How to not affect others while calorie counting??

I have taken to eating smaller, low calorie breakfasts and lunches saving the bulk of my calories for dinner, this has meant that I haven't really had to change the way we eat evening meals, other than being a bit more mindful of portion sizes.

The other thing I've done is taken more control over cooking, which you might not be able to do, my husband used to do most of the cooking before, but now that I'm calorie counting I do it more than he does.

rcoull75 wrote: »

I am just in my first week of dieting and calorie counting, for the first time ever!

I am managing breakfast and lunch ok, but finding dinner really hard to do without affecting the rest of the family.

My wife usually cooks dinner before I get in from work, so it is difficult to judge calories, and she wont separate out different meals for me, her and the kids, and weigh mine!

We would normally go out to eat once a week, and that is another problem I have. We were out last night, and I asked the waiter and manager about calories, and they looked at me like I was daft!

So any advice on (1) how to calorie count without affecting others in the family, and (2) how to manage going out to eat, would be very welcomed!

I am trying my best, and doing well, but dinner is a real challenge!

I'm the cook in my house. I plan the meals. I make the grocery list. Quite frankly everyone in my house is at my mercy for food unless they step up and get involved in that process. I want people to be happy though. I didn't really change the way my family eats just my portion sizes. I sometimes swap out the rice my famy is eating for a salad.for me and we all eat the same main dish.
Get involved. You are partners and family sharing resources. Explain your goals/needs, ask questions, compromise, work together so everyone gets what they want. Express appreciation.
Make a meal plan together that works for everyone. Share cooking duties. Lots of people come home from work and cook. Cook in advance for the week. You don't have to eat food just because it is there. Let other people feed themselves and you feed yourself.
Does she use recipes? Put it in the recipe builder. Estimate the best you can.
Are you having mixed dishes every night or meat, potato, etc? If it is seperate you can adjust and weigh out your portion sizes easier.
Put more vegetables on your plate. Reduce your portion sizes of other food.
Eat lighter at breakfast and lunch and save more calories for dinner if you think it is pretty high calorie at home.
At restaurants if there is no nutritional info find a similar dish to log. It is better than nothing. Choose things like grilled meats. Get vegetables/salad. Go light or skip sauces, dressings, condiments, cheese, cream, butter. A vinaigrette dressing is usually lower cal than a creamy dressing. Drink water or no calorie drinks.

Now I understand. Yes, it can be difficult to get it right.

As far home eating, yep that's a hard one. You can only do your best with it. Calculate as best as possible leaving a little "wiggle room". As far as eating out, if there isn't a website with nutrition available, I choose a different chain with similar choices. If it's not a popular chain restaurant, ask for sauces and dressings on the side, light on cheese, no butter, etc. If it's something that is high in calories, ask for a to-go box. Eat half and save other half for dinner the next night. Good luck!

@hypodonthaveme Love your profile pic. I have a Siberian husky.

Make your own dinner so you can count it accurately?

My suggestion is to relax a bit, just guess at it, and see if you're still making progress in two weeks.

If you're making progress, then congrats it's working and for now you don't need to be more accurate.

And kiss your wife and thank her for making you dinner.

I try to weigh everything. I then look for several similar items that are measured by weight and then pick a higher calorie one or a middle of the scale one as a match. You could also do this with cup measures.

I do all the cooking, so it's a bit easier for me, but I keep ready made veggies made up to fill up on and eat smaller portions. Look up the most comparable dish online and log the highest one. Don't starve, but if you are still hunger grab more veggies or a piece of fruit.
When we are out, we go where he wants to, so I snack on veggies in the truck and usually have some Greek yogurt in my cooler bag too. I always keep a fiber one bar if I need a chocolate fix. Where there is a will there is a way.
He is coming around to my wacky ways, but the eating out thing can be more of a challenge for me. I only eat half depending on where we go. Sometimes there are not great choices where we live. You just eat less and roll with it. Just not literally!