I'm on a diet, but my husband isn't

My Hubs isn't on board with lighter eating either. He's getting better about the healthier options but still tends to have an automatic "ick" reaction when I bring home things like whole wheat pasta. I actually got to the point early on where I'd just hide ingredients from him, wait for his reaction and then tell him that it was the healthier version. In most cases, he had absolutely no clue. The one major disaster was fat free shredded cheese - that stuff is just evil! Melted cheese should not look like plastic! LOL!

Anyway, like others have said, ultimately you can still eat the things you both like. Maybe try to lighten up the recipes a bit with leaner/less meat, a little less pasta/rice/potato and a little more veggies. I tend to add extra bell peppers, mushrooms, broccoli and sometimes carrots to a lot of my favorite recipes. Or like some have said, have a smaller portion of the decadant dish (all of it, pasta, sauce etc so you're not feeling like you're missing out) and fill the rest of your plate with steamed veggies or salad. Just make sure to keep your portions light.

One other trick I've been trying to do is slow down my eating. I used to keep pace with Hubs and I think that was part of the problem with eating so much - it was like a contest. Now I eat slowly, taking time with each bite, cutting meat into little pieces, etc and although I eat less, we usually finish around the same time or he might even finish before me.

FYI, for alfredo, if you go with jarred sauce, I discovered Classico makes a good light alfredo sauce. Or you can search for recipes online that are lighter. The ones I used to make used low fat, low sodium cream of mushroom soup with a little milk and a little parm and hubby was pretty fond of it but I like the jarred sauce better.

It can be done! Best of luck!

I too just cook one meal for the family... I eat what I cook... noodles, sauce, chicken... whatever... but I put it on a salad plate and try to fill half of it with vegetables... that way I still feel satisfied by eating what I want... but not eating it all.

My wife often diets much more than I do. While I have to exercise a bit and diet a little to lose some weight.

What usually works when I am trying to support her (and eat better myself), here's what we try to do.


-If you are making more involved dishes that have sauces or other types of caloric goodness, either just make enough for his regular portion and your smaller portion. Or make a batch and individually freeze both your portion sizes. Out of sight and mind, but they servings are there when you don't have the time to cook.

-If you grill or bbq (I know they are not the same!) trying using leaner cuts of meat, or leaner options for just yourself. And if you must and want to eat a better cut of meat (and who doesn't) adjust your side dishes to include more vegetables and less starchy carbohydrates.

-Try to get rid of as much starchy carbs as you can stand. Replace with vegetables. I am part Italian in heritage. So every Sunday I usually make macaroni, gravy, meatballs and sausage or a lasagna. But last night instead of eating more pasta for dinner, I cooked up some frozen zucchini and had that with the meatballs and sausage instead. Or sometimes when I make a lasagna i use eggplant as the noodles.

It might be difficult at first, but if you use MFP, you can realize all sorts of tweaks you can do to your foods that will add up. And don't forget to cheat! Having a big cheat meal once a week is great way to feel like your are not limiting yourself.

I'd also pickup a Fitbit or another fitness tracker to see how much activity you are doing and how that can affect your caloric ceiling. Maybe you can eat a little more if your activity level is higher.

Everything does add up... Good luck!

My husband is 6'7" and a bricklayer. He's in great shape and needs to keep up his calorie intake because in his job he's basically lifting heavy all day long. When he gets home from work he eats a sandwich before dinner because he's hungry and dinner's not ready yet for the both of us since we're both working. Since he's already eaten 200-300 calories, we don't make as much for dinner and our portion sizes end up being about the same.

It works for us.

Sure, I've been there! I was overweight and my husband wasn't so we tackled this by making separate meals. IF there was a meal we agreed on (example: tacos) we made them lean and healthy with turkey and then he just ate double what I did. Portion control! That's all willpower, and you will have to get used to saying no even if it is in front of you. You can, it just takes time.

My bf and I take it in turns to cook - I have a cooking week, then he does.

He tries his best to make his weeks relatively healthy, and he's getting better at it, but calorie counting is sooo much easier when it's me doing the cooking!

Either way, I eat a very small breakfast and lunch, and save dinner as my main big meal (as other people were saying). I cook LOADS of food - but with veggies making up the bulk, and lean meat and fewer carbs than I used to. I use less cheese and less oil when cooking and I make substitutions like crème fraiche for cream, etc. He also gets bigger portions. He never goes hungry - but we realised recently that he had lost some weight with all the healthy food, and he's started having bigger lunches to balance it out.

It's totally doable. Good luck!

My fiance isn't following the same diet as I am either. He's a meat and potatoes kind of man!. I have to watch my carb intake and sodium levels. The meals that fit both of our needs so far involve a protein with one or two veggies. We eat a lot of chicken breasts! We tend to roast or "oven fry" to reduce the calories. For pasta dishes, he'll get real pasta while I use shirataki. It looks like a noodle so I don't feel deprived seeing his big plate of yumminess. I did buy a thing to make "noodles" out of veggies, but haven't used it yet. When I serve anything with potatoes, I'll set aside a small, plain one for me and fix the rest as usual for him. I tried to fight it, but I gave in to trying the "riced cauliflower." It's not that bad. I sauteed some in a tiny bit of seasame oil with a sprinkle of black pepper. It was good with some homemade Chinese stir fry. It's gotten to the point where I don't want to eat what he eats though.

Yeah, my husband and I get into conversations about the dinner food as well. He's a laborer and could probably eat 2000-3000 calories a day and argues that just because I'm on a diet, he doesn't need to be too. I've found two things that work...

1. Make meals that are not one dish meals (Crockpot meals, cassaroles, skillets etc. ). These used to be my standby because they were easy. Now I ususally make something on the grill, have one carb side and one veggie side.

2. Either make enough for just one meal or portion out the leftovers into tupperware to use as my lunches for work. (The husband also doesn't eat leftovers... )

Not only do I have a husband that can eat anything he wants, I also have 2 teenage/preteen boys who can also and 2 younger step kids who are pickier. I do all the cooking, and planning ahead is is the absolute most important part. I make healthier versions of the favorites, and everyone has gotten accustomed to it. There is no reason for anyone to suffer. I have a great version of alfredo that is made with chicken broth, fat free greek yogurt, parmesean and a few other things and my family loves it! I never fry anything, use the leanest cuts of meat possible and always have loads of veggies on which to fill up even if no one else wants that. It's hard to pass up the treats that i provide for them, but I was able to allow myself a piece of king cake yesterday because I know it's important for me to leave some extra calories for an evening dessert on some days.

When my boyfriend is over for dinner, he knows I'm going to do something healthy. I prelog what I plan to eat. I dish out what I want then he can go at it (he is also one that can eat whatever he wants). Then if there are leftovers I save them for my lunch the next day or he takes them for lunch.

I agree about skinnytaste, I made this one twice in a week awhile back it was so good. The bf definitely didn't think it was low calorie! http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/04/cheesy-jalapeno-popper-baked-stuffed.html

ETA: my bf is asian and grew up with rice as a staple. If he needs more filler we'll make rice for him and I just won't have any.