when no one else in the house wants to change eating habits
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maryjay52
Posts: 557 Member
i am learning to manage this .. my three full grown teen boys eat everything that is not nailed down and then some ..they can care less about eating healthy. they are all on sports teams and burn it off easily and see no consequences in their eating habits. i have tried to explain the healthy reasons why i am making my own changes but as typical teens think they are invincible. so for me i started making up food for myself and put it in the fridge.. when we had burgers the other night i had a burger too but on a spring greens and spinach salad , no cheese no dressing ..only vinegar and a tbl of olive oil and beets . i was full and glad i didnt eat the fries and bread and cheese .. if i did not prepare stuff ahead of time then i would've had what they had .. preparation is the key to all this in my eyes
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I eat the same foods as my husband and kids but in calorie amounts that fit in with my goals. My husband's calorie requirements are totally different than mine, just as teenage boys' calorie requirements are going to be totally different than their mothers
I also do things like split fries when we go out to eat (which is several times a week), use light condiments when available (mayo, ranch etc), and then chose lower calorie side options sometimes. But, I still eat pretty typical to my family-when we have burgers I'll still have the burger with bun and one slice of cheese and ketchup and mustard, and then one serving of chips. My husband on the other hand adds bacon and an extra slice of cheese, and then eats alll the chips lol. We both enjoy our burgers, but mine is about 2oo calories less than my husbands, which matches our different calorie requirements.
I'm only responsible for my own weight and eating habits, simple as that.6 -
Also, curious why you did vinegar and olive oil instead of ketchup and mustard? Mustard is like 3 calories for a tsp. and ketchup is like 20 calories for a tbsp. Way less than olive oil.3
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I am the cook in the house. It is amazing how my teenage daughters and husband got into cooking if they didn't want what I was cooking. Now we take turns cooking balanced meals and if they cook something that is more calorie dense I eat less of it or fix my own. We plan the menu together on the weekend for the coming week.2
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Like @crzycatlady1 , I also eat the same foods as those in my household, just smaller amounts. I did start substituting guacamole on my cheeseburger for mayo, before I would have both. But I still eat the bun. A burger isn't a burger without the bun. It is just grilled beef, which is also good, just not the same.1
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crzycatlady1 wrote: »Also, curious why you did vinegar and olive oil instead of ketchup and mustard? Mustard is like 3 calories for a tsp. and ketchup is like 20 calories for a tbsp. Way less than olive oil.
I think the oil and vinegar were salad dressing for the spinach salad.
My husband needs 1000 calories/day more than me so I tend to take a similar approach. I'll eat the burger but usually avoid the fries (or just have a few). Or we'll have salad or kale chips with our burgers.1 -
mysticlizard wrote: »I am the cook in the house. It is amazing how my teenage daughters and husband got into cooking if they didn't want what I was cooking. Now we take turns cooking balanced meals and if they cook something that is more calorie dense I eat less of it or fix my own. We plan the menu together on the weekend for the coming week.
Thats similar to my thoughts. When I was a teenager I ate what I was given and if I didn't like it I knew i'd need to get a job and take a trip to the local shops!0 -
My wife and I rarely share the same food. She has a preference for salads and I prefer other foods. She doesn't need to cut any body fat off her already rock-hard bod; I am in for a very long sit with the calorie deficit. So it doesn't make any sense for us to try and share the same foods. On top of that, when we do go out, she simply has a different set of taste buds that me. I would prefer a steak or a pizza, she'd rather have fancy salad.
It's okay to have totally different food likes/dislikes and to eat in a manner that fits your goals and palate.
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SusanMFindlay wrote: »crzycatlady1 wrote: »Also, curious why you did vinegar and olive oil instead of ketchup and mustard? Mustard is like 3 calories for a tsp. and ketchup is like 20 calories for a tbsp. Way less than olive oil.
I think the oil and vinegar were salad dressing for the spinach salad.
My husband needs 1000 calories/day more than me so I tend to take a similar approach. I'll eat the burger but usually avoid the fries (or just have a few). Or we'll have salad or kale chips with our burgers.
Ah that makes sense but olive oil is calorie dense though, there's lots of low calorie dressings out there that have less calories (I use one that's like 20 calories for 2tbsp). Still confused as to why putting ketchup and mustard on a hamburger is a no no, since they're both low calorie condiments?1 -
Nothing wrong with olive oil, its a good fat, we all need good fats even if they have more calories that other dressings or foods.5
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I do the cooking in my house too with 2 big hard working men...I eat what they eat just in smaller quantities.
If we have burgers I eat a burger on a bun with cheese, mayo, bacon and avocado...
Tonight we are having steaks with FF and mushrooms and onions maybe some carrots too....or cauliflower...
I will eat the FF...I will eat it all just in smaller portions.5 -
I pretty much do the same thing. It's hard to go wrong when you base your meals around meat and vegetables. A little extra fat for flavor and to keep me satisfied between meals and I'm good to go.0
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i am learning to manage this .. my three full grown teen boys eat everything that is not nailed down and then some ..they can care less about eating healthy. they are all on sports teams and burn it off easily and see no consequences in their eating habits. i have tried to explain the healthy reasons why i am making my own changes but as typical teens think they are invincible. so for me i started making up food for myself and put it in the fridge.. when we had burgers the other night i had a burger too but on a spring greens and spinach salad , no cheese no dressing ..only vinegar and a tbl of olive oil and beets . i was full and glad i didnt eat the fries and bread and cheese .. if i did not prepare stuff ahead of time then i would've had what they had .. preparation is the key to all this in my eyes
As a former very active teenage boy that was involved in all manner of athletics...I can tell you that calories are what I needed...a tiny burger on spring greens would have done next to nothing for me and the likely more than 4,000 calories per day that I was torching....
Part of "healthy" is meeting energy requirements...your teenage boys are very active...they're gonna need more than a friggin' salad. Men in general are going to have higher calorie requirements...so you can't think that just because they're eating more or eating a lot that it's inherently "unhealthy".
Yeah, push the veg and fruit...but they also just need to eat. My parents used to take me to all you can eat pancake house after track meets and football games and I could eat for a couple of hours...on top of that, I'd basically eat my parents out of house and home...I was growing and active and despite piling food into my face, I had a hard time maintaining weight and was pretty scrawny.
As a side not, I think you might have somewhat of a myopic view of healthy...there's nothing wrong with cheese...nothing wrong with dressing, in fact on the benefits of dressing on salad is that many nutrients are fat soluble...meaning you need to eat fat to absorb those nutrients...olive oil, while calorie dense is a healthy fat...
In summary, they don't really need to change their eating habits at this point...they need food...they need energy...they are active and growing teenage boys.14 -
Sounds like you and your family have different views on being healthy. Also why should they change their habits? They don't sound any worse than yours.5
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I too eat mainly what my family eats. I enjoy sweet potatoes and they do not so I often bake one for myself while I bake regular potatoes for them. I have to watch my portions though. If they have burgers I'm having one but I'll skip the bacon and save those calories for some fries. Planning ahead is key. I have diabetes so there are times where I do have to radically adjust my meal away from family's meal but that is definitely not the norm.
I honestly don't ask anyone else in the house to change anything. All I ask is that they respect that I have to eat in a certain way to maintain tight control of my diabetes and to respect my food choices as much as I respect theirs. My husband is very overweight and I wouldn't ever think to talk to him about his habits. If he wants to change his habits he will. I want him to make choices because he loves himself, not to appease me.
I'm glad you have found something that works for you. There is a local restaurant that has a "naked burger salad" and I LOVE it. It is the burger on a salad base with bleu cheese and matchstick fries. I don't get the matchstick fries because that's not really my thing, but I get everything else! It is very good and makes a perfect lighter dinner.
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crzycatlady1 wrote: »Also, curious why you did vinegar and olive oil instead of ketchup and mustard? Mustard is like 3 calories for a tsp. and ketchup is like 20 calories for a tbsp. Way less than olive oil.
because i dont want ketchup or mustard on my greens .. the hamburger was good the way it was . i made a pub burger with onion, worschester sauce and a bit of ketchup and oatmeal (instead of breadcrumbs).. i had tomato on the salad so i used that with the burger instead .. and i needed some healthy fat so i use the olive oil ....fyi i love ketchup !!!!!!!!3 -
crzycatlady1 wrote: »Also, curious why you did vinegar and olive oil instead of ketchup and mustard? Mustard is like 3 calories for a tsp. and ketchup is like 20 calories for a tbsp. Way less than olive oil.
because i dont want ketchup or mustard on my greens .. the hamburger was good the way it was . i made a pub burger with onion, worschester sauce and a bit of ketchup and oatmeal (instead of breadcrumbs).. i had tomato on the salad so i used that with the burger instead .. and i needed some healthy fat so i use the olive oil ....fyi i love ketchup !!!!!!!!
I'm an oil and vinegar dressing gal. I like it very simple. I actually enjoy the taste of the salad itself and don't like to cover it too much.0 -
Sounds like you and your family have different views on being healthy. Also why should they change their habits? They don't sound any worse than yours.
because i was like them at one time ...extremely athletic and ate crap on top of all my meals ..and it got me to 300lbs at one time in my life so i am more just trying to make them aware of what can happen .. and so i opted to stop buying junk food ..i told them if they want junk food to get a job and buy it ...which they do 0 -
Sounds like you and your family have different views on being healthy. Also why should they change their habits? They don't sound any worse than yours.
because i was like them at one time ...extremely athletic and ate crap on top of all my meals ..and it got me to 300lbs at one time in my life so i am more just trying to make them aware of what can happen .. and so i opted to stop buying junk food ..i told them if they want junk food to get a job and buy it ...which they do
But, junk food doesn't make you fat. Eating too much food does even if it what you consider "healthy".
Like cwolfman13 said, if they are very active they need calories.
I eat a lot and I'm at least twice their age. I eat a lot of ice cream and donuts and everything yet I'm not 300lbs because I'm active too. Just something to think about.3 -
Sounds like you have it sorted - you eat the quantity or combination of foods that works for you, and the rest of your family will do the same. You must have vastly different calorie requirements, and while it's good that you are flagging and demonstrating healthy eating, they have a lot more room in their calories to fit in a bit of junk while still getting good nutrition.
I suspect that as teenagers they aren't going to pay a lot of attention to what you say anyway, so I'd just keep on setting a good example by providing a good variety of nutritious food for them, and hope they store away this info for when they are out on their own.
You are definitely right that preparation is important - if you are the one doing most of the shopping and the cooking, then it shouldn't be hard to plan meals where you can substitute or reduce quantities of items that don't fit into your calorie goals for the day, while still filling up your growing boys.
I wouldn't harp on what you are doing though - evangelism (no matter what the subject) can be extremely annoying, and will probably make them more resistant to listening to you.
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I eat the same foods as everyone else in this house, and I don't expect anyone to change their eating habits just because I am losing weight. That's silly. I am losing weight for me. My family can support me in other ways and they can do whatever they like. I cannot and don't control them.
There are no foods that cause weight gain. Eating too many calories (eating more calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight) is how everyone can become overweight and obese. Don't blame the food. It's ALL about calories. I've lost the bulk of my weight eating junk foods such as chocolate and cheesy puffs alongside nutritious foods (I do eat mostly nutritious foods, though, but if I want a chocolate bar, I will have it). No regrets. Fat doesn't make you fat (it is essential, actually), protein doesn't make us fat (another essential) and carbs certainly do not make us fat. Sometimes I eat a LOT of carbs and still lose weight.
It is ALL about calories. Forget all you've learned about weight loss. Calories are king for weight loss.
There are not god foods or bad foods. Food is food. I eat nutritious and 'junk' food. I just make sure to weigh everything and log it.1
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