Concerned about husbands eating habits

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Samithesizzler
Samithesizzler Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My husband recently learned about intermittent fasting from a joe rogan podcast. He now only eats between 2:30 and 10pm. Okay so. That’s all good and fine but when he DOES eat it’s practically a binge. He’ll eat sooo much. And not even weigh or log it. I’m trying to explain to him that if he eats well over his calories he won’t lose weight just because he’s fasting and he doesn’t agree. Really worried and his health at this point as he’s always sluggish and tired now.
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  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
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    How long has he been IF? Has his weight changed in that time?
  • Samithesizzler
    Samithesizzler Posts: 13 Member
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    Only about two weeks and it has not changed.
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
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    What is 'practically a binge'? What does he eat and how much?
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
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    He's a grown man. You can offer your opinion but don't be surprised when he chooses to do his own thing. Maybe it'll work out, maybe he'll reach his own conclusions.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    He'll no either way soon enough...

    Personally, 2 weeks is enough time for most men I know to drop weight if they're actually in a deficit. Most guys I know drop weight pretty easily.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    He'll no either way soon enough...

    Personally, 2 weeks is enough time for most men I know to drop weight if they're actually in a deficit. Most guys I know drop weight pretty easily.

    Same here. Not even really trying, my husband lost 20 lbs in a few months.

    To be fair, I can eat a LOT when I do IF too. 2200 calories in a short window can seem like a lot of food.. but you'll never know unless he starts to log/weigh. I know that when my husband skips breakfast he ends up eating way too much later, for example.
  • timtam163
    timtam163 Posts: 500 Member
    edited November 2017
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    That sounds really frustrating since you're asking with his best interests in mind.

    I don't know if this will work, but what if you just asked him periodically throughout the week how he's feeling? Maybe after his eating window closes, or during, so he's not hungry. If he responds that he's tired every time, maybe then you can say something to point this fact out, like "I love you and I'm worried that you've been tired this whole week..." or something along those lines that helps him become more mindful of what he's experiencing, rather than what you think he should do. I'd guess that the podcast he got this information from is not telling its listeners that IF could make you tired; I'd guess it tells its listeners that they're supposed to experience more energy and greater focus etc etc.

    Since he seems to like the idea of IF, you might be able to find him resources online that promote IF in conjunction with logging/tracking/consuming more whole foods/mindful eating/etc, so instead of talking him out of his experiment completely you can show him a range of information sources out there (some of which might be the basis of the information in the podcast).

    You might even want to consider doing it with him for a short time, assuming you don't have health issues that preclude you from doing so, in order to show him support but also model more responsible/controlled IF (i.e. IF with logging and tracking).
  • cargotrailer
    cargotrailer Posts: 62 Member
    edited November 2017
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    I only eat from 4pm - 7pm and during that time it seems like a 'binge", then I log it, and I'll be below 1500 calories,

    so then I eat some more!
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
    edited November 2017
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    I mean... depending on his height, weight and activity level - his maintenance TDEE could be in the 2500-3000 calorie range. If he's practicing OMAD (one meal a day), obviously that amount of calories in one sitting would look like a binge.

    Let him do what he wants, but if he ends up gaining some weight, you can point out that he's eating too much.
  • kristen8000
    kristen8000 Posts: 747 Member
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    I'm pretty sure this might be one of those learning experiences HE needs to figure out.

    There is no way in heck I'd ever try to "advise" my BF on what he ate, how much and when. He still thinks low weight, high reps is the way to build muscle. And no advising from me will every make him think otherwise.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    If he doesn't lose weight then he will need to adjust.
    It will still probably look like a lot of food at once to you. That doesn't mean it is wrong for him.
  • BZAH10
    BZAH10 Posts: 5,710 Member
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    I agree with the others that more time is needed. However, IF works for some people and not others. He may be the type that needs smaller amounts of food more regularly to keep his energy level up.

    If he sticks with IF, however, and he is open to suggestion I would try to point out that during the time period he's eating it's not just a free-for-all. He will still need to monitor how much he eats, if he really wants to lose weight and be healthier.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,493 Member
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    It works for me I eat 2000-2200 calories over a span of a few hours,
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    hes a grown man. hell figure it out eventually when hes not losing weight.

    youre not his momma.
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
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    My husband has always eaten like this and it works fine for him. He drops some weight now and then just by being mindful and eating a bit less, there's no way he would ever be bothered to weigh or log.


    If he's frustrated because he's not losing weight, it wouldn't surprise me if he eventually scraps the idea of IF all together. He'll figure it out. And if not, you've planted the seed about logging, and that's really all you can do.


    Men generally don't like being told that they're eating too much, whether it's true or not. I would be pretty angry if my husband commented on how much I eat and told me it's "too much"...
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Also, given the smaller eating windows, IF can very much look like a massive binge...you're fitting in all of your daily calories into a smaller window.

    People use IF to lose, maintain, and gain weight...so he'll still have to figure out the calorie part eventually...but yeah, one of the reasons IF never worked for me is because it's a lot of food in a smallish window.
  • Bearbo27
    Bearbo27 Posts: 339 Member
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    toxikon wrote: »
    I mean... depending on his height, weight and activity level - his maintenance TDEE could be in the 2500-3000 calorie range. If he's practicing OMAD (one meal a day), obviously that amount of calories in one sitting would look like a binge.

    Let him do what he wants, but if he ends up gaining some weight, you can point out that he's eating too much.

    ^^^this!!!
    My husband is tall and with his activity level from his Fitbit adjustment, many days he is given about 2200-3000 to eat and he will still lose weight. If my husband was choosing to eat all of that in a short window of the day then it would definitely seem like a huge amount of food.

    With that being said...if he gains weight then he will probably reevaluate what he is doing on his own.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    edited November 2017
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    He's a grown man. Respect him enough to let him make his own decisions. If he wants your opinion and you have a good relationship, he'll ask for it. If he's not asking, leave him be.

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