How to get my wife on board?

blackaheep4288
blackaheep4288 Posts: 41 Member
edited December 2 in Health and Weight Loss
My wife and I have been married for 3 years. We're both 26. When we were married I weighed 375lbs and she was at 300. I've been dieting off and on for our entire relationship. I finally hit my breaking point when the dr told me I was at 418lbs in Feb. I had no idea... My scale would no longer weigh me... I've seen people on tv say they didn't understand how they allowed themselves to get so big. I was that person... I had to change.

I started my lifestyle change on the 18th of Feb. I'm now down 60lbs. I've cut out most crap food... Although I still have my chinese every few weeks and eat whatever I was as long as I'm checking my portions. My wife and I go to dinner maybe twice a week and always at a place with a low calorie menu. My wife does support me to a point. She encourages me to get up and go to the gym(I try to do at least 2 miles every other day), and she does buy the food that I need to maintain my choice of lifestyle. I've pretty much taken over the cooking because I can't convince her that every meal needs a stick of butter for flavor. She usually skips breakfast, eat fast-food for lunch and dinner because she doesn't like the healthier meals. Usually it's a double quarter pounder with a Lg coke and Lg fry for both lunch and dinner. I'm not sure what her current weight it.. I just know that it's now more than I weigh.

How do I convince her that she's killing herself? If we go out to eat she usually eats more calories in the free bread than I eat in the entire meal. Every time I bring it up she becomes defensive or just ignores me. I know that I've only been at this for 99 days but I feel like I've made the commitment and am following through with what I said I would do. We both have office jobs so we sit all day. Both offices have a free gym on site. She told me the other day that her biggest fear was that I would lose a lot of weight, divorce her, and go find a skinny girl. I don't want to do that. I love my wife very much. However, I have no intentions of becoming a widower by the time we're 35. Does anyone have any ideas on how to help her get off this road she's on?
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Replies

  • 85Cardinals
    85Cardinals Posts: 733 Member
    edited May 2016
    Good luck with that, damn. Everything I tried with my fat ex-wife didn't work. Have you seen the film Days of Wine and Roses? Sometimes you just can't help people, as much as you want to.
  • stephinator92
    stephinator92 Posts: 162 Member
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    I try very hard to get healthy and get others on board with me, including my boyfriend. It took 3 full years to get him to set foot in a gym with me. I understand how discouraging it could be when others either aren't on board with you, drag you down, make life more difficult or just refuse to make positive changes in their lives.

    From a female perspective, the only way I could see this coming through effectively would be for you to do the following:

    1. Tell her she's beautiful. Every single day.
    2. Make her feel beautiful and get rid of any doubt she may have in your relationship.
    3. Make sure you tell her you love her every single day
    4. After a week or two of this (I hope you're already doing this stuff), sit her down and tell her how much you love her. Explain in a heartfelt, non-judgemental, unrehearsed way that you genuinely care about her and you're worried about her health. Ask her if she'd be willing to make a small change, like getting a medium instead of a large when she goes to McDonald's. If she's amenable, in another couple weeks maybe you can work on another small change. Tell her you want a long life with her and you're concerned about her best interests. Make sure you tell her that her weight does not impact the way that you feel about her and that you love her at any size. Make sure she knows that you don't care if she's overweight, but you're concerned about her being healthy.

    Obviously this isn't foolproof, but anything that comes across judgemental or as an attack will not work because she will immediately get defensive. Instead of "You don't care about your health" type of statements, talk about how YOU feel. Example: "I feel helpless because I want you to be healthy so we can have a long life together."

    I hope this helps in some way. Good luck!

    As to the bold above:

    While I can tell this is heartfelt and that you mean well, trying to change somebody else never turns out well. I suspect the more he tries to change her, the more she will resist. Another person has no business trying to convince another adult what they should or should not eat, or even how much.

    There is nothing wrong with telling someone once that you're concerned about their health, and this would include obesity issues, but anymore than that is trying to control another person, and it does come across as judgmental.

    The thing is.....it's obvious from the original post that he cares that she's obese because it's affecting her health, so saying otherwise would be a lie.

    I tried to think about it like if my boyfriend were having this conversation with me and how I would want to be spoken to. It's honestly a tricky situation, but I did my best! What I meant by "don't care if she's overweight" had to do with looks, not health. I guess maybe making a suggestion if she becomes amenable would be a better choice than forcing anything upon her.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    I try very hard to get healthy and get others on board with me, including my boyfriend. It took 3 full years to get him to set foot in a gym with me. I understand how discouraging it could be when others either aren't on board with you, drag you down, make life more difficult or just refuse to make positive changes in their lives.

    From a female perspective, the only way I could see this coming through effectively would be for you to do the following:

    1. Tell her she's beautiful. Every single day.
    2. Make her feel beautiful and get rid of any doubt she may have in your relationship.
    3. Make sure you tell her you love her every single day
    4. After a week or two of this (I hope you're already doing this stuff), sit her down and tell her how much you love her. Explain in a heartfelt, non-judgemental, unrehearsed way that you genuinely care about her and you're worried about her health. Ask her if she'd be willing to make a small change, like getting a medium instead of a large when she goes to McDonald's. If she's amenable, in another couple weeks maybe you can work on another small change. Tell her you want a long life with her and you're concerned about her best interests. Make sure you tell her that her weight does not impact the way that you feel about her and that you love her at any size. Make sure she knows that you don't care if she's overweight, but you're concerned about her being healthy.

    Obviously this isn't foolproof, but anything that comes across judgemental or as an attack will not work because she will immediately get defensive. Instead of "You don't care about your health" type of statements, talk about how YOU feel. Example: "I feel helpless because I want you to be healthy so we can have a long life together."

    I hope this helps in some way. Good luck!

    As to the bold above:

    While I can tell this is heartfelt and that you mean well, trying to change somebody else never turns out well. I suspect the more he tries to change her, the more she will resist. Another person has no business trying to convince another adult what they should or should not eat, or even how much.

    There is nothing wrong with telling someone once that you're concerned about their health, and this would include obesity issues, but anymore than that is trying to control another person, and it does come across as judgmental.

    The thing is.....it's obvious from the original post that he cares that she's obese because it's affecting her health, so saying otherwise would be a lie.

    I tried to think about it like if my boyfriend were having this conversation with me and how I would want to be spoken to. It's honestly a tricky situation, but I did my best! What I meant by "don't care if she's overweight" had to do with looks, not health. I guess maybe making a suggestion if she becomes amenable would be a better choice than forcing anything upon her.

    I understand. :)

  • Mikachu326
    Mikachu326 Posts: 3 Member
    Talk to her. Sit her down and tell her you love her and appreciate the way she's been supporting you. Then gently express your concern for her health, talk about how much better and healthier you feel, and tell her that you want her to start to feel better too. If she becomes defensive, suggest she see a doctor (doctors have an objective point of view and she may not become as defensive with them).

    Include her in your fitness journey as well. Offer to go on walks with her or introduce her to a fun sport. Get her in the kitchen and see if you two can create healthier versions of her favourite takeout foods that she will enjoy.

    Ultimately though, she is an adult and will live her life as she pleases. Your views and hers may not always align, and weight loss may be one thing you and your wife will not see eye-to-eye on. The best thing you can do is focus on your own health and fitness. Best of luck!
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    How do I convince her that she's killing herself? If we go out to eat she usually eats more calories in the free bread than I eat in the entire meal. Every time I bring it up she becomes defensive or just ignores me. I know that I've only been at this for 99 days but I feel like I've made the commitment and am following through with what I said I would do. We both have office jobs so we sit all day. Both offices have a free gym on site. She told me the other day that her biggest fear was that I would lose a lot of weight, divorce her, and go find a skinny girl. I don't want to do that. I love my wife very much. However, I have no intentions of becoming a widower by the time we're 35. Does anyone have any ideas on how to help her get off this road she's on?

    This is tricky. As others have said it has to come when the person is ready and she is defensive already. She knows already you'd like her to lose weight. Don't talk about food or exercise with her. Tell her you love her. Say how much you like doing things with her.
    Your wife seems insecure and probably feels bad about herself. Maybe she has some emotional or mental stuff to work through before she is ready to make a lot of changes. Maybe counseling could help.


    I really lost weight when I was tired of not being able to keep up with my family, being in pain a lot of the time, and feeling scared that I would end up stuck in a chair or bed. Not how I want to live. I knew I was overweight long before that point.
  • ifoundnemo434
    ifoundnemo434 Posts: 3 Member
    She simply has to find the desire & motivation herself, just like you did. Just keep setting a good example for her and I'm sure she'll soon follow. Just don't push too much!
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    1) You loved her enough to marry her when she was already obese. Keep doing that.
    2) Remove her fear of losing you. Make sure she knows that she's your one and only and that you will never leave her for some skinny girl.
    3) Inspire her with your own success.
    4) Leave it at that. Don't pressure her. Let it be her decision when she's ready.

    I think I love you.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    OP, people change. If and when they are ready, they want to and regardless of what others want. Express your concerns and leave it at this. She might change or she might not. She might lose weight, or she might gain more. You might end up having completely different lifestyles in 10 years from now, or not. You might leave her or she might leave you or you might be together until your old age. You can only control your own choices. You cannot control her decisions and you cannot even control your feelings. Focus on yourself for now. Do not let her hold you back. And do not nag her.
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