Dieting when your family isn't!

sometimes i will make a meal for them, but i will eat my favorite healthy cereal and some fruit, instead of what i made for them.

They may not need to diet, but they can certainly eat healthy We all eat the same thing, I just usually have a smaller portion, or instead of serving something with pasta, I may eat it on a bed of spinach - if we do a fish-fry (my hubby is a fisherman) I bake a pan of fish for me (though usually these days the deep fryer stays put away and that's what we ALL eat).

Lean meat and veggies for everyone; potato or rice for the rest of your family.
Spaghetti: use the tomato-based sauce, add veggies, and serve with either a small amount of pasta for you (regular serving for the rest of your family) or serve your own sauce over green beans.
Mexican food: get rid of the taco shells/tortilla for yourself; make it into a salad; the tortillas or taco shells for them.

Etc etc. You can do it. I have a husband who has no interest in dieting, and we make it work, mostly by making healthy base items, leaving the "extras" for him.

I often make sides that I won't eat along with other things that I like. I'll make grilled chicken and a big salad, some fruit and perhaps FF for the kids. I make sure not to make enough for me so I only eat the good stuff. For the most part though they should be eating the same healthy whole foods.

Eat the same foods as the rest of your family, but smaller portions.
Also, sneak healthy alternatives in with their foods. What they don't know will only make them and you healthier!
My husband has been unknowingly eating healthier foods for a couple of months now! He doesn't need to know the sour cream is low fat and that I haven't used "real" sugar in anything for weeks! He hasn't even questioned the fact that we have had a vegetable with every meal recently.

Good Luck! No excuses! )

Eat the same foods as the rest of your family, but smaller portions.
Also, sneak healthy alternatives in with their foods. What they don't know will only make them and you healthier!
My husband has been unknowingly eating healthier foods for a couple of months now! He doesn't need to know the sour cream is low fat and that I haven't used "real" sugar in anything for weeks! He hasn't even questioned the fact that we have had a vegetable with every meal recently.

Good Luck! No excuses! )

Portions portions portions. You can cook healthy veggie items and a salad with juicy steak for example and just serve yourself smaller portions of the rich items and larger portions of the low-cal stuff. Everyone else can eat large portions of the decadent stuff and small servings of healthier items

mostly i make ONE dinner. and they will eat it or make their own(which they wont) so i win! but seriously, whatever i make i just portion mine and give my hubs a bigger size.

I went grocery shopping last night and instead of buying normal lean beef I got ground turkey so I am trying to substitute that in there. I did my first food post today of what I ate for breakfast and lunch and even after just yogurt and granola for breakfast, a lean cuisine for lunch I only have 300 calories left for dinner! This is gonna take some getting used to! Thank you ladies for all your input!!

Watch which types of yogurt / Lean Cuisine you buy. They vary with calories/fat. Dont' buy yogurt that has more than 100 calories. Also, granola is usually a no-go. Maybe look for a low cal cereal (Kashi) that you can put into your yogurt instead. Good Luck!!

Oh, and I cook healthy dinners. If they don't like it, they are open to cook for themselves! Sometimes they like it, sometimes they don't...!

My tall and skinny honey eats what I eat at dinner for all the right reasons--for his own health, and because he loves me and supports my goals. But then to get the extra calories he wants/ needs (and particularly protein), he'll usually makes himself a snack either before or after dinner (sometimes both)-- typically lean chicken or turkey breast, or several handfuls of nuts and dried fruit.

And we have a "don't ask-don't tell"' policy about lunch when we're both at work. . . so I know that he sometimes eats hamburgers and other "off list" stuff when I'm not around!

Dont' buy yogurt that has more than 100 calories. Also, granola is usually a no-go.

You might want to be careful giving such specific advice. Quality is as important as calorie count, and some things are super healthy for you, but have lots of calories. Yes, granola can be high-calorie, but if you buy a good type that is low in sugar and is made of whole grains and things like flax seed and nuts, it can be very healthy for you.

For yogurt - if you buy the no-fat yogurt it will be lower in calories but often they add a bunch of other "crap" - sugar, etc. You can find no-fat or low-fat yogurt without that stuff, but you have to read the labels carefully. To say that you shouldn't buy yogurt with more than 100 calories (per serving, I assume) is super general and rather restrictive. Plenty of good, healthy yogurts have calorie counts higher than that per serving.

i had the same problem. my hubby sure dont need to lose no more weight. i just started cooking healthy . but i also buy the junk he likes. but my secret i only buy him the junk i dont like . so when he eats his ice cream , i have a 45 calorie fudge stix. it takes time but you will figure it out

Just because they dont need to lose weight, as you see, doesnt mean they dont need to eat healthy.

Exactly what I was thinking!

Try to find some healthier foods that everyone enjoys, healthy versions of unhealthier favorites, new foods, etc. You simply eat less (portion control) since you're trying to lose weight. Everyone will benefit from eating healthier!

Our endocrinologist once told me EVERYONE should eat like a diabetic. And it's true. Just because someone is thin by no means does that mean they are healthy. I do fix different things for the rest of my family than I do myself sometimes or like the other poster said eat the same thing just smaller portions(use those scales and measuring cups!) I have started to lower the sodium consumption for my entire family Shhhhh they don't know that
and like last night I was tired I made baked chicken and veggies thats it! My daughter said is that it?! I said Yes. If an entire leg quarter, veggies and a glass of milk doesn't fill you up let me know, she was fine. My husband I told him since you don't eat veggies here's your "big" piece of chicken. Dinner is served they know where the kitchen is if they want something else. Do what you can when you can. We decide how our family eats not the other way around it's one of those "mom"perks!

Lots of good advice here.

Nobody else in my family has a weight problem either :frown:

I use portion control (same stuff my family eats, I just watch portions), as well as the strategy of multiple side dishes. For example, I'll make hamburgers (which everyone eats), with French fries, which everybody but me eats, and a salad, which the kids and I eat (my spouse won't touch a salad). Or I'll make goulash (which everybody eats) with rolls (which everybody else eats) and peas (which the kids and I eat; my spouse won't touch peas).

So we all eat the same entree; I just measure mine more carefully than theirs. And if they're having a side that I can't eat, I make two sides -- one that I can eat.