Dieting when your family isn't!

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!!

I try to go for 300-cal breakfast, 400-cal lunch and 500-cal dinner. If I workout, I get snacks. But I am surprised you are getting 900 calories after lunch, as you describe. I don't eat low-cal yogurt because I prefer regular or greek (120 cals) and I add a toaster waffle (100 cals) and a couple strips of turkey bacon (40 cals) and some milk in my coffee for breakfast and it's like 285 calories.
Lean cuisine doesn't usually exceed 400 cals so I usually had a piece of fruit or something else. I can't bring salad to work easily because the fridge freezes it into a block of ice. Anyway, it will take getting used to, but you can check out my diary for ideas. DH doesn't need to diet but we eat the same thing. I don't have kids. I have been picking up pre-made dinners from a place called "supper solutions" and none of their servings exceed 500 calories, and it gives me ideas of what I can make myself. they put it together and I have to cook it. It doesn't come with side dishes, though you can order those separately.

I make one meal, but while they each get a cup of veggies, I get 2 cups. I make pasta or potatoes for them, but don't eat them unless I have the calorie allowance. Occasionally, if my husband is frying something that I don't want to eat, I will bake or grill a chicken breast or seafood for myself, but that only happens maybe once a week.

In the very beginning, the whole family had to eat what I was eating. I needed the support, and I just wasn't strong enough to say "no" to bad foods. Now that my will power is better, it doesn't really bother me, they can still have their favorite foods and I have no problem turning them down. My children and husband are all trying new things that I make, and we've incorporated a few of my healthier foods in to our regular menu for the family.

My family isn't changing their ways either (especially my step-dad) but if I cook they will eat what I make. My mother on the other hand, if she cooks she will try her best to make it as healthy as she can for me and if she can't she'll just save me a piece of chicken so I can make it how I want it. You shouldn't have to make separate meals. It's good that you're setting these meals up...it's a good opportunity to teach your children how to eat right for their future.

It doesn't take the frustration away though. I get frustrated when I have to look at boxes of macaroni and cheese and bags of chips and fried foods because my step-dad refuses to change but I just remember that I can't change him...I can only change me.

It's like that saying "being angry is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die". Me being mad at him for having crap food and not going along with my program is making me mad but not hurting him. He's gonna do what he wants to do and I can't change that.

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.

That's the great thing about having so much information available to us... you hear two different things and it's up to you to decide which is right for you. And most of us are here cause we didn't have the right answers to begin with. It's all a learning experience for us. Good luck in your journey!