Diet Isolation- Help!

The best advice I can give (and was given) is that you need to find a routine that is something you will continue to do for the rest of your life. Otherwise this is just another crash diet and when you are "done" you will revert back to your "normal" eating routine and the weight will come back. What I did was not drastically alter my eating habits at first. I still eat exactly what I used to. I just count calories so that I know just how much of each thing I can eat. I do not make a different meal than that of my boyfriend. Now, if your husband eats nothin' but fried stuff then that's a different story. But instead of cooking yourself a different meal maybe discuss with your husband that it would benefit him as well to eat a bit better. Then I started incorporating more veggies into my diet (I already ate a ton of fruit). I found that if I prepared a veggie with every meal, and ate most of it first, then I was filled a lil' more and did not eat a second helping of whatever I had made for the main course. Lifestyle changes are tough to confront sometimes but remember that it's ok if it doesn't happen over night. This should be a learning process. Developing a different kind of relationship with food, and a different view of it for that matter, is really important. Good luck to you!

Any change in your lifestyle that can't be continued as a natural thing to do will ever last. The biggest error most make is trying to change everything over night which never last.

When starting a majoir life change, never start with everything. Start with one simple thing. When that one thing becomes normal, then go to the next. With my, the first thing I changed in my habbits was going for mustard instead of mayo. Then when it came to fast food, instead of grabing that big old double cheese. go for the little $1 burger.

You have done great and keep up the good work.

The one question I want to ask is WHY are you eating something different than your husband at meal time?

Check sparkrecipes.com for tasty recipes that are family and health friendly. Check the recipes that are posted here as well. I cook meals for myself, my fiancé, and we have his daughter on the weekend. I eat what they eat, just smaller meat and side portions with larger portions of vegis. I bake instead of fry. When we have chicken legs or thighs I pull the skin off mine before coating it with shake and bake. When we have our weekend breakfast (either Sat or Sun) we either eat center cut bacon or turkey bacon and i limit myself to the per serving listed on the nutritional information. I scramble egg whites for myself and regular eggs for them, tossing in my yolks. If we make pancakes I make them smaller for myself and use sugar free syrup.

I am on a very tight food budget so we can't afford to buy two sets of food. They either eat what I cook or don't eat. I have enough recipes now that work so that doesn't tend to be a problem anymore.

I make a little extra for him to take to lunch the next day as well as myself. I do keep a few convenience items on hand for lunches and meals we have to eat separate due to his work schedule.

As for eating out, I always ask for a to-go box to be brought when they bring me my food and I put half in there (depending on where I am eating and what I have ordered) since portions are so large at many places. I stay away from anything cream based, such as sauces, ask for no cheese on my salads and put the dressing on the side. Baked potatoes plain and bring the butter on the side. Skip the sour cream unless they offer light and I skip the cheese. I stick to meats that are broiled or grilled, chicken, fish, and shrimp. Opt for vegetables as your sides.


My downfall is Mexican restaurants. I compensate by eating light on my other meals. I stick to chicken and bean filled items and ask for extra salad toppings. Chips and salsa or guacamole are my weakness. I count the chips and break them into smaller portions so that I feel like I am getting more. Taco Bell has the fresco line and at my local Bell they will fresco anything you ask for, not just what is shown on the menu! At McD's if I want a burger I get the plain burger and small fries with water. Otherwise I stick to the fruit/yogurt parfait or the apple walnut salad. At the coffee shop I get it all fat free sugar free and donut holes (2) for a nice treat. At subway I ask them to scoop out the extra bread and add more vegetables.

Thats all I can think of right now.

Hopefully others will chime in with some of their ideas.

great advice so far! I would like to chime in here because I've recently switched to being vegan while my family has not. I refuse to make a big deal out of it at dinner time so I make things simple, for example roast some chicken breasts in one dish and potatoes and veggies in another, or make a veggie stir fry and cook the meat separately. you can make your healthy dinner and just a bit extra of what your husbands likes, it won't hurt him to have more vegetables and other healthy foods.

also, it is great to have support, but dont worry too much about not getting it, if you feel good about what you are doing it will come sooner or later. people will see you getting healthier and be inspired.