help with different eating habits

SUNSHINE those are great ideas. Not having kids myself I haven't tried those but they will work with my co-workers (who often need encouragement to eat healthier) and my hubby. He is rather child-like and besides, what a fun way to portray food.

Reminds me of making a line green gelatin dessert called Bunnies on the Lawn with pear halves. My girlfriend and I tried to make it years ago to look just like the picture in the Betty Crocker cookbook. Guess we aren't too artistic - we ended up calling it "Rats in the Sewer" since we just couldn't get the ears or tails to look right!

There are lots of great suggestions here. I especially like the comment right before mine about giving your children nutrient-dense food. (my sugar-loving child ate a pint of blueberries yesterday with immense enthusiasm!) That might be a way to address this with your husband. Instead of saying that you don't burn off calories like he does when he offers you candy or other junk, you could try saying that you'd rather use your calorie allowance on something healthy and nutritious, since you don't want to develop diabetes, heart disease or cancer. He may respond better to the logical argument that it's not about calories so much as it is about choosing healthy foods.

When he brings back candy for the kids, just take it, put it away, and say that they need healthy food to help them grow, not empty calories. You could also point out that sugary, sticky foods lead to tooth decay and it is really no fun at all to have a three year old getting a tooth filled.

You may not be able to control what he does, but you can certainly control how you respond to it. Good luck and stay strong!

Sugar loving toddlers?....Our kids need nutrient dense meals and not trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, MSG and who knows how many other chemicals and preservatives and even juice is way too high in sugar. Children are constantly laying down new muscle tissue as they grow and need protein.

Promote Protein at every meal or snack... some choices.... fish, poultry, meat, eggs, beans

Instead of those high sugar treats make other foods fun and they will be asking for them...how?

You can take garbanzo beans and lightly coat them with cinnamon and bake for 10 minutes...call them energy balls... if you need to get a child's interest

Cut apples up into bite size portions and make a dip with yogurt. Kids love to dip.

Avocado's are Alligator Eggs

Fill celery with cream cheese. An equally delicious alternative to peanut butter is cream cheese or Laughing Cow Cheese?

Use metal cookie cutters to make different shaped pancakes. (Pour the batter inside a heart, elephant, star etc.) You can also shape waffles with cookie cutters for sandwiches

Meatballs with rice can become porcupines for lunch, along with a piece of fruit

Cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, Low sodium ham, sliced strawberries, blueberries to add on snack plates

Stuff black olives with reduced fat cream cheese...call them canon balls

Make Cheesy Stars.. Use a small star cookie cutter to cut cheddar cheese pieces. Provide crackers or apple slices. You can also use the cookie cutter to cut bologna, ham or turkey too!

Kids love string cheese. Try wrapping thin slices of lean deli roast beef around short bread sticks. Cubes of lean ham or turkey breast and pear slices. A 1-ounce mozzarella cheese stick has over 20% of a child’s daily needs for calcium.

Maybe cottage cheese with fruit added, Cherries are a low-carb what kid doesn't like cherries or berries.

Graham crackers are convenient, portable, and offer that oh-so appealing crunch.

3/4 cup of Multi Grain Cheerios

Popcorn...air-popped has many vitamins and nutrients...a high fiber treat...add a little parm or romao cheese on top for protein or cinnamon.

A baked apple with cinnamon and a couple of raisins for dessert.

even plain yogurt with drizzles of honey...Honey is lower glycemic index meaning.... that honey is absorbed at a more gradual rate than sugar into the bloodstream and contains flavonoids...Honey actually has more calories than sugar but it's benefits are endless.

Make pasta out of zucchini and called them “good luck noodles” because of their green color.

If you can dream up some more...like let's have some rabbit food...baby carrots and a dip...and you start to wiggle your nose and have them do it too...they will be laughing and want to try them...in the end they will make better choices....

Or tell them the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and serve Green Beans for dinner...you'll see how fast they go.

Good Luck and I agree ....you husband will change when he wants to.

I tend to agree with Russell, too.

Hubby and I are definitely on different pages when it comes to menus, especially in the last few years, when I've all but given up processed foods (baked goods from the store, especially), but he insists on having breads and rolls often with his meals, and something sweet with his coffee when he has one.

However, he has changed quite a few things in his menu, and his blood sugar levels have improved. The more improvement; the more changes he's making. I say nothing to him about his menu, and politely turn down things if he offers (which he rarely does any longer). Sometimes it means two different side dishes/offerings - he'll have potatoes; I'll have steamed veggies, for instance. Sometimes we share steamed veggies. It's all about balance and respect. I do not berate him for his choices; he applauds mine, but says he could not go all the way to giving up those few indulgences.

Hang in there. Just keep doing what you're doing - saying "no thank you" to his offers, and always have on hand the foods you planned for in advance on your tracker.

It's also helpful to keep a short list on the fridge or cabinet of what low calorie snacks are available when I might be tempted. thinks like popcorn (plain or with seasoning), sugar free candy, hard boiled eggs, string cheese, piece of fruit, single serving applesauce or other fruits,
graham crackers with cinnamon, small box of cereal w/ coconut, soy or almond milk.

This week the rodeo is in town and that's a big event for those of us who volunteer. I know I'm going to overeat tri-tip, burgers, hot dogs & beans so I made a big pot of vegetable soup so I can at least get in my veggies. It's been cool & foggy at night & in the early AM so soup will be good - quick & easy to reheat. Always been a staple of mine and it stretches a long way. Just portion out diet bread, or crackers, and you have a nice mini meal.

Try preparing your food so it looks like a bigger volume, and pretty. Like alternating diet Jello into a parfait glass with low cal Cool Whip. Maybe he'll decide your food looks better! Still if he doesn't, do yourself a favor and eat slowly and savor every bite. Then if you have something you "shouldn't" or didn't plan to, you'll have time to stop and say, I don't need to finish eating this - I'm satisfied.

thank u for all the advice and support. i try to keep alot of sugar out. i will get fro yo for the boys and myself along with lots of fruit. and the oreo and dr pepper line was great....but if i send him to the store to get his junk he gets candy for everyone with out even asking if he should along with his twisted teas and cigs. hes very stubborn and i hate that he doesnt give the support i ask him for. hes asks almost everyday if i want a cookie or jerky or sour skittles or even a drink and every time i have to remind him i dont burn it off like he does. he says he understand more on this then me and i need to eat waaaaay more then i am. my calorie counter is spot on for my goals but he thinks he knows it all and that his football days in highschool is equivalent to my jogging/walking for 15 min. i just wish he werent so stubborn but i cant really change that.

If you could only begin to imagine; what this means to me. My husband and I are on the same page when it comes to our diet. I am 3/4's on my way to reaching my goal.

Previouly, I did the same thing by stocking food that was detrimental to my diet and I did it for my husband's sake.


Irene







Edited by: FULLBLOOM at: 7/2/2013 (14:18)

You can prepare meals and then portion out your share leaving the rest of your family. Leave off anything you shouldn't have, and serve it on the side like gravy or sauces.

One thing that worked for me is to keep plenty of substitutions on hand. I learned to substitute a number of different ingredients in most recipes, like using crushed pineapple with crock pot chicken to make sloppy joes, turkey burgers, sweet potato fries - baked;
having shrimp tacos, making dinner salads fun by setting up a buffet so each person can choose his/her own toppings. He gets crispy croutons, you take crunchy radishes; he picks bacon crumbles, you have pumpkin seeds. Fat free dressings (make your own) and tasty vinegars.

For the sweets, try:
Sugar free candy so you can eat and not feel deprived.
sugar free or diet jello for dessert or snacking in the evening
frozen fruit bars
low fat alternatives like sorbet or low fat ice cream
dried fruit
fruit based desserts like baked apples with cinnamon
air popped popcorn with cinnamon sprinkled on it, or a little dark chocolate drizzled over it
ginger snaps
graham crackers

Others have already given good advice on the sugar issue.

My SO is very thin and needs to eat a crazy amount of calories just to maintain (jerk LOL). So what I do, I make extra food, and he can take as large of a portion he wants. Like tonight, I made a casserole, and before he came to get his plate, I portioned out my plate, and also portioned out some in a container to take to lunch tomorrow. He knows after I take mine out, he can have as much or as little as he wants of the rest.

I think your children are blessed to have a mom who is setting up a household where they can grow up healthy, free from mood-altering substances like refined sugar.
I watched a documentary the discovery channel presented about how sugar affects the brain in sugar addicts the same way cocaine affects the brain of cocaine addicts. I think i would try showing it to your husband so he could understand the seriousness and significance of keeping sugar out of the house.

Edited by: MICHELLEXXXX at: 7/2/2013 (01:33)

Anarie gave great advice. Your husband will eat what he wants, just ask that he doesn't give it to the kids, and don't criticize him for eating differently. Eventually he will come around. Humans are pack animals at heart. No one likes to be different. Especially when he sees the benefits.

That leaves you. He may try to win you back to his pack..lol. C'mon, just have one brownie! Be firm, and in 3-4 weeks, everything will work itself out, and you will have a healthier family.

If you have "sugar loving" toddlers, you need to nip that in the bud. Nobody gets healthier from sugar. A two-year-old isn't going to run down to the corner store and buy Oreos and Dr. Pepper with her allowance; those little ones can be protected from getting hooked on sugar if you don't give it to them. So don't. They're too young even to miss sweets; you still have the opportunity to teach them how to eat healthy foods. They'll thank you when they're young adults.

Husband is an adult who can fend for himself. He CAN run down to the corner store and buy Oreos and Dr. Pepper, so let him. If you have a talk about keeping the kids from developing that sweet tooth, he'll probably agree that it's best if they don't see him eating junk food, and that will motivate both of you to keep it out of the house. If you make it about the kids' health, not about your weight, it will be easier for everyone.

The kids are probably young enough that you can still influence their tastes so introducing them to healthy foods like a variety of fruits and veggies will help. I don't live with my BF but when he visits, he buys the snacks that he wants around and then I mentally categorize them as "not mine" and won't eat them. They then either leave with him or get thrown out after he's gone.

SP is full of healthier versions of classic recipes so you can show your family that eating healthy food also means eating delicious food.

Since I live alone I keep all my trigger foods out of the house like crackers, cheese, wine, even most bread. Would you be able to ask your husband to keep his snacks in another area of the house? If not that, do you have alternative foods like yougurt to reach for in case you need something sweet? You might need to tell hubbie, explain, that this weight loss trek you are on is very important to you and you need his help.

my husband is the average weight for his height and gender and i am not, even tho he eats like a lion with a sweet tooth. and i have a one and two year old. I've been doing ok but its getting hard to keep everyone happy without giving me to big a temptation. any ideas as to how to keep me on track but not deprive my hungry, sugar loving, growing family?