How to stop the "supportive" people?

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I have a wonderful fiance' who heart is in the right place but he's sabotaging my weight loss efforts. He listens to me ramble on about calories and exercise and what I need to do and not do. He makes all the nice supportive comments and makes me feel like I can achieve my goals. Then, because he knows I love anything Reese's, he'll buy me a few packages when the seasonal eggs, hearts, trees come out. If I'm tired or worn out, he'll suggest we go out to eat instead of fixing something. Because we live in a small town where there are only mom & pop style diners, the healthy alternatives are just not there. If we stay at home and cook, he's a meat and potatoes type of guy. He hates all vegetables, fruits and anything he might think is healthy. I refuse to cook several different meals at a single meal time, and I feel bad if I fix something he doesn't care for. I have a stock of Lean Cuisine's in the freezer, but why cook one of them, when the meatloaf and mashed potatoes and gravy are smelling soooooo good? I know alot of it is my lack of willpower, but how do I get him to understand that I don't want those Reese's? Or that I don't want to go out to eat all the time or have a couple of drinks with dinner? I know he's not doing it to be mean or spiteful. He truly thinks he's doing something nice for me by buying Reese's (my absolute favorite) and taking me out to eat. Help!?!?!?! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I really don't want to hurt his feelings.
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Replies

  • RTricia
    RTricia Posts: 720
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    honesty and love. That is all.
  • dracobaby82
    dracobaby82 Posts: 380 Member
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    I completely understand your frustrations! Reese's is my fav as well as my fiance'... That's good that he's really supportive and gives compliments... I can talk to mine about all this stuff, he doesn't give compliments lol Ok on to what you were saying! I say if you make meatloaf and potatoes... just have a small helping and have a salad with it, or vegetables... as far as the eating out goes, try and just order something a little more like salads.... stay away from fried and sandwiches lol too many calories... instead of drinking those drinks, have water or orange juice and tell him you just can't... maybe go a couple weeks without drinking an alcoholic beverage and then have one once in a while with him... I'd tell him even tho he knows you love reese's to please not buy them for you and if he want's to bring something home for you to check the calories, and if it's something fairly healthy to get that instead... maybe he'll find something else you really like that you haven't tried yet. Hope this helps a little bit, my man is the same way, won't eat fruits and vegies... only steak or fried meats (no chicken unless fried, no pork...) don't make 2 meals, just have small portions of what you do make and have a salad to go with
  • terrijean04
    terrijean04 Posts: 37 Member
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    Give him alternitives....... a book you want...nail polish.....back rub........there are lots of stuff we ladies like that don't cost us any calories...good luck and give that guy a hug!!!!!
  • Texsox
    Texsox Posts: 146 Member
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    I'd love to go out to eat, let's walk there . . .

    Thank you for the Reeses, let's ride bikes for a couple hours so I can eat one . . .

    I'd love for you to live long enough for us to grow old together, why not have a couple veggies with that steak? . . .
  • kelika71
    kelika71 Posts: 778 Member
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    What about cooking together? Learn together and try new things together? Find healthier ways to make meatloaf (there are some great recipes on here for that).

    As for the candy, tell him you appreciate the thought, but ask if he can limit them?

    Here's another thing that came to mind when I read your post. It was something taught in the classes I had to take last year.
    " You can still eat the things you love. You just need to determine HOW MUCH you can eat without throwing your numbers out of whack."
    This was for Diabetic numbers, but it goes for calories, sodium...everything. :)
  • promiseskept
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    Redift or throw out the Resees. As far as the meals, I make a meat potao and vege, but I make it a healthy vege and small portions of the rest for myself. You can work the calories in just fine. I also supplement my hunger at the tabble with a side salad or a fresh cut vege, lunch when he does a sandshich, I do a wrap and use rice cakes instead of chips. I also eat out all the time, wade through the menue and order what fits into your calorie intake. Unless you are eating all fast food, this can be done. The mom and pops have weaps or a chicken breast often. side salads work, I accept the challenge now! hee hee!
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    Tell him thanks, but no thanks to the reeses. Explain you are working hard and they are too much of a temptation.

    As for dinner. I have always eaten all the same foods, made just a bit differently.

    Meatloaf
    Mashed Potatoes
    Steamed veggies.

    The meatloaf recipe I have always used works well with egg whites and 7% fat ground beef.
    Mashed potatoes are delish when boiled in low sodium chicken broth and skim or 1 % milk

    I make myself steamed brocolli and load 1/2 my plate with it.

    I then give hubs his stick of butter to smother everthing in so HE is happy:happy:

    We have to make choices for our own bodies. My husband still eats a pint of icecream a night-but I no longer join him. My choice.

    Good luck to you. You can do this!!:flowerforyou:
  • IrishChick71
    IrishChick71 Posts: 311 Member
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    It might be easier if you made out a list of things you love but can't have (things that absolutely can not come into the house!) and put it up on the refrigerator as "your" reminder. Then tell him about the list in passing or while you are making it. Guys tend to be more visual and kinda point out that these are your personal rules. Maybe he'll get the hint.
  • JulieTX86
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    Thank you for the Reeses, let's ride bikes for a couple hours so I can eat one . . .

    I really like this statement because it shows the person how much hard work you have to put in to enjoy the old things you used to. It shows them that you have to make a change in order to continue eating those things.

    I think it's kind of a cool way to say it (as long as you don't say it in a snarky or sarcastic tone of course).
  • kacarter1017
    kacarter1017 Posts: 651 Member
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    I agree. Start with telling him what he does for your healthier lifestyle that you appreciate. Then ask for further assistance in some areas and then list what you have in this post. Explain the importance. If he is truly supportive, he will do his best. And whether he needs to lose weight or not, his diet should also be healthy for all sorts of reasons. Don't lecture, but tell him that you're hoping he will incorporate some of the changes in his life so he can also be healthy in the long term. Make it a couples effort.

    If he won't, then cook what you need and he can choose to eat it or find something else. Not said in a mean way- maybe make the meat and starch something he likes most nights, but add veggies and fruit with it. You need to take care of you first. Ask him to try something new or different a couple nights a week. "Healthify" some of his favorites if possible.
  • Trishkit
    Trishkit Posts: 290 Member
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    I have to remind my husband that yes, I would absolutely LOVE to have those things, but I do not need them, and really should not have them. I ask him to help remind me to keep my portions down when we eat away from home, and he tries, but usually gets worried about making me unhappy. And he definitely doesn't want to make me mad at him. But I just have to remind him that sure, I'll be unhappy that I can't eat more (even if I've already had plenty), but I'll be SO much happier when I get to my goal weight. Those small sacrifices are worth it. And whenever he wants to go eat out for convenience, I remind him that we have food at home and that it costs money to eat out. We both love eating out, but he's so money-conscious that my tactic usually works.

    Maybe instead of him surprising you with Reese's, suggest that he try surprising you with flowers or something else to show he was thinking of you. I'd go for that!
  • fitstarr
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    Hello :)

    I'm in a similar spot. My husband was eating cream cheese on crackers, he asked if I wanted some, I proceeded to slice a huge a piece of the cream cheese and place it on my belly and dance around making sure it jiggled alot. Then I said "NO I like the way my stomach looks with out it but, thank you". Men are visual, it worked. Also I now cook for me and the kiddo's, if he doesn't like my clean eating then he can nuke a hotdog and eat noodles, its his choice. I love him but I'm not joining him on his eating habits. All the best to you :)
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    Tell him to stick to Reeses Pieces because they're easier to portion control :wink:

    With the veg I'd do what I've done with my son: never stop serving it, he might eventually eat some. My son now eats most veg. Maybe it could work with your bf. :laugh:
  • atsteele
    atsteele Posts: 1,358 Member
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    HA! I just made my low fat meatloaf recipe tonight! (It uses Laura's Ground Beef 8% fat (2 lb), a cup of bread crumbs, a cup of low fat milk (skim is even fine), ketchup (3 Tbsp+), dijon mustard (2 Tbsp+) and Lipton Onion Soup mix (1 Tbsp). My kids love it and they are picky eaters! And instead of mashed potatoes, bake potatoes with a little olive oil and sea salt. We love the baked potatoes even better than the mashed potatoes!! As far as the reeses, it's ok to endulge but keep it to one and it helps if you do some cardio exercise each day so that you dont have to feel guilty about a treat now and then. Eating out always kills my diet plans... always! And that's with portion control and healthy choices. There's just too much hidden fat and sodium in restaurant meals. So I would recommend trying to change your habit of eating out to making more meals at home. If you do go out, limit it to say, once a month or every other month. And it's cheaper too. But definitely easier to keep track of the portions and calories/fat/etc. Just some thoughts of what we do here now. We used to eat out all the time when we didn't have kids. Which is fun. But there are so many other ideas for dates, eg, going for a walk, going to the local book store, going to a museum, riding a bike, going boating, hiking, etc.
  • Juleswithaplan
    Juleswithaplan Posts: 21 Member
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    Oh, this is a tricky one. You'll see here that I am not one to talk as I just joined last week and have -0- pounds lost. But here's some ideas anyway:

    Explain to your fiance that giving you chocolate for your body is akin to putting a nail in the tire of your car or sugar in your gas tank. It is NOT what it needs.

    Make dinner together - but either keep your portion small or modified, i.e.; meat to be plain (no gravy) or potatoes boiled and plain...broccoli steamed - etc. Same ingredients - just yours are paired down or cooked healthfully.

    Ask him to check out this site's recipe's section for lean meals that appeal to him as well.

    Go out to eat but resolve to be a little more picky (a la Sally from "When Harry met Sally" - "I'd like a salad but with the salad dressing on the side...") order steamed vegetables and egg whites for dinner. You never know if the wait/cook staff will accommodate you until you ask - even at a small diner. DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK. (and don't forget to be nice as pie - oh, but don't order pie!)

    There are some meals that might appeal to your meat-and-potatoes guy that may not be that bad for you. Here's one that comes to mind:

    McCormick's Slow Cookers Hearty Beef Stew (make with lean stew meat, carrots, kale or bok choy, yellow onion and small red potatoes) Yummy, manly, and not too unhealthy. (But watch your sodium intake on the rest of you foods the day you have this)

    You're gonna have to get creative, but ultimately you are going to have to take ownership of what you put into your body, when and why. And maybe lead by example - if your finance sees that you are committed and sticking with it even when it is not easy or convenient then perhaps he will begin to take your goals more seriously - or at least they will become more "present" for him.

    Hope this helps,

    Jules
  • Levedi
    Levedi Posts: 290 Member
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    If he really is so sweet he'll eventually get the message when you're honest, clear and consistent with him. If he's being passive-aggressive then he won't and you'll need to have a different kind of conversation with him. I'd assume he's a good guy who doesn't realize how sabotaging those little gifts are - spell it out to him firmly, but gently, without accusing him of bad motives. If he's mature and loves you, he'll cope.

    If he's not...well, then you have bigger problems. My dad is like that. He insists on bringing my mom giant boxes of chocolates from Sam's club and then gets super hurt (and eats them himself) when she says no thank you. Of course it's not about her - it's about him justifying his own eating habits and wanting her to join him so he doesn't feel bad about his own compulsive eating. If that's what's going on with your BF it will become obvious pretty quickly.

    But like I said, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. He probably just doesn't realize that "just a few" can really add up.
  • halphord
    halphord Posts: 379 Member
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    wait...are you engaged to my husband??? LOL....I swear you are talking about him. I am in the same situation as you! I, however, had to bend and start making two dinners. One for my meat and potatoes husband and kids and then a healthy one for me. Usually the meals I make myself are enough for 3-4 meals, so I have leftovers for the week....but, I FEEL YOUR PAIN!!!!
  • menchi
    menchi Posts: 297 Member
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    When I started dieting, it was a bit like that for me too. My bf is reasonably health conscious but he was just not going to go along with 1200 net Cals a day so I had to remember to make his portions larger (you'd think that's obvious but it took a few miserable days to sort that out). He was trying to lose weight too so it make things a little easier (except he was only aiming for half the pounds I was working on and the boy can lose 2-3 pounds a week :grumble:). We learned to cook together and he would add extra things he wanted and I could have the healthier things I needed. For example, he loves noodles and I just can't have that much carbs in my meal or I'd have no room for proteins. So he cooks his 4oz of somen or udon which is all carb, and I cook my 1oz of spaghetti or macaroni (which has some protein at least) with lean turkey and tomato soup.

    As for being offered "treats", I believe your man is doing it mostly for himself out of habit. As another recent thread mentioned, you get all emotional when you diet (at the start, in the middle, near the end, periodically :explode: we all do this) and the men/partners who care about us just want to cheer us up, make us happy again because it causes them emotional distress. I found that telling them about non-food ways of making us happy alleviates some of the emotional food band-aids they offer us. My bf soon realized that massages make me all mellow and happy, especially when he made comments about how my body is changing (give them opportunities to notice and give compliments!). I think being clear and honest about how you feel and what you want would help (yes I really want that brownie, no it would not make me happy, would you help me resist temptation so I can be proud of myself?). Telling your man in multiple ways (conversations, notes, visuals, silly dancing!) help remind him and let him know you are serious about this change in your life. In a way, this change with your lifestyle is also a change in your relationship that can really bring you both closer because you are working towards something together. Change takes time, change causes distress and fighting, change is not easy, but I think this change is worth it.
  • iamhealingmyself
    iamhealingmyself Posts: 579 Member
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    honesty and love. That is all.
    I agree. You need to find something else to put in place of those chocolate fixes. Tell him, Honey, I know you love me and you are trying to show me that in these little gifts but honestly, since I've started eating healthier, I just don't feel like I want to eat them anymore. How about you get me ___ instead when you feel like you need to treat me to something? You will have to replace the blank with your substitution (maybe yogurts or fruit baskets... IDK, only you can make that decision). This why he knows that he can show his love and support by getting you a little something and you won't feel like he's the devil in disguise. My ex was the same way - not in the treating but in sabotaging my efforts and self esteem in other ways (verbal mostly).

    As for the dining out... you might just have to resort to cooking separate meals if you definately don't want what you're cooking for him, or if he wants meatloaf and mashed potatoes, mix with lean beef and turkey and or chicken and then add a couple of veges that you can opt for instead of the potatoes and he can add if he want's to. You have to show him, no matter what you are determined to follow your plan. Right now he's kind of testing your waters of strength. You have to realize too that it's hard to accept change. You are growing and changing in ways that he's not ready to embrace. You have to show him that the two can coexist positively but that you won't tolerate his sabotage - whether conscious or not.

    I know it sucks cooking different meals. How about you prepare a weeks worth of meals for both of you on the weekend and have things setup for single servings, this way when he want's mashed potatoes and meatloaf and gravy you can have a nice whole grain veggie lasagna in about the same time and they are home made so it's not like making prepared foods. I think having him involved in the cooking process more would help too. Maybe you can convince him to save money on nights out for dinner if you are saving that money for something.... maybe a weekend getaway when you're a little more stable in your diet plan (where you can forget calorie counting but make visual healthy choices instead). He will never understand what you're going through until he needs to go through it.

    Maybe you could change everyone's eating by replacing some of your ground beef options with ground turkey and chicken or at least mixing it when you can't give it up totally. Honestly I rarely use ground beef now. Most of our ground meat is turkey and my 3 teens never seem to complain. It will be hard to make any lasting changes but you have to be strong and stay true to yourself. If you're going to be miserable giving in to his diet and meal strategies then there is no point continuing trying to stick to your diet because you are setting yourself up for failure knowing he will throw these wrenches at you.

    What about an alternate night meal - you pick Sunday dinner, he picks Monday (and you tweak it for your diet - eat fewer calories, make meat substitutions where possible, skip things like hamburger or dinner rolls, etc.) so that you both get what you want (at least for now). Ideally you want him eating as healthy as you. And maybe, just maybe once he sees how happy you are being fit and healthy, then he might decide to join you. If that happens, half the battle will be won because you have begun already with the meat substitutes in his diet.

    Good luck whatever you decide to do.
  • iamhealingmyself
    iamhealingmyself Posts: 579 Member
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    Maybe instead of him surprising you with Reese's, suggest that he try surprising you with flowers or something else to show he was thinking of you. I'd go for that!
    Ooooohhh... flowers are nice but short lived - how about a potted herb you can grow and USE all year long? or if you have room, how about something to plant in a small garden.... like this week he buys you broccoli or next week beans or peas... this way you not only get a one time benefit of his gift, but it's a gift that keeps on giving and you might also get him involved which might help change his mind along the way. Gardening also burns calories and can be quite soothing.