Separate meals while on calorie restricted diet?

emlott88
emlott88 Posts: 75 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi guys,

So my biggest worry about my weight loss journey is that my husband is in the military and works 14 hour days. I am the sole cooker in this house, so I have to think up and prepare every dinner... AND have enough leftovers for my hubby to take to work the next day.

What would you do? Do separate meals for him? He obviously can't be restricted in calories like I will be. Any good ideas or suggestions for meals I could make up perhaps ahead of time for me and then I make him a completely separate meal?

I know it's a tricky situation. If he weren't so active I know he would be joining me on my journey, but he really can't afford to calorie restrict!

Thanks in advance

Replies

  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    You could either do separate meals for him, or you could cook a big meal for both of you, and just eat a small amount yourself
  • TheFitnessTutor
    TheFitnessTutor Posts: 356 Member
    Make meals that are flexible enough for you to separate out the separate components. You'll probably get burned out too fast making separate meals. So this means stuff like casseroles and the like are more off the menu. Instead go with typical Meat and three, potatos,rice,etc. approach.
  • Its_Nat
    Its_Nat Posts: 184 Member
    I've been cooking for myself and my three children. No separate meals - too damn hard. You either have a significantly smaller portion - which you would anyway, or you do minor adjustments. For example, when the kids were having steak with eggs and chips, I'd have a small steak with an egg and salad, or steamed vegies. At the moment it's winter here, so I'm using the slower cooker a lot more. Again - same meals, just smaller portions. Good luck!
  • Lizajayne23
    Lizajayne23 Posts: 123 Member
    I make regular meals and by the time my hubby and daughter get their food, I'm always left with the small portions anyway! Even if casserole is on the menu, I've been calculating the recipes and getting total finished weights so that I can portion an appropriate amount out for me and let them have at it. I'm lucky to have access to a high capacity scale that has allowed me to weigh full pots and dishes with the things they won't do without or let me change so that I don't go overboard.

    I try to fix things that work out to 4 servings...2 for hubby who can eat anything he wants, 1 for daughter, 1 for me (though usually a bit smaller than daughter's LOL) In your case it might be, 1 for you, 1-1/2 for hubby, 1-1/2 for hubby's lunch.

    It's a lot easier and usually better to do as suggested, though... meat and veggies as all separate components. I don't like to cook one meal so there's no way I'd cook two!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    when i was losing weight i just had smaller portions of the same food as the husband, or cut out most of the carbs from the meal. i couldnt be bothered to make separate meals, sounds liek far too much work!
  • Claire_x90
    Claire_x90 Posts: 94
    What I tend to do is have the same 'meal' but have a smaller portion and have a few variations... if everyone else has rice I probably have extra veggies or something like that.
  • darmoni
    darmoni Posts: 4 Member
    I've got the same deal at home with my partner who is trying to put on weight (unfair ! ) So i cook my meat separated to the veggies, and I use my scale and eat 100g of meat and then 150g or 200g od veggies and he gets what's left :)
    Hope this help
  • Zaniejane
    Zaniejane Posts: 329 Member
    when i was losing weight i just had smaller portions of the same food as the husband, or cut out most of the carbs from the meal. i couldnt be bothered to make separate meals, sounds liek far too much work!

    This is what I did too. If I didn't want to think too much and something he made seemed very calorie dense, I would just have 1/4 cup of whatever it was. If I wanted to go back for seconds I'd do some math first:)
  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
    You can cook his meals in the crock pot sometimes and this way you would have plenty of left overs for at least a day or two. You can choose to eat some or make yourself something else.

    When using the crockpot or casseroles just enter it in the recipie section and after you add all your ingredients it will calcuate how many calories each portion is for you.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    I tend to cook the way my mom did. Meat, vegetable and starch cooked separately. This way you adjust your portions to suit yourself and hubby without two separate meals. You can also have some throw-ins to up his calories if it tends to be too low. Throw some shredded cheese on pasta/broccoli or extra nuts on a salad to increase calories if needed.
  • Pinkylee77
    Pinkylee77 Posts: 432 Member
    I would cook the same for both of you but also add some "snack foods" for him like almonds, apple, cheese and so on his diet will be dense enough for him but healthy and you are not playing short order cook.
  • chainone
    chainone Posts: 42
    What everyone else said. Because you're the sole chef, it kind of makes it easier.
    My boyfriend is a carnivore, I'm vegan. I'm counting calories, he's not. When he cooks dinner for both of us, there's always a separate protein for me, so I just weigh that. Then I weigh out a smaller portion of the combined meal (which is generally harder to do).
    What I prefer to do is either cook for myself or both of us and pre-weigh my stuff before cooking. Makes it easier to log.
    For example, when I make a salad I will leave my bowl on the scale and just weigh stuff as I toss it in. Everything else goes into his bowl.

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