So my husband is wanting to lose weight (as I've mentioned on here before). He started working out yesterday, and today is his first day of cutting back on food. I packed all his food and snacks for work today, and he just called me and said "If I'm supposed to be watching what I eat, why have I eaten so much today?"

I tell him that it's actually pretty cool how you can eat MORE good stuff that's better for you. I mean...we found some pita bread that's 60 calories per piece...his morning snack was half a piece of the pita bread with a serving of peanut butter. Better for you and more filling with fewer calories than the Snicker bar he would've eaten.

But anyway...turns out he's already eaten EVERYTHING I sent with him. It's noon. In about the past FIVE hours he's eaten a breakfast burrito (homemade with egg whites and a little sausage), the pita with PB, an apple, half a serving of reduced fat Wheat Thins with two 90 calorie little bricks of cheese, a Fiber One bar, his Little Debbie (an addiction he won't do without), a bag of pork rinds (200 calories...he's got one more bag then he's not getting those anymore), a cheese and bean burrito, a lean pocket and a can of Pepsi.

Now he's going to be STARVING by 3 pm, and he'll break down and have the Snicker bar and a bottle of Coke.

My estimations show that his b-fast, lunch and snacks would've been about 1,800 calories today, leaving him 1,000 calories for tacos tonight (More than enough)...

How do I get through to him that the snacks should last ALL DAY? It's almost as though he feels he HAS to eat it all, immediately, just because it's there...

Put post it notes with times on them? Pack them in seperate containers that say "breakfast" "snack" "lunch"

I mean all that at once sounds like he's got to get down to the reasoning WHY he feels he has to eat it all at once- perhaps he grew up in a large family where it was first come first serve so he still has that "I got to get my fill before someone comes and eats it all" mentality...

All that food at once is a LOT of food- I'd feel bloated by the time I were done if I were him lol.

He's got this mentality when he eats that if he's not STUFFED, he's not "full."

I think right now it's a sort of "sticker shock," if you will....to him it's insane that he can eat that much food and still have room in his calorie allowance for dinner AND possibly lose weight.

With him, though...he's weighed 275 pounds since I've known him and eats like a horse. A couple of summers ago his job got pretty physical for a couple of months, and he dropped 15 pounds in a matter of about two weeks and kept it off 'til the physical part of the job went away. NEVER changed how he ate. I mean, the man can polish off an entire large pizza WITH dessert THEN drink beer later in the evening and gain not a single pound, with zero exercise outside the little he regularly gets at work.

Part of me thinks he could continue to eat the way he does for a while and pick up the workouts and lose pretty easily. But I don't know if I should suggest that to him...

But I like the idea of labeling the snacks...may do that tomorrow.

Sorry, but I had to laugh.

No, men don't listen. I've been trying to tell my husband for years that if he just cuts out his sugary drinks, he'd lose weight.

I even bought him a book by Tom Venuto, thinking if it was written by a guy, then he might follow it. He hasn't even read it yet

Good luck!!

Thanks, ddc....he JUST called me and asked if I HAD to send so many snacks tomorrow....I told him I'd cut out the crackers and cheese IF he'd make the whole bunch of food last all day. He's in a panic thinking he ate too much...

That's a tough mentality to break- I used to eat till I was stuffed, now I can't remember the last time I did that!

I think with time he'll get better as well, the seperation of the food will help him start to learn about correct portion sizes. It took me a while to figure out proper meat, veggie, starch, etc portions.

ooooo i like that idea. I should put post it notes on my food for the day with the times at which I can eat them. I kind of have that same problem of having to eat all the food I bring at once.

The post-its with times sounds like a neat idea to me, too. Particularly since I have also already eaten almost all of my snacks early today.

Where's the veggies in his diet? If he ate a couple of servings of veggies with every meal, he would feel a lot fuller, especially with some healthy fats to make him feel fuller and keep him satisfied. Celery and carrots with the cheese or PB. Cherry tomatoes and cucumbers with hummus. Broccoli and cauliflower with some ranch dip. I say fill him up with fiber and healthy veggies.

Can you put each food item in a brown lunch bag, staple it shut and write the time on it? If he doesn't even know what's in it, he might not be tempted to eat it until it's time.

How does he eat now? Is he a 3 meals per day guy or does he like snacks? If he's not a snacker, it might be hard to become a snacker.

Also - can you reassure him about the increased amount by showing him a calorie of his old style of eating?

Small quantity high calories vs large quantity lower calories

Men like numbers!

LOL. Yeah, pack different parts separately, with a note on the outside that says, "Your mission is to open this bag/box at 3 pm. Do not look before then. If you do, it will poof and disappear." Which is true

I'm sorry, did you say something?

Kidding over...

here is a sample of what worked for me....

I had to eat a good breakfast before I left the house....cereal...Total or Wheaties and turkey bacon

We start between 5-6 most days so we eat our lunch at 10...our long break....I would always have a thermos of healthy soup...a turkey sandwich on wheat loaded with lettuce and tomatoes...a small bag of crackers or wheat thins.

Our lunch break was a short one so usually I had a yogurt.

On the way home (I had a long drive)...I would snack on carrot sticks and celery. Before dinner, if I had to eat, I would munch on olives with a few crackers or more carrots and celery.

Dinner I ate reasonable portions....I didn't stuff myself.

For an evening snack, if I needed one, it was olives and a few crackers most of the time.

Having a long period between our lunch...at 10...and our dinner at 6 or so was rough w/o healthy snacks.

As far as the notes go....the sexier they are...the more attention will be paid to them...wink

The problem for him is his job...he drives an 18 wheeler delivering metal all over the north and eastern parts of Texas and Oklahoma. His day, most days, literally starts at 3:30 or 4 a.m. He used to eat that early, but then he was starving by 7 am...then again by 10 or 11 am, and so on. He's also got to eat portable foods that he can consume while actually driving. I'm going to send fruits with him (bananas and cut up apples), but he wouldn't touch a raw carrot to save his life, I think....And he'd LOVE to take soup to eat, especially in the winter...but it's just not feasible most days.

I keep telling him that when the QUALITY of food is better, the QUANTITY can increase...maybe he'll believe me if he sees the numbers on the scale dropping.

He's faithfully been on the elliptical for two days now, though. He's up to 10 minutes, which is good...he's getting there.