Staying on track with husband who cooks

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katienurse
katienurse Posts: 5
in Introduce Yourself
I've been here before, LOVED the results, but now I'm back at square one. The problem is that my wonderful husband loves to cook, and it's soooo good, it's very difficult to resist! He loves to eat good (read: high calorie) food, and it shows. He's overweight, not happy about it, but does not want to eat "seeds and leaves" every night. I can't seem to convince him to try healthier options, and there's always this delicious, but not diet friendly food in the house... so, on days when I'm super busy or stressed, which is most days, it's much too easy to grab what's here. I do really well all day, but evenings have been a disaster! Help!

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  • IhScoutII
    IhScoutII Posts: 162 Member
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    I do all the cooking for my wife and kids, I basically cook most the same stuff but now cook less of it. With the meats I find leaner cuts, or trim them myself. Some of my recipes I have incorporated chicken. Less oil, found most of my seasonings in a no salt version. Also now with the smaller portions I'm cooking I have included more salads and other vegetables to make it look like and me feel like I'm having a full plate of food.
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
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    Calculate the calories in the recipes, and use portion control to stay within your limits. Measure your portions with a food scale, measuring cups, or dishers. If you've had your portion, don't have seconds. If you go over, do some cardio to burn off part of the calories.
  • katienurse
    katienurse Posts: 5
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    That's very helpful, thanks. I like the idea of filling up the plate with the healthier foods, and just having a little taste of the more calorie-rich foods.
  • Chelseylynn11
    Chelseylynn11 Posts: 22
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    My fiance is a chef. He is a wonderful chef, but he cooks the most unhealthy foods. They taste amazing, but I hardly ever eat them anymore. So we started cooking separate dinners. He is also overweight and has a lot of health problems, but is not willing to try and eat healthier. It's hard for me some nights, but he has started cooking my dinner. The healthy dinner, but he still eats his unhealthy food. I tried motivating him. I think once he notices me looking better and feeling better it might get him to want to start as well.
  • IhScoutII
    IhScoutII Posts: 162 Member
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    That's very helpful, thanks. I like the idea of filling up the plate with the healthier foods, and just having a little taste of the more calorie-rich foods.

    It's definitely a compromise when your the one cooking :) but it works well. Trust me I still make my baby back ribs but instead of me eating 3/4 of a rack I eat 2 to 3 and a salad and am full...
  • JeniferEverx3
    JeniferEverx3 Posts: 219 Member
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    I feel your pain.. kind of. My boyfriend and I don't live together yet but we eat dinner together every night and he is an excellent cook- and ironically, a picky eater. He's not really overweight as he does not eat much during the day and his job consists of a decent amount of physical activity. But he is a meat & potatoes man and I, unfortunately, am a meat & potatoes girl at heart. During the day at work I tend to watch what I eat for breakfast and lunch (usually something like a kellogg's breakfast shake or a yogurt and a fruit or string cheese for breakfast, and then tuna & wheat thins or tuna sandwich or a bowl of soup for lunch) so I tend to give myself leniency when dinner time comes and since he is a picky eaterand the chef, I usually leave the menu up to him. I have recently decided that I want to implement one small change to this... I am going to suggest that he not season the food (salt, butter, whatever) and we season seperately on our plates so I can cut out the extra bad stuff and eat a well-rounded, more bland meal. But, I have to say I do also like the idea of just having a little taste of the sinful food and having your meal consist mostly of something much healthier. Decisions, decisions... :)
  • oc1timoco
    oc1timoco Posts: 272 Member
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    Eating healthy does not = no flavor. Portion control is very important
  • james6998
    james6998 Posts: 743 Member
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    I've been here before, LOVED the results, but now I'm back at square one. The problem is that my wonderful husband loves to cook, and it's soooo good, it's very difficult to resist! He loves to eat good (read: high calorie) food, and it shows. He's overweight, not happy about it, but does not want to eat "seeds and leaves" every night. I can't seem to convince him to try healthier options, and there's always this delicious, but not diet friendly food in the house... so, on days when I'm super busy or stressed, which is most days, it's much too easy to grab what's here. I do really well all day, but evenings have been a disaster! Help!
    One of the reasons to our success is that i am the cook of the house. My wife eats what i make her and she loves my cooking. I keep our calories on track while keeping the good food coming.
  • katienurse58
    katienurse58 Posts: 3 Member
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    Thanks for the feedback-- it's amazing how, simply sharing my dilemma helps me to focus on the changes that need to be made. He can still do the cooking, but smaller portions, and different ingredients make the difference.
  • keeptehpeace
    keeptehpeace Posts: 189 Member
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    Sounds like it's time for you to learn portion control! You can still have his yummy foods (and not have to cook for yourself:bigsmile: ) just calculate how many calories there are in each meal using the MFP calculator and adjust your portions accordingly
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
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    portion control...it's actually the most valuable thing you could ever learn in RE to diet. One of the big reasons people put the weight back on is that they fail to ever learn portion control...they deprive themselves and think they have to just eat "twigs and berries" to lose weight and they never really learn how to just eat "normal" and within proper portions.

    I'm big on cooking as well, and I most certainly don't go around just eating lettuce and celery or whatever...I eat awesomeness all of the time and dropped 40 Lbs doing so...learning how many calories my body needs and portion control are the reasons why..not salad.
  • padams2359
    padams2359 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    I am the cook in my house. Worked in different restaurants in and after college. One son, who is in college now eats anything, second son eats a grand total of 10 things, that's it. I have reached my goal, and my wife got on the plan a few weeks ago and has lost about 17 lbs so far. I cook healthier things, so it is easier for everyone.
  • chelc1105
    chelc1105 Posts: 36 Member
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    My husband usually cooks dinner - he eats whatever he wants, whenever he wants. He has chips in the house, regular peanut butter (my downfall), soda...etc. If he cooks something that he is not willing to go by serving sizes on and how many calories I have left for the day. I refuse to eat it and make my own food. He has gotten now into the habit of signing on and logging my calories for me because he likes cooking for me. He will just make additional servings for himself or add meat (I dont eat meat).

    Having the chips & soda in the house I have had a hard time with. But i thank him. It makes me learn how to avoid those kind of foods with them right in front of my face. For example, a girl brought in a super wonderful looking chocolate cake to the office. Before - I would have scarfed the whole thing into my face before anyone got to it. BUT It sat there for a week right next to my cubicle (gross i know) and i didnt even taste the frosting :D. Its all about self control :D

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