Help! My gf eats like a child!

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Umeboshi
Umeboshi Posts: 1,637 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My girlfriend's eating habits are sooo unhealthy and I can't stand it. :( Some days she'll eat well over 2000 calories but today she ate something like 1300 calories and 500 of those were from mountain dew. The only veggies she ate were the tomatoes in the pizza sauce we had with lunch. She had doritos, turkey meatballs, and one string cheese. I'm afraid she's going to get sick if she keeps eating like this. It's ridiculously hard to find veggies she'll eat. When we have stir fry she'll pick out like half of the vegetables and fill up on the meat and rice.

I know it's controlling to want to change the way she's eating but it's just NOT healthy. And because I cook for us I feel responsible.

How do I get her to eat in a healthier manner without literally trying to force healthy foods down her throat? How dangerous is the way she's eating? >_< Any advice at all?

Replies

  • asyouseefit
    asyouseefit Posts: 1,265 Member
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    Unfortunately, I don't think there's much you can do. My SO's eating isn't as bad as your girlfriend's but he has some very unhealthy habits (never drinks water for instance). Every time I tried to say or do something about it, it just ended into a fight. Now, I just let go... You need to ask yourself why you want her to be healthier. Is it a genuine concern about her health or do you want her to eat healthy because that's "how things should be"?

    You can always look for kid-friendly recipes on the web. I know there's plenty of "Hide the veggies so that your kids don't know they eat them" recipes over there! :-)
  • cherryObebe
    cherryObebe Posts: 189
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    I can totally relate! My boyfriend and I do not share the same views on the way that we should eat. He hates vegetables, but loves burgers, steaks, pastas, pizza and soda. Mountain Dew to be exact! There is always ice cream around and usually cookies. It makes it SO hard to stay on track, plus I worry about him. Like you I know that I can't control him and I don't want to be his mother! For me, I am studying to be a nurse and am constantly reading, studying and listening to lectures on the health problems that we can face by not taking care of ourselves. I have had to say my piece and just let it go. He has to make his own choices for himself. I have a very hard time not making comments about it and making him feel bad.

    Good luck! If you learn something that I haven't, let me know! :ohwell:
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    It's a tough one to change anyone else's eating/drinking habits, especially when it's someone you care about and you can see they aren't making healthy choices. While it's really tempting to try to make her change, the fact it is probably won't work, she will just get annoyed and you will feel like you are always nagging.

    My best suggestion is to keep cooking healthy and it is up to her how much she eats of it. If she picks out the veggies - well at least she might accidentally eat a few of them and if the healthy options are always there she might just get used to it.

    If not... she's grown up and sooner or later, hopefully, she will realise that she needs to be more responsible about her health. Especially if you are getting lots of compliments for looking great!
  • Umeboshi
    Umeboshi Posts: 1,637 Member
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    Thank you asyouseefit. It's really a thing where I want her to be healthy and I'm afraid of her making herself sick. >_< I'm normally fine with the endless junk food and pop on her part but today it kind of freaked me out when I saw what little she was eating (and she was refusing to eat until a good 7 hours after lunch and then it was just doritos and string cheese). It started me worrying she was going to start trying to cut calories by skipping meals. I've tried to encourage her and talk to her about maybe eating a bit healthier, but she just won't stick to it. No matter how easy i tell her MFP is and she can reach her goals that way she says she's 'too lazy' to. @_@ And yup like your S.O. she will NOT drink water. Sorry this has basically turned into a rant but I'm worried and just mainly don't want her ending up sick because of lack of nutrients or something.

    Edit: Thank you cherry and ruby. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has to deal with a partner with unhealthy eating habits. @_@ And you're all right I think what I'll have to do is try more and more to sneak veggies into every meal. Having her eat some of them is better than her eating none at all!
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
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    Chances are she will be fine.

    I lived off of utter garbage for ten years straight. I gained a LOTTTT of fat from eating way too many calories, but, in general, have always been really healthy. Only time I've been to the doc in the last decade+ was for a bad case of bronchitis last year. That had nothing to do with nutrition. XD

    I think it's sweet you're worried.

    Unfortunately, she is an adult and she's gotta do her own thing. If I were you, I'd just be like, "Look, babes. I love your face right off but this shiiiet ends now. I am cooking healthy stuff and you can start eating big-girl food with me. No argument!"

    :laugh:
  • santhia
    santhia Posts: 4
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    You could look up recipes for kids, I mean seriously. Such recipes usually find ways to sneak veggies into meals by disguising them in sauces and such. I've come across a number of recipes like this but I can't think of any off the top of my head. As for fruit, you can try making fruity desserts like chocolate-covered banana, apple/peach/cherry crumble. I guess the trick is to either disguise veg and fruit or combine it with the things she loves.
  • cherdan
    cherdan Posts: 162 Member
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    It's refreshing to see a post like this and have it be a GLBT couple, just wanted to say.
    Her behavior reminds me a lot of the female diaries I seem to keep encountering on here lately.. btw I love, love your disclaimer in your profile against accepting adds from ana-like behavior/under 1200 cals. I thought I was the only one who had something like that on their profile. I recently deleted a bunch of girls who requested me, because their diaries were averaging 800 calories a day.

    Have you ever seen the show Supersize vs Superskinny? It's one of my favorites; it's a UK import that OWN network recently has been showing in the US. If you're not familiar with the premise, they take an extreme undernourished undereater and have them "swap" diets with an extreme overeater, in hopes that the two will have positive influence on each others' eating habits. Eventually they give them a 3 month healthy eating plan for their weight and height.
    I was thinking maybe yall could check it out and experiment with something similar? I mean just having her try your food plan for a week and see if she likes it. Educate her about starvation mode a bit, and explain how maybe her eating habits are kind of serving to take the focus off your own goals. Just my $.02
  • SuperScrabbleGirl
    SuperScrabbleGirl Posts: 310 Member
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    Yeah, I want to second the suggestion to cook like a child for her. There's loads of ways you can blend veggies into sauces and stuff. http://www.skinnytaste.com is also a really good place for lightening up "bad" foods (they have baked onion rings and all kinds of light batter). Plus she has interesting ways of cooking veg.

    You can do this! I think the key is little changes.

    OH MY GOD Cherdan I LOVE Supersize vs Superskinny. I watch it all the time. It's awesome. Are they going to do a US version? It seems like that would be a good idea. Then I would have two to watch ;)
  • cherdan
    cherdan Posts: 162 Member
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    OH MY GOD Cherdan I LOVE Supersize vs Superskinny. I watch it all the time. It's awesome. Are they going to do a US version? It seems like that would be a good idea. Then I would have two to watch ;)

    Hm, I don't think they are. They just started showing all the old episodes (looks like 2007-2009) on OWN about a month ago. They only show "new" ones once a week, so I think I've already watched the full Series 1 and 2 already.

    We have BBC America here, and it's weird how they can't show any Channel 4 programmes on it, it seems. I LOOVE 'Young, Dumb and Living Off Mum,' but British sites won't let other countries watch their episodes online, and it's hard to find British shows on torrent in US.

    Honestly, I think if the Yanks got their hands on Supersize, it would be crap. One thing this show has affirmed, especially by Anna Richardson's segments when she goes to US and compares their diet fixations to UK's, is how INSANE America is about being thin. Watching this show actually made me seriously consider one day moving to the UK, because it just seems a lot more pleasant and relaxed.
    Also, I find American remodelings of things tend to be, for a lack of a better word, "dumbed down." And if it's fictitious, they always have to have a thin/white/blonde/blue eyed/strikingly good looking person as the star. For example, for 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, why'd they have to recast the role originally played by an older, dark-featured, Spanish actress with a young, blonde/blue eyed American actress? I could go on and on.

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