My sister is obese

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Replies

  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
    When I was at my heaviest I did most of my eating at night, alone. My husband worked long night shifts and I was lonely after the kids went to bed so I filled the hole with food. I ate whole bags of mini Butterfingers. I would buy pints of Ben & Jerry's and hide them in the back of the refrigerator, and look forward all day to eating the whole pint. I would then have to hide the pints in the trash--and the Butterfinger wrappers.

    Looking back I was probably suffering from depression as well. I felt like a married but single mom with little support. Not to bash my husband. He's a great guy but he was the sole income and needed to work to support us all (and, apparently, my Ben & Jerry habit).

    It took a medical scare to set me straight.

    I hope your sister finds that one thing that motivates her to change <3
  • happyringer
    happyringer Posts: 21 Member
    If she's like me, she needs a cheerleader. Help her break the cycle of celebrating and socializing with food. I think it's one of my biggest hurdles. When I get with my friends, we sit around and eat, or go out and eat. I need someone to help me shift my focus toward doing healthy things instead of eating all the wrong things.

    Ideas? Join a gym where one pays and can take a friend for free (and split the cost). Go window shopping (mall walking, antiquing, etc.). Instead of going out for lunch, bring a pre-packed picnic - with good food choices - and go to a park or river walk, etc. Then, save the money that would have been spent on lunches to spend on something special (a pedicure, a movie, clothes -- whatever motivates her) but NOT food.

    Go grocery shopping together and go home and make some premade meals for the week. If you're a healthy eater, it will help her make better grocery choices.

    My husband and I have a thing where any week that we lose any amount of weight, (not lost previously), we get $15 set aside for new clothes. We are both savers, so we are accumulating our winnings. If she can't afford to do that for herself, you can come up with some other creative reward. I just can't say enough that it can't be food. My first husband would buy me m&ms as rewards. Yes, they were my favorite. Yes it was given and received with love. But, it's just like giving a beer to an alcoholic to celebrate his sobriety. It totally defeats the purpose. We have to rewire our brains and it's a very hard thing to do. Best of luck. Let us know how it goes with her WW.

    Encourage her to join MFP and friend all of us!!! We're all in it together.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    HilTri wrote: »
    Great news! My sister told me out of the blue, that she joined WW! So she knows there is a problem! I promise I didn’t prod her or say a thing. In fact, I hadn’t talked to her for several days and when I finally did, she shared this news with me! Thanks for all your info,

    I am glad she is trying a path to a better life. This may or may not be her path but if not hopefully she will learn what she does need.

    I am a little surprise that you were unsure she was aware of her problem. I am not even sure how she could be unaware.

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