Living with parents

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Replies

  • kathyc727
    kathyc727 Posts: 187 Member
    I hear you on this. I live with my Mother, who is the "junk food kid". She doesn't drive so I run most of her errands. Every trip, and I mean every, involves picking her up some cookies. The other night after I picked her up from work, she says she doesn't know what to have for dinner so she called and ordered us some hoagies. I say I can't eat that and I'll find something else when I get home. You would have thought I just robbed her last penny...the tantrum of saving money on the 18" sandwiches, it would cost sooo much more for her to order her own sandwich and I still will use more food and money to make my own meal at home, she doesn't really feel like cooking after she has worked all day(she doesn't usually cook), and on and on and on. I had to eat it just because I couldn't stand to hear it anymore. I do have to say however, even tho she tries sabotage my eating, she does watch my daughter while I go to Zumba, so I guess you just have to take the good with the bad!!! Love you Mom.
  • slp56
    slp56 Posts: 18
    Sometimes (aka almost always) it drives me crazy! It makes it so much harder to chose what you eat... tonight for example, along with buying all my fav chips and dips (I know... not everyone in the house is on a diet...) they bought the bread that has twice the fat and half the fibre. Or they'll bring home Mc****s for dinner and act surprised when I ask to make an omlette instead. Then they think I might have a problem when I use the treadmill daily.

    Sounds like something miniscule but if you live with your parents, you might understand.




    oh i understand completely! i live with my father who thinks "healthy" is FRIED sweet potato french fries. he rarely buys anything diet friendly. and HONESTLY i am so sick of hearing "rabbit food" comments. it's called a VEGETABLE. so annoying.
  • mrshoneybear1014
    mrshoneybear1014 Posts: 275 Member
    My husband and I live with my parents but my mom is also trying to lose weight so she counts the calories of our meals or leaves me the barcode to scan etc.

    It would be so hard if they were against me! I feel for you!
  • dmf711
    dmf711 Posts: 141 Member
    luckily my mom is pretty much on par with my new lifestyle. she and i do the food shopping together and we're always looking for new healthy alternatives to shake up our dinner menu a bit.

    however, it's my father who is the picky one! he's a "meat and potatoes" man.... no frills, no surprises. he likes what he likes and that's that. he likes everything bland with no seasonings, and the furthest he will go for flavor is barbeque sauce on ribs from one particular restaurant. BUT he is the most supportive of the two in my opinion. he is a borderline diabetic and was very overweight throughout my entire childhood. after discovering he has an aneurism in his back among many other health issues (HBP, high cholesterol, high sugar levels, etc).... he cut sugar out completely. it took him about a year to make the adjustment, but he lost about 60 pounds that way and looks fantastic for 51. mom and i are constantly looking for sugar free or low sugar recipes for him, as he does tend to have a sweet tooth. he is the one who encouraged me to really stick this out. since his health took a complete 180 for the better, he wants to award me with $1,000 when i hit my 50 pound mark as an incentive to get healthy.

    his pickiness poses lots of problems though. my mom and i enjoy seasoning our food, and we both LOVE garlic (my father will leave the room if he even takes a whiff of garlic). i find i'm usually preparing my dinner separately from him so that i can season my beef or fish without grossing him out. my roommates in college used to love my rachael-ray style of cooking but not daddy dear!

    do your best to resist. i know it's easier to say than do, but you have the right idea. consider every victory over temptation as another pound lost and another step closer to your goal. prepare your meals/food in advance and prove a point that this is YOUR life and that you will not be forced to live an unhealthy lifestyle. best of luck :)
  • mikda999
    mikda999 Posts: 41 Member
    I may not be living with my parents anymore, but I used to at one point. I grew up overweight and my parents were thin. For a long time I was eating different food then them and then we all gave up on me losing weight, partially due to bad diets and them refusing to eat healthy food. My mom thought healthy was ordering the filet-o-fish instead of a big mac. I try not to resent them for how they behaved, but I do underneath it all.

    Honestly, if I could do it all over again, I wish I would have sat them down when I was younger and tried to reason with them. Explain that everyone in the house needs to be apart of the lifestyle change and it will benefit everyone involved. The ironic part is my dad was in the Army until I was 17. Crazy! you would think he would have the first on board to help, but he loved/loves his fast food. He now has several health problems which doesn't look good for me either.

    Anyway, I would hate for you to look at your parents the way I do when you are 30. It's a miserable feeling.
  • LemonSnap
    LemonSnap Posts: 186 Member
    Parents can be very subtle about encouraging grown children to move out. :wink:



    edited to fix typo
  • fightin2bFit
    fightin2bFit Posts: 23 Member
    I'm so glad that I am not the only facing this challenge. As someone else said, breakfast and lunch are usually okay cause I eat on my own. I don't usually get home from work until 7:30ish so dinner is usually made already. My dad is an excellent cook so even when I know the food he makes probably isn't the healthiest, it so hard to resist, especially when I'm getting home from a long day at work. When I first moved back in I informed my parents that I was trying to eat healthy and exercise more. Things went well for a few months but then slowly begun to out of control. It happened so subtly I don't think I really realized it was happening until one I stopped and thought "what the hell have I been eating?" haha. I've tried making dinners and suggesting healthier options such as low fat products, whole wheat pasta and brown rice. Needless to say my dad is not much of a fan. I do know my parents make an effort to keep in mind that I'm trying to change how I eat but it still is a constant struggle. I am hoping to move out in a couple of months and really kick the healthy eating habits into high gear.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,956 Member
    Get over it. Your choices are yours and you are responsible for what goes in your mouth. You can't convince people to eat the way you want, so don't impose on them for your needs. And if you're visiting parents who's eating habits aren't as healthy as yours, then make plans.
    It's food people. Get in your daily essentials and stay under the calories you need to and you'll be fine (unless you have some bad reaction to certain foods). There are people in the country alone who wish they could have a good solid meal daily. Buck up.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal & Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
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  • EmmieSu
    EmmieSu Posts: 136
    Weigh and measure your portions, adding more fresh fruit and vegetables to your meal. Just a few nights ago, my husband and dad were saying how bad our eating habits were because they've both gained weight in the last 2 months, since we moved it with him. I laughed because I eat the samethings they eat, the difference is I weigh and measure, EVERYTHING. If a serving is 2 cookies, I eat two cookies...Portion control is the key. Up your exercise if you need to burn the calories. It's your body, do what is right for you. Sometimes, our families have trouble adjusting to the changes we make in ourselves because they don't want to see the error in theirs.
  • calajane
    calajane Posts: 52
    I can relate. I live with my mom and it's difficult. My mom is the kind of person who likes the IDEA of a diet but fails on the actual discipline and eating differently front. She will want to know every single detail of my diet (and no matter what it's always "you should work out more and not limit your food) but she will add extra food to my plate and buy cookies and unhealthy stuff. It was okay, when I was coming home before her, but right now, she spends the entire day at home (she retired) and when I come back from work, the dinner is already ready and I have very little to say.
  • SnazzyTraveller
    SnazzyTraveller Posts: 457 Member
    Parents can be very subtle about encouraging grown children to move out. :wink:


    I'm only 19! just a baby!!! haha.
  • SnazzyTraveller
    SnazzyTraveller Posts: 457 Member
    Get over it. Your choices are yours and you are responsible for what goes in your mouth. You can't convince people to eat the way you want, so don't impose on them for your needs. And if you're visiting parents who's eating habits aren't as healthy as yours, then make plans.
    It's food people. Get in your daily essentials and stay under the calories you need to and you'll be fine (unless you have some bad reaction to certain foods). There are people in the country alone who wish they could have a good solid meal daily. Buck up.


    .......have u ever been in this situation? i understand the choice is mine but that doesn't solve them getting mad at me for making my own choices. and im not visiting... i live with them. and definetly did not mean to bring world hunger into the conversation!
  • SnazzyTraveller
    SnazzyTraveller Posts: 457 Member
    Sometimes (aka almost always) it drives me crazy! It makes it so much harder to chose what you eat... tonight for example, along with buying all my fav chips and dips (I know... not everyone in the house is on a diet...) they bought the bread that has twice the fat and half the fibre. Or they'll bring home Mc****s for dinner and act surprised when I ask to make an omlette instead. Then they think I might have a problem when I use the treadmill daily.

    Sounds like something miniscule but if you live with your parents, you might understand.

    I'd suggest you buy your own food and prepare it yourself. Not sure why you think it's their responsibility to provide the foods you want.

    i do buy my own food. but that still means i eat my omlette whilst they shoot me angry looks from behind their KFC take out box.
  • sunnyday789
    sunnyday789 Posts: 309 Member
    Sometimes (aka almost always) it drives me crazy! It makes it so much harder to chose what you eat... tonight for example, along with buying all my fav chips and dips (I know... not everyone in the house is on a diet...) they bought the bread that has twice the fat and half the fibre. Or they'll bring home Mc****s for dinner and act surprised when I ask to make an omlette instead. Then they think I might have a problem when I use the treadmill daily.

    Sounds like something miniscule but if you live with your parents, you might understand.

    I'd suggest you buy your own food and prepare it yourself. Not sure why you think it's their responsibility to provide the foods you want.

    i do buy my own food. but that still means i eat my omlette whilst they shoot me angry looks from behind their KFC take out box.
    Fair enough, but do you give them looks while they're eating the food that they choose?
    Basically, their house, their way of living (as long as they don't break any laws)
    If you are an adult, you should appreciate the fact that they are still providing a home for you. I understand that this may just have been a chance for you to vent, but I do hope that you show more respect and gratitide towards them than you have displayed on your post.
  • ReinasWrath
    ReinasWrath Posts: 1,173 Member
    I KNOW EXACTLY what you mean, My parents are sabotaging my diet I swear. They won't buy anything healthy literally even when I request it but then when I get my own groceries they eat it all!!!!! I got my own pack of turkey and apple sauce and boom its all gone even though everyone knows its mine and why I got it -_- ( and another thing that irritates me is my house is a house where people get their own specialty items a lot of the time and will keep it wrapped up so no one else gets into it BUT when someone does they go APE. I mean huge huge screaming sessions over chocolate syrup **my dad** but when I have a legit reason to have specific food and people are blatantly taking it I am called a ***** for being upset about it )
    Even when I buy all the groceries for the house they get really huffy if I pick out some healthier food choices ->_< Then when I work out, I do a lot of Jillian Micheal's stuff so there's usually a lot of plyo they get mad that I'm making noise.. Then there's how they talk to me... if I go to eat something healthy they are like "you have a eating problem now, or what are you turning into" but if I slip up or am indulging a little my dad'll always tell me I'm going to be fat forever! Damned if i do damned if I don;t. So the best I can say is try to ignore any problems they are giving you :l you won't be there forever!!! And this weight loss or (any kind of weight related goal or health goal your working for) is about you not them, Don't let anything stand in your way!
  • PeaceLoveVeggies
    PeaceLoveVeggies Posts: 673 Member
    I live at home. I work. I make my own food, and I buy my own food. It's not that hard :)
  • PeaceLoveVeggies
    PeaceLoveVeggies Posts: 673 Member
    Sometimes (aka almost always) it drives me crazy! It makes it so much harder to chose what you eat... tonight for example, along with buying all my fav chips and dips (I know... not everyone in the house is on a diet...) they bought the bread that has twice the fat and half the fibre. Or they'll bring home Mc****s for dinner and act surprised when I ask to make an omlette instead. Then they think I might have a problem when I use the treadmill daily.

    Sounds like something miniscule but if you live with your parents, you might understand.

    I'd suggest you buy your own food and prepare it yourself. Not sure why you think it's their responsibility to provide the foods you want.

    i do buy my own food. but that still means i eat my omlette whilst they shoot me angry looks from behind their KFC take out box.

    So what? Looks are just that - looks. Ignore it. Just be happy you're not poisoning your body with the crap they're eating!
  • umachanxo
    umachanxo Posts: 926 Member
    My issue wasn't really that they sabotaged it. What I put in my mouth is absolutely my choice. If I didn't like the food that my parents buy, I bought my own. That was that.

    I moved out at 17 because I felt that I was independent enough to run my own life. Turned out fine. I finished High School, finished College, and am marrying the man I moved out with.

    Truth hurts - but at your parents home, it's their house and their rules.
  • alexsmith01
    alexsmith01 Posts: 350 Member
    Parents can be very subtle about encouraging grown children to move out. :wink:


    I'm only 19! just a baby!!! haha.

    I moved out at 17, to go away for uni, you could totally move out if it's such an issue. I survived, and my Mum literally did EVERYTHING for me before I moved out (had to learn to cook, to pay bills etc which was an interesting experience, lots of beans on toast)

    Best ideas are above, either take over the cooking and cook healthily for everyone (or just do this a few times a week), or do your own groceries and cook for yourself.

    Believe it or not your parents aren't purposely out to sabotage you, they probably just don't realise it is so important to you (and if they are anything like my parents, they will make fun of you constantly for it even if they know it's important - I've been vegetarian for a year and every time I see my Dad he tells me I need a steak - you just have to laugh!)

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