Only one in family wanting to make the change! HELP.

I am in the same boat and have been the entire time...18months...I have a 20 yo son who lives here and my husband.

Imagine the food they eat...

I just do portion control...on occassion I do buy specific foods for me and warn them...and they stay away from it.

But that being said because I do most of the shopping and cooking and well...I am the mom/wife..(happy wife happy life) I got my way with the skim milk always in the house ( I do compromise with the chocolate milk and 1% milk sometimes), whole wheat bread always, more chicken breasts, very few starches unless they want to cook them, lots of veggies cooked in olive oil...

But it really is about portion control...I have bought 4 bags of chips in a week...one for me 3 for them...I still have mine (cheese popcorn), I eat fruit loops, bacon, ice cream (mine is off limits as it's expensive) etc.

.

Hi Everyone,

I have started my journey over and over. My biggest problem is no one else in my household is willing to do the same. I don't think its fair they need to change just because I am over weight. I also don't have the budget to buy 2 separate meals for every meal of the day.

Does anyone else have this issue? How do I get past this, inexpensively.

I am in need of motivation/support and friends!!

You answered your own question really, I do this for my gf and I all the time and we do just make 2 separate meals. Find the money, if you don't spend it now you will spend it down the road on medical bills anyways ... spend now to save later.

It's not always 2 completely separate things, you can incorporate different things into both meals, I think you really need to study cooking more and invest more time into learning more about meal prep

I have found that I really enjoy the flavor and look of steamed veggies (theyre brighter in color & not mushy from being in water).
I can eat them w/out anything added...salt, butter etc but my husband likes to have "something" on his so he will sprinkle a little parmesan cheese.
When we get the munchies, we will make air popped pop corn (put some kernels in a brown lunch bag, fold it down a few times & like store bought, pop it in your microwave).
2 Cups Air Popped popcorn w/ nothing added is only 30 cal!
I can eat mine plain and any kernels that didn't pop can be used again because nothing was put on it, so don't toss them out!
My husband will add some butter or seasoning to his own.
Today we had shredded chicken w/ salsa using corn tortillas.
I had 2 (each tortilla was 60cal) and when I was still hungry I used the shredded lettuce (no cheese) and added a small amount of that salsa shredded chicken!
When my husband wants chocolate cookies, most of the time I am ok w/ him eating them around me but when I get the craving for something sweet similar to his cookies, I get a Belgian Almond Cookie which satisfies the sweet & crunchy desire.
8 Cookies are 140 Calories whereas 1 Toll House chocolate cookie is 90cal!
18 Cal (1 sugar) is in 1 Private Selection Cookie!

I never knew you could do that with the popcorn! I don't want to buy an air poppper as I have enough kitchen gadgets, but the brown bag thing sounds great. Thanks:drinker:

I have had the same problem in the past too! When I first started managing my weight, my boyfriend was also trying to lose about 10 pounds so I would have him over for dinner and send him home with leftover lunches. I found cooking for 2 WAY more enjoyable than cooking for just me. But he soon lost his 10 pounds and I was on my own. Then I fell off track (since I stopped cooking as much) and 4 months later had gained back half of what I lost. I'm now forced to cook more even if it's just for me. I still make dinner for him sometimes.

What I find useful is buying in bulk and trying to lump ingredients together for different dishes. So for example, if I make a slow cooker lasagne one night (Company's Coming has a great "5 Ingredient Slow Cooker book which has a Chicken Florentine Lasagne recipe in it. They have it online too but my browser isn't agreeing with me for giving you the link. It's very family friendly and the chicken could be switched for extra lean ground beef. I also find I only need 5 noodle halves per noodle layer which cuts the calories). I would buy a big bag of spinach so I could have a salad the next day! Maybe a taco salad using some of the ground beef too. Or if I make a coconut milk curry stir fry one night, I could use the remaining milk to make a coconut cilantro spread for sweet potato tacos or make a Thai coconut soup. Think of it like mixing and matching... kind of like your wardrobe. You probably don't buy a pair of pants that only look good with one shirt unless you're planning on finding other shirts too.

Slow cookers are great too if you're not big on cooking. They make big batches and can be very simple recipes. Individual portions can be easily frozen. I never used to cook at all before.

I also buy 5 kg boxes of frozen chicken breast or huge packages of extra lean ground beef that I separate into smaller packages in the freezer so I can easily make single portions of meat that might be leaner than others. You can also watch for sales by doing this.

Keep in mind that if you're doing the cooking, you have control! You can substitute low fat sour cream in recipes that call for sour cream, use extra lean cuts of meat, use whole wheat pasta and brown rice, use low fat shredded cheese as a garnish rather than a major ingredient, mix in mushrooms, onions and garlic into burger patties to bulk them up without raising the calories so much, etc. If the dishes are tasty, they won't mind the change at all - in fact they might not even notice! And if they're still hungry, they can take second helpings, but you don't have to.

Also, when you have pasta, perhaps make it with lots of steamed veggies on the side and shrimp. You can toss your pasta and veggies together with a light vinaigrette separately and heat up a pasta sauce for the rest of the family. You can buy frozen veggies and fill your plate with those pretty easily and they won't go bad.

It's also easy to keep fruit in the house for snacks. You can buy just the amount you need for yourself.

Alas, I've probably gone on too long. But I hope I helped provide some ideas. Good luck!

I haven't read thru all the responses, but my suggestion would be to exercise portion control and eat the same meal you prepare for your family, maybe fix extra veggies for yourself (to help fill you up a little more while adjusting to smaller portions). Also, try to have some "healthier' snacks available...that way when the family has a bowl of chips for snack time, you have a "better" (more filling, less calories) substitute (or eat a little less of the family snack)....My family isn't down the same path as me, but hubby is trying to be as supportive as possible, so he tries to be more flexible in the meals we eat.

Don't make others responsible for your successes and failures.