Replies

  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Make your own protein bars. Make pasta and give him big servings while you eat small servings.
  • lewcompton
    lewcompton Posts: 881 Member
    Cook three portions give him two... Its about what I'm doing for my wife now that she's pregnant, about halfway thru... I also make sure to pack her lots of extra snacks for the day and she has carte blanche to eat out when she sees fit with fast food dollar menus.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    Trail mix in the car -- make your own.
    Meaty cheesy sandwiches with a fatty spread like butter or mayonnaise (again, can make your own), or if he likes them, make burritos.
    String cheese or sliced cheese and crackers (you assemble this).

    ETA: More suggestions from my mother -- bananas are great car food. Also you can do sandwiches, like tuna salad, and freeze them -- then take them out in the morning. They will be just thawed and still chilled by lunchtime.
  • rekite2000
    rekite2000 Posts: 218 Member
    Does he want to gain? Calorie dense foods: nuts, bananas, cheese, yogurt. They now have greek yogurt in gogurts (the tubes so no spoon) freeze them and by lunch it will be defrosted. Nuts can be put in snack sizes. Peanut butter- they have the to go ones for his car. These things usually go on sale- you just have to watch each week. Dinner- make enough so he get 1.5 servings.
  • jasonp_ritzert
    jasonp_ritzert Posts: 357 Member
    Peanut butter on whole wheat bread. It's cheap, nutrient dense (good fats, protein and fiber), and doesn't need chilled. Staple of my job when I am in the field. A $4 of PB and a $3 loaf of good whole wheat bread should be good for 15 lunches/snacks. Walnuts and almonds are good snacks.

    For food at home, incorporate avocado or other healthy oil in moderation for both of you.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Double rations for him...single rations for you.

    Also, full fat milk, cheese, nuts, trail mix, nut butters, etc...

    When I needed to put the weight on I was drinking about 1/2 gallon of milk per day and eating bout 1/4 - 1/2 lb of cheese...problem is that I didn't stop when I needed to :(
  • RobP1192
    RobP1192 Posts: 310 Member
    As someone who has a crazy active job which requires me to consume a ton of calories, the best is to do the trade off in terms of portions. This is if you guys are eating the same things. Give him double what you would eat, sort of like what lewcompton suggested in his response. And let him "snack" during times when you aren't going to eat. When i say "snack", i mean anything from eating a whole meal to eating something around 100-200 calories. I wouldn't recommend trying to make completely different dishes if you guys are eating dinner or eating together. If you're just going to make him something for himself, i mean, for me the easiest was to just pack sandwiches and a bunch of easy to eat things like fruit, sandwiches, 100 cal packs of almonds or any other mixed nuts, jerky, granola bar, protein bar, etc. These were all things i ate while i was driving. Just a few ideas.
  • ktliu
    ktliu Posts: 334 Member
    Sabotage the meals if you are cooking, secretly switch everything to whole grain and buy lots of veggie substitute. Trader Joe is my favorite place to shop. lots of great healthy alternatives.
  • kristinc1027
    kristinc1027 Posts: 8
    As someone who has a crazy active job which requires me to consume a ton of calories, the best is to do the trade off in terms of portions. This is if you guys are eating the same things. Give him double what you would eat, sort of like what lewcompton suggested in his response. And let him "snack" during times when you aren't going to eat. When i say "snack", i mean anything from eating a whole meal to eating something around 100-200 calories. I wouldn't recommend trying to make completely different dishes if you guys are eating dinner or eating together. If you're just going to make him something for himself, i mean, for me the easiest was to just pack sandwiches and a bunch of easy to eat things like fruit, sandwiches, 100 cal packs of almonds or any other mixed nuts, jerky, granola bar, protein bar, etc. These were all things i ate while i was driving. Just a few ideas.

    Thank you! He's not a fan of nuts but I think he really should give them a try. We plan on stocking him up on some protein bars tonight. Jerky was a really good suggestion as well!
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Making granola and trail mix is quick and easy and cheap. Then he can carry around dry, munchable, relatively healthy energy.
  • kristinc1027
    kristinc1027 Posts: 8
    Yes he does want to gain. Last night he showed me that his wedding ring is getting loose on his finger :(. He's not a yogurt fan, but I love greek yogurt, so I'll look for the ones in the tubes!
  • kristinc1027
    kristinc1027 Posts: 8
    Making granola and trail mix is quick and easy and cheap. Then he can carry around dry, munchable, relatively healthy energy.

    I've been telling him this, but he doesn't care for nuts. He definitely needs to start incorporating them though, so maybe he'll give it a shot!
  • kvetkaro
    kvetkaro Posts: 31 Member
    I ave exactly the same thing with my boyfriend, he needs to weight what I do! and I him! He is 6'2'' and his BMI is 18.5 - it worries me because if he doesn't eat properly for a couple of days he literally looks like he is wasting away -- this topic is so useful! xx
  • kristinc1027
    kristinc1027 Posts: 8
    Thank you everyone for the suggestions! Hopefully I can help him pack on a few pounds :wink:
  • summerstate
    summerstate Posts: 33 Member
    If you're on a budget and can't afford to have three meals (2 for him, 1 for you) just make sure he gets all the fixings. The little things add cals.

    On salads give him extra cheese, nuts, dressing. If he's eating a muffin he can warm it with butter. Extra mayo on a sandwich. Bananas in cereal. You could bread his piece of chicken and broil it with yours. U can also make him a side of pasta with dinner - angel hair cooks in 3min. I helped my sister put on weight, she hates big meals so little changes helped. That and daily small milk (icecream) shakes as dessert.

    It sounds like he can eat a larger meal so extra sides or toppins should be easier. But my biggest advice is for him to take the time to eat.
  • kristinc1027
    kristinc1027 Posts: 8
    If you're on a budget and can't afford to have three meals (2 for him, 1 for you) just make sure he gets all the fixings. The little things add cals.

    On salads give him extra cheese, nuts, dressing. If he's eating a muffin he can warm it with butter. Extra mayo on a sandwich. Bananas in cereal. You could bread his piece of chicken and broil it with yours. U can also make him a side of pasta with dinner - angel hair cooks in 3min. I helped my sister put on weight, she hates big meals so little changes helped. That and daily small milk (icecream) shakes as dessert.

    It sounds like he can eat a larger meal so extra sides or toppins should be easier. But my biggest advice is for him to take the time to eat.

    Thanks! We eat together at dinner, so it's always a healthy meal, but that's a good suggestion to alter his meals with toppings and sides for more calories. He thoroughly enjoys ice cream, so I don't think he'll have a problem with keeping that as a dessert staple! Thanks again!
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Don't try to force him to eat what he doesn't like, he'll just end up resenting it. There are plenty of high-calorie foods in the world that he can enjoy without going himself to eat something he doesn't like.
  • ClementineGeorg
    ClementineGeorg Posts: 505 Member
    - make the same food, give him bigger person
    - make the same food + make some extra for him (for example add some potatoes to his meal or boiled pasta and nuts/seeds to his salads... you know, simple things, that are not such a big deal to make as extra)
    - make the same food + have the same portions (but him eating more meals than you in a given day... like having extra snacks)
    - make different food for everybody and it's needs

    And when I say `make`, I'm talking for the both of you.

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