help please..

BrittMUSTloseweight
BrittMUSTloseweight Posts: 37 Member
edited October 2 in Food and Nutrition
I really need some help with losing some weight,
my husband dosnt want to eat healthy so im forced to cook
what he wants to eat. how can i eat healthy when he wants to
eat everyting else. we buy a case of root beers every week, and
i drink them i know i shouldnt its hard to control my self
i want to lose weight so bad i just have no self control at all!
i need help on simple things i can eat while still cooking for him,
also simple workouts to do at home ( i have two kids, not in school, no time for gym)
i really need to lose some belly weight, and weight in my thighs and face!
any info will help & thank you so much!

Replies

  • ameyc2002
    ameyc2002 Posts: 247 Member
    add me for support if you like

    i have 2 kids as well stay at home mom right now. i have light breakfast and lunch that way i can eat a great meal at dinner with the family...
  • Flyntiggr
    Flyntiggr Posts: 898 Member
    Seems to me that if you are doing the cooking, he eats what you put on the table. If he doesn't like it, he cooks his own dinner...
  • leomom72
    leomom72 Posts: 1,797 Member
    well, unless HE does the cooking, you should make what YOU think is healthy..in my house i cook, and it's eat what i make, or you don't eat rule..please don't let him hold you back..if he refuses to eat healthier, start making him make his own food..best of luck
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    you are not forced to cook what he wants, you can cook what you want and if he doesn't like it then tough titty. Tell him if he wants to eat a certain way he can feed himself. He's a big boy. I sneak stuff in on my fiance he doesn't notice the difference very often.
  • DontThinkJustRun
    DontThinkJustRun Posts: 248 Member
    No one is forcing you to eat what he eats.

    I deal with this on a daily basis, my hubby and I are two peas in a pod, but when it comes to health and nutrition we are polar opposites. So you have a few options. Say either you eat what I eat or cook yourself, make two separate meals, or make two separate meals but alter his to his liking (i.e., add cheese, larger protion size, what have you) <---- This is much less work and typically a great compromise.

    It is completely doable, the question is how bad do you want it?
  • When you buy his fattening foods and soda, also buy things that you'll like. Having things on hand that are healthy but satisfying can help you avoid feasting on fattening items just because they are there or because someone else is having them. You can have what he's having in a smaller portions sometimes or have something else that is healthier when you decide that what he's having is too far off your plan. Have water or diet soda instead of root beer, make some adjustments to your recipes to make them a bit healthier, substitute things that work better for you...2% cheese, lean meats, etc, etc. He doesn't have to make a change for you to do so...it's just a little harder. BUT, you can do it if you want to.
  • genxrider
    genxrider Posts: 107 Member
    Seems to me that if you are doing the cooking, he eats what you put on the table. If he doesn't like it, he cooks his own dinner...

    Ding ding ding.

    That's pretty much how it works in our house. My husband eats his pasta and meat sauce and I eat my stir fry.

    As for the exercise - take the kids for walks. Sit on the floor and fold laundry and do a few sit ups in between.

    Definitely ditch the soda - bad stuff. Drink more water!
  • risak
    risak Posts: 79 Member
    well, unless HE does the cooking, you should make what YOU think is healthy..in my house i cook, and it's eat what i make, or you don't eat rule..please don't let him hold you back..if he refuses to eat healthier, start making him make his own food..best of luck

    Exactly. There is no way you should be making him a separate plate.

    Also I find that if I have pretzels in the house I will eat them. So I don't buy them. If he wants soda have it put away somewhere that you don't see it. Maybe in a closet or something.

    That's unfortunate that you don't have the support of your partner in this journey. It makes life so much easier if it's the two of you together.
  • gsager
    gsager Posts: 977 Member
    Not being able to control yourself sounds like your problem, not your husband. Try to just fix one thing drink water instead of soft drinks......you have to try to take control of something.
  • we like alot of pasta, if i made things with 2% cheese and made me wheat noodles and him regular noodles, would that help with dieting.
    or like a lasangna, if i watch my portion size and make mine with ground turkey and his with ground meat, and mine with wheat noodles and his with regular noodles how would that help out?
    i really suck at dieting because i never know whats okay to eat,
    today i had a root beer a ham sandwich(just ham and white bread) and a small bag of cheetos.
  • AlyRoseNYC
    AlyRoseNYC Posts: 1,075 Member
    I know that there are different dyanmics in different relationships. Some women prefer to be submissive wives, and that is what works best for their families. I'm not using that term in a bad way BTW. Google it. It sounds a lot worse than what it really means. For many it is a choice that has to do with their beliefs. IDK if this is the case with you, OP, but it kind of sounds like it.

    ANYWAY...I'd consider myself semi-submissive lol. I feel it is my duty to cook for my husband and family, among other things of course. He also shares this view, but not as extremely as I do. I'm not going to make him something he doesn't like. So most days, I cook one main dish for us all to share, but different side dishes. I eat low carb, and my family loves rice, beans, and platains. So I make them what they want making sure it is portioned correctly, and I'll make my own low carb dish.

    If I did not have self-control and will-power, I would fail miserably. That is the only thing that will save you, since it seems like your husband is not very supportive. Add some friends on here for support, but beware of posting in the forums. It's good to find general info and for entertainment, but for the most part, you won't find very friendly or supportive people on here.

    Good luck and remember, SELF-CONTROL!
  • I never eat what my family eats. I love cooking, so I dont mind cooking two meals. One for them and mine. Also, stop drinking the soda. If you must, at least drink diet Root beer. I also never buy regular sodas even for my family. They drink diet or crystal light, They learned to love it.... or else they are SOL. No actually that was not a problem for them. But, you need to look after yourself and no more excuses. You deserve it! You go girl!!!!!!!
  • ken1994
    ken1994 Posts: 495 Member
    Britt:

    It is not about dieting, to make any of these things stick it has to be a lifestyle change, my wife is my rock and she has been there to support me from day one. My honest suggestion is learn how to cook healthier, the food both of you eat can taste good and be good for you and until he gets on board (and trust me someone should kick him in the butt until he gets it!) he does not have to be any wiser to the changes you make! Good luck being a healthy mom is one of the greatest things you can do for your kids.
  • Flyntiggr
    Flyntiggr Posts: 898 Member
    we like alot of pasta, if i made things with 2% cheese and made me wheat noodles and him regular noodles, would that help with dieting.
    or like a lasangna, if i watch my portion size and make mine with ground turkey and his with ground meat, and mine with wheat noodles and his with regular noodles how would that help out?
    i really suck at dieting because i never know whats okay to eat,
    today i had a root beer a ham sandwich(just ham and white bread) and a small bag of cheetos.

    make the lasanga with lean ground beef - less fat than the turkey. use low fat cheese. don't have bread. for pasta, try the Barilla Plus if it is available in your area. Much healthier, but tastes like 'regular' pasta. He'd never know the difference. If you feel you have to cook for him, make small changes to make it healthy, and he'll NEVER know the difference. Eventually, you can keep making changes to the recipe....
  • kelleman1
    kelleman1 Posts: 148 Member
    Britt:

    It is not about dieting, to make any of these things stick it has to be a lifestyle change, my wife is my rock and she has been there to support me from day one. My honest suggestion is learn how to cook healthier, the food both of you eat can taste good and be good for you and until he gets on board (and trust me someone should kick him in the butt until he gets it!) he does not have to be any wiser to the changes you make! Good luck being a healthy mom is one of the greatest things you can do for your kids.


    Exactly this!

    I eat everything my husband does, just not as much. Also, replace ground beef with ground turkey. We use that in everything, he probably wouldn't even notice. Watch your portion sizes, and stop drinking pop. It's easier than you're making it out to be! :smile:
  • Hilary_85
    Hilary_85 Posts: 12 Member
    No need to cook separate! Just buy healthier foods that he likes...examples get turkey meat or eat more chicken. He can't tell if u don't tell him. Buy whole grain products. They taste the same but are better for you. I have a problem with soda too and I couldn't convince my hubby to quit drinking it so I keep coke zero for me for when I really want it and I keep gallon of crystal light made at all times. Makes drinking water so easy to drink! As for exercise just go for a walk...I'm sure your little ones will live getting out! Plus pushing the artillery burns more calories!!! Add me as a friend so we can support each other!!!
  • thank you guys for all the support and advice.still trying to figure out the website, i think i kind of made him sound mean, hes def not mean, he just works 12 hours a day and he says he dont want to try a new food and not like it then be SOL out of a meal. he has got me to stop eating fast food, and got me a gym membership( i just cannot find a baby sitter and my gym dosnt have one) so hes supportive he just wants a meal for when he gets home.
    im not sure how to add people as friends on here but im sure ill figure it out soon.
    im wanting to cook something with chicken tonight. anyone know of a healthy meal dealing with chicken? grilled,baked etc
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    I had sort of the same dilemma with my hubby. And he's strongly opposed to just about anything "diet" but I figured what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. I started using things like turkey kielbasa and pepperoni, 2% shredded cheese, Ronzini Smart Taste pasta (like whole wheat but looks/texture like white), leanest ground beef (we hate gruond turkey), etc.. I used the internet to search for lighter versions of our favorites and new recipes including ingredients we like. Try skinnytaste and cookinglight for starters. You'll be shocked at the great foods you can make without going way over in calories.
    Also, I started bulking things up with veggies (mostly peppers) and lowering the amounts of pasta/rice and meat.

    Only you can know what changes you think your hubby would be ok with. Mine was totally oblivious to most of these changes. The only thing he noticed was a lasagna I made with ground turkey and another casserole I topped with fat free cheese. Like I said, both of us hate ground turkey, it was just a last attempt to see if maybe we liked it in a favorite dish. And the fat free cheese was like plastic. Please learn from my mistake! :laugh: Low fat is ok, fat free is disgusting!

    Above all though, it's all about portion sizes. I've been on this journey since January 2010 and have not felt deprived or stressed about it at all. I still eat what I love, I've just learned to eat a lot less of it and make some small changes in the ingredients.

    Good luck! It is possible!!

    ETA: you can add friends by clicking on the posters name (above their picture) which brings you to their profile page where there's a button to "add as friend" (or something like that). It will send them a message that you want to be friends and they can accept or decline.

    I don't think you made him sound mean. A lot of people don't get that there are some couples that stlll do it the old fashioned way. Hubby and I are like that - it's our choice!! The way I show my love is to take care of him (and everyone else in my life, it's not just a wife/hubby thing) and he really appreciates it and takes care of me right back in his way To each their own, right?!

    Maybe, just in case, you can have some of his favorite quick foods on hand? It might not be ideal but at least he wouldn't go hungry if he didn't care for the meal. Trust me though, you can find a lot of great comfort food/classic recipes with lighter options that I'm sure he'll enjoy. To get you started, go to google and search for Diner Meatloaf Muffins - the first link to a recipe on myrecipes. It's sooooo good.
  • gingerb85
    gingerb85 Posts: 357 Member
    My husband and children eat what I cook. I have never cooked separate meals. (There is a current exception to this and I'll mention that below, though.) If my husband truly dislikes a dish that I make (rare), he will let me know and I either take it off my menu rotation or if I really like it, I make it when he's doing something that night and won't be eating at home (also rare). There are concessions I make. For example, I know he dislikes brown rice. I love brown rice and he will eat it even though it's not his favorite. When I make beans and rice (a definite "not fav" dish of his), I'll make it with white rice for him. If I'm doing Chinese or something else with rice, I'll use brown.

    He started eating healthier when we married simply because that was how I cooked. When I got pregnant for our first child, I went even healthier and even more so when my kids started eating. Sodas were never kept in the house when my kids were little. He would drink them at work, though. I didn't care. He will now occasionally buy them and bring them in the house, but they are not a temptation for me - I hate soda. One daughter likes it, the other doesn't. The daughter who likes it doesn't like what my husband buys, so she drinks water and OJ. I never bought snack foods. It was (and is) rare for us to have things like ice cream, chips, and candy in the house.

    Now, about my "exceptions." I am now vegan (as of two years ago) and my family is not. I will cook a vegan meal one night and a meat meal the next night, adapting a small separate thing for me if I don't have anything left over for that night. I do find that one daughter will prefer to eat vegan with me even on meat nights. I don't cook two separate meals on either night - I might have cheese separately for the others to add to what they are eating (if appropriate).

    My husband is now working out of state and now I cook vegan almost every night (with occasional fish/chicken for the girls about twice a week). He is having to cook for himself for the first time in more than 28 years. He is cooking lean meats, fish, and chicken and is eating lots of veggies that before he married me he wouldn't have ever touched.

    My suggestion would be to get all of the things that tempt you out of the house. You can tell him he can have them at work or when he's away from the home, but you need the temptation out of reach. I know I do - if I have a box of vegan oreos in the house, I'll eat them. If I don't want the temptation, I don't buy them. They call my name. I can hear them. :wink: Try cooking old favorites in a healthier way (whole grain or multigrain pasta for regular, adding more veggies to your meals, lower fat meats and dairy items, etc) and have one night designated for new recipes. Make sure your new recipe is a super healthy one, but one that doesn't skimp on flavor.

    We started eating less meat years ago and I did it by incorporating one meatless meal a week into our menu at first, then two, then started using more "meat as ingredients" dishes rather than meat being the star of the plate and surrounded by a token carb and veggie. I added a lot more veggies. Then I added fish one day a week, then two. So before I went vegan, we were only eating red meat one day a week. By slowly transitioning my family over to a new way of eating, there were no protests. And the healthier meals have now become their favorites. I've even had an effect on non-family members. One of my girls' boyfriend (an ardent carnivore) requested my vegan chili the other day. :happy:
  • ShannonTodd
    ShannonTodd Posts: 105 Member
    Your hubby sounds like mine. He's constantly giving me a hard time about eating heallthier or making our favorite meals with healthier ingredients. The thing about it is, though, he still eats it!!
    My FIL always told hubby and his siblings 'If your mother took the time to make it, you can take the time to eat it.' I think the same idea can apply to husbands.
    Good luck!! :smile:
  • rbryntes
    rbryntes Posts: 710 Member
    Why can't he be with the kids after his work, allowing you gym time?
  • well i started to think i had an addition to food hehe, i live in a household similar, make extra veggies and load your place with them instead of unhealthy foods, start to give yourself a couple of treats a week i find it helps the temptation from taking over!
  • ahh i know how hard it is to try dieting when no one else in the house is, it takes a whole lot of willpower which is sometimes hard to find :( i agree with the people who suggest healthier options (like ground turkey instead of beef in recipes), and also portion control :)
  • johnhowson
    johnhowson Posts: 73 Member
    My wife often eats different meals to me because I am a vegetarian and she is not. Obviously it is more hassle cooking two different meals but mainly I eat the same as her but without the meat. Then I add something like beans etc.
    Over the years, however, she has eaten more vegetarian food - just cos she likes to do the cooking and it obviously saves time. This has definitely helped her with her and she now sometimes suggests we go out and eat vegetarian - the other day she suggested we went to a vegan restaurant and I nearly fell over :smile:
    Maybe something like this sort of in reverse would work for you?
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    I have a skinny husband and we both share cooking duties. I just eat less than him. That's it. We eat everything we always did, I just don't eat huge portions like I used to. Portion control is key to eating with everyone else without making separate meals or being "that person" when you are a guest in peoples homes or in restaurants where you don't control the food.

    You said you eat a lot of pasta. Pasta is VERY calorie dense. Start measuring (or weighing if you have a food scale) portions and you will see how little pasta you get for the amount of calories. It's sad. If your husband wants a big plate of pasta or a large portion of lasagna, give yourself however much you can eat to stay within calories and round out your meal with a salad or a side of vegetables
  • Kristhin
    Kristhin Posts: 442 Member
    I hope you aren't FORCED.
    If you REALLY want to eat healthy just start only buying and cooking healthy meals.
    If he wants something junky and fat tell him he has to get it/ make it himself.
  • I hope you aren't FORCED.
    If you REALLY want to eat healthy just start only buying and cooking healthy meals.
    If he wants something junky and fat tell him he has to get it/ make it himself.

    not really forced but as a wife i feel i should have him a meal that he likes when he comes home from work
  • SoCalSwimmerDude
    SoCalSwimmerDude Posts: 507 Member
    thank you guys for all the support and advice.still trying to figure out the website, i think i kind of made him sound mean, hes def not mean, he just works 12 hours a day and he says he dont want to try a new food and not like it then be SOL out of a meal. he has got me to stop eating fast food, and got me a gym membership( i just cannot find a baby sitter and my gym dosnt have one) so hes supportive he just wants a meal for when he gets home.
    im not sure how to add people as friends on here but im sure ill figure it out soon.
    im wanting to cook something with chicken tonight. anyone know of a healthy meal dealing with chicken? grilled,baked etc

    Well, chicken is healthy whether grilled or baked. I cook mine in olive oil for the good fats, but you don't have to if you don't want the extra cals. THe chicken should be boneless, skinless breast. Many times, to make foods healthier, the food processor will be your friend. You can process carrots, zucchini, and celery into almost any sauce. And if you look at original italian recipes, you'll find that a majority of them start with a base of carrots and celery anyways (if pureed or blended, you won't know its there). I also do a garlic parmesan veggie mix. Cook all your veggies (whichever ones you like) with olive oil, onion, and tons of garlic. Then, before you serve it, throw on some parmesan. Its really good and if he wants more parmesan, he can add it on his own.

    Last, when making something like lasagna, just leave out a layer of the pasta. I'd say to add something like zucchini or eggplant, but only if both of you like that. The lasagna will shift around a bit more, but will taste exactly the same. Oh, and look up spaghetti squash. When low on cals, I've used it tons. You can make him regular pasta noodles and have spaghetti squash noodles for yourself. Hope that helps a little :)
  • ken1994
    ken1994 Posts: 495 Member
    I hope you aren't FORCED.
    If you REALLY want to eat healthy just start only buying and cooking healthy meals.
    If he wants something junky and fat tell him he has to get it/ make it himself.

    not really forced but as a wife i feel i should have him a meal that he likes when he comes home from work

    You do not have to stop cooking the meals he likes, there are great alternatives that taste just as good! There are plenty of good websites out there that will help you with substitutes or exchanges.
  • we like alot of pasta, if i made things with 2% cheese and made me wheat noodles and him regular noodles, would that help with dieting.
    or like a lasangna, if i watch my portion size and make mine with ground turkey and his with ground meat, and mine with wheat noodles and his with regular noodles how would that help out?
    i really suck at dieting because i never know whats okay to eat,
    today i had a root beer a ham sandwich(just ham and white bread) and a small bag of cheetos.

    My husband loves his high fat foods also...I usually make him what he wants, and make a lower calorie dish for myself that is similar: When I make spaghetti (which he loves, and I do too!) I make a base vegetable sauce with everything I love in it, and cook up some meatballs or ground beef to add into his sauce. Then I make him his white pasta and myself whole wheat...everyone's happy that way and there's not too much extra work involved. Also, when I do sandwiches, (I had ham today too!) I do mine on wheat bread and his on white, he got cheddar cheese, and I sliced up a light babybel on mine. I hope that helps...there are lots of ways to make him what he wants and also get what you want! Add me if you want some more support...sounds like we have a bit in common husband wise! Haha
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