Dieting with a family

Can you eat lower calorie during the day so that you have calories available to indulge a bit with the fam at night? Smaller portions of desserts? Try to make healthier desserts? There's an old ww recipe called 3-2-1 cake (~100 cals). U mix a whole box of angel food cake with a whole box of your choice cake mix. After mixed well you put 3 tbsp cake mix, 2 tbsp of water into a bowl and mix then microwave 1 min. I top with cool whip:)

I plan for those kinds of things ahead of time and factor them into my calorie goal. Pre-logging my day helps greatly with that.

I cook every night for my family who are not dieting. If anything my partner needs to gain weight and my daughter is a fussy eater (narrow list of foods she will eat). So I cook like I always have. We have mashed potatoes 2-3x a week. And pasta and pizza at least once each. And they both have ice cream most nights for dessert. I didn't change my diet considerably when I started this in January because of this. I log everything, eat smaller portions, have salads (I love baby spinach with cherry tomatoes) on the side or steamed veggies (which I also love).

If you have such a hard time with resisting junk, stop buying it. Or buy low calorie versions.

I've started calorie cycling with a fairly large daily deficit during the week, so I can eat as normal with the family on the weekends. That's to maintain however.

I completely know where you're coming from. I've been trying to lose weight for about the last 2 years now. I start off strong, and then end up giving up. I have a large family, and it is so very hard when you're the only one who's trying to eat healthy. I've tried multiple times to get my husband to do this with me, but he would never stay committed to it. So being that I was the only one in the house doing so, I'd always end up failing. What finally did it for me honestly, was adding friends here on MFP. I had used MFP before, but never added people as friends. This time around, almost 4 months ago now, I decided to try it, to see if it would make a difference. It has helped me soooo very much! I'm down 17 lbs now, and finally feel like I can actually do this. Having friends on here that know your struggles, who are here to encourage you, motivate you, and cheer you on, makes all the difference in the world! I would definitely try it!

Once you start seeing the number on the scale go down, it also helps to motivate you. Not only that, but you'll start noticing the difference in how you feel when you avoid the junk food, and you're eating healthier. That right there, helps to curb my cravings for certain things now. I don't like the sluggish feeling that I get when I have sugar and such.

I would also suggest getting some low calorie substitutes for yourself when your family is having ice cream and other desserts. Fudgsicles, which are only 40 calories, are a great substitute when you're craving ice cream. There's a ton of other things out there as well. You just have to find what you like. I keep things like the 90 calorie Fiber One treats on hand for when I'm craving something sweet. The cheesecake ones are pretty yummy. They help satisfy your cravings, and prevent you from feeling guilty about over indulging.

Feel free to add me if you'd like. I'd love to be a friend, and help encourage you and motivate you.

When my skinny husband and daughter have big bars of chocolate, I have a mini snack sized one. I have one biscuit instead of three. I have two sausages instead of three. You can have anything you want, just a smaller portion.

Unfortunately you have a choice, it's hard and takes a lot of willpower but, either say no to the extras / amounts your family can afford to eat or stay unhappy with your weight... I know which one I chose. Good luck to you, it IS possible, but only you can stop putting the food in your mouth.

I feel your pain. When i started I was the only one in our house. When they had Chinese and that I had a bit etc so took a while to drop my 3 stone. Now my wife has started its so much easier, just the kids to keep happy now

Who buys the food? And why should your two year old (or other kids) have "a constant flow of cakes and cookies"? Treats in moderation is OK, but they don't need a constant flow of it.....

I have the same problem. I just factor this into my daily calorie intake. So far it's been working and I'm not giving up the foods I love too.

adurham79 wrote: »

Thank you everyone for the tips, suggestions, and a couple of kicks in the pants. This morning I decided to take charge. I made some sugar free pudding pops for my sweet cravings, and some mashed cauliflower to lighten my carbs a bit (I'm making the rest of my family mashed potatoes for dinner.)

That's awesome, way to go!! You CAN be strong!