Fitting in with the family

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wasro
wasro Posts: 39 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all,
Some advice please. I have identified my problem with my daily diary. Breakfast fine - I get it myself so I know the calories, eat it and log with MFP. Lunch is also fine - pack my own lunch (so eat and log with MFP). The problem I have is with dinner. Usually by the time I come home, the kids are hungry and dinner is pretty much made. This is where I come unstuck. I don't want to seem ungrateful and take my dinner off the plate, weigh it, try to go to the packaging and work out what the calories I have eaten, nor do I want to say "Hi honey, thanks for that' but tonight I will just have cereal because I know how many calories in that". So what happens? I eat my dinner and don't log the calories. Does this happen to anyone else? Any advice to make it work without putting the family out?
Cheers

Replies

  • shedoos
    shedoos Posts: 446 Member
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    Does your wife know in the morning (or the day before) what she's making so you can not only have input but allow for the calories?

    If not, maybe you could help her to plan it out the night before- if she's supporting your goals she shouldn't mind as long as you participate in the planning. And she might appreciate the help. I think the worst part of cooking is figuring out what to make.
  • My1985Freckles
    My1985Freckles Posts: 1,039 Member
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    Sounds like you need to have a chat with your wife about how important this journey is to you. Maybe pick-up some low-cal cookbooks or a subscription to Cooking Light. I hope you can get on the same page with your wife and that she will be supportive of your journey. :-)
  • tiedye
    tiedye Posts: 331 Member
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    Even if you're guesstimating, it's important to log calories for all your meals. That's what I do when I'm out to eat at a restaurant that doesn't have calorie information, and even if I know I'm underestimating (since cooking oils, sauce, butter etc may be hidden) I feel like it's better than not counting it at all.
  • amysuemartin718
    amysuemartin718 Posts: 99 Member
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    My family does not take offense to anything- they usually ask if I can eat it and they are not offended when I get the scale or the measuring cups out. They are all extremely supportive of my choice to get healthy.
  • geeksrule
    geeksrule Posts: 143 Member
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    Does your wife know in the morning (or the day before) what she's making so you can not only have input but allow for the calories?

    If not, maybe you could help her to plan it out the night before- if she's supporting your goals she shouldn't mind as long as you participate in the planning. And she might appreciate the help. I think the worst part of cooking is figuring out what to make.

    I agree - if she supports your cause then helping your wife the night before or even sitting down on the weekend to plan out the whole week worth of meals ,pin it on the fridge then you know exactly what you are having. It really does help - plus it cuts down the cost of groceries i find.
  • janetb21
    janetb21 Posts: 182 Member
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    Talk to your wife. Express to her how important it is to you to eat carefully. Surely she'll support that effort.
    I do most of the cooking for my family, and I'll make something that I can have plus a side dish that's got a little more calories for them.
    That way I'm not making 2 meals, but they don't have to eat exactly what I eat either.
  • Claible
    Claible Posts: 106 Member
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    My husband and I struggled with this in the beginning. Now, when he cooks I ask before he starts so I can log everything. This way he doesn't feel he needs to cook a special meal he can eat his favorites and I can too. If your wife knows or has planned meals maybe she can help in this way. Also ask her to let you fill your plate. It is sweet when a spouse serves food but I now how much I am eating.
  • kendernau
    kendernau Posts: 155 Member
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    1. Log it anyway. If you don't want to go weigh it, approximate it after dinner. After you do that for a little while, you'll get better at estimating, and you'll have a better idea of how many extra calories you are taking in at dinner.

    I actually took dry and wet measures and measured out single servings of most of the common foods I have in the house so I could see how much was really in a serving. I haven't really had to do that since the one time, and my diary and weight loss are in pretty close agreement.

    2. Once you know this, then you can either adjust your portions, or cut out parts of the meal (potatoes and pasta are the ones I've had to get rid of the most).

    3. Work with your wife on the planning (doesn't hurt to help with the grocery shopping and the cooking too, if it is something that can be done the night before, or started in a crock pot in the morning). I'm sure she doesn't want to feel shorted, so she should appreciate the help, and that you are mindful of what she wants, and the kids. Win, win.

    I would love a kitchen scale, but haven't been able to get one yet. My wife and I are trying to get to the point where we can pre-plan meals for a full week before we go grocery shopping, so we only have to go once a week (mostly for the fresh foods, since they don't last).

    In addition, if we can get in the habit of pre-planning, I'll also be able to start cooking all/most of the meals for the week on the weekend, and just put them in the freezer. It'll make it a lot easier for her to pull it out and reheat it each night, instead of us scrambling to figure out what to eat that won't take two hours to make.
  • My1985Freckles
    My1985Freckles Posts: 1,039 Member
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    I see a lot of the "pre-plan meals." We have (and this works AMAZING for us, both in the weight-loss department AND in our grocery budget) one of those whiteboard calendars in our kitchen. We plan the entire month's worth of meals at the beginning of the month. I don't "give-up" anything on my diet. I still make my delicious fettuchini alfredo, but I make sure there are lighter meals the day before and after etc.... It has been wonderful for me. I was always the one who cooked, which meant I had to decide WHAT to cook and it was sooo stressful and frustrating for me. With the list, stress is GONE! (well at least that stress lol). I HIGHLY recommend doing this.

    Cooking Light really is AMAZING! One of our favorite recipes... Moroccan Chicken. Go to their website and check it out. It's awesome!
  • wasro
    wasro Posts: 39 Member
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    Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply. There are definitely lots of things to try. I had forgotten how hard it is to plan meals, day in and day out and I can certainly be more active there. Our meals don't change so much that I can't weigh once and then log it. As you say when it is done once - that's it. No more guessing or worse, no excuses for not filling out the diary :wink: I like the idea of filling my own plate too, such a simple suggestion but it puts the responsibility on to me. Thanks again everyone, I feel like I am back on track.
    Cheers

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