Hello,

I'm 20 and live at home with my two parents. I'm not ready to leave yet, and don't have the financial resources to be on my own. My older sister lives on her own, so there's plenty of space at home. My parents are in their late 50's and have been unhealthy their entire lives. My mother will not touch anything healthy. (Once, when I was a kid, she even told me Pizza Hut's pizza was healthy because it had tomatoes in it..LOL!). What I'm trying to say is: It is hard to be in the same house with people who don't eat right. I've been activate and healthy for a couple years now, and they've recognized this. But lately things have become different. It's becoming harder and harder to avoid these temptations, especially when I'm depressed and make excuses. I do pretty well, though. Last week went very well, until I caved in after days of exhaustion and sadness. (Didn't help that there was a few incidents that triggered a binge). It's no excuse. I know they have the right to eat what they so choose. But it makes maintaining a weight loss so much more of a challenge with these unhealthy binge foods within an arms reach. This has made me feel like such a failure. I know I can't get better until I get to the root of the problem.

Any ideas?

Hi! I'm 20 and living with my family as well. Although at first I was a bit annoyed, with time I got used to eating different meals and don't really pay attention to it anymore. In general, I don't think you can expect people to bend to the lifestyle you chose for yourself, it's up to us to develop what it takes to maintain it.

Maybe if they are having something you'd really like, just have a small portion of it together with something healthier, but filling.
For example, I think a lot of people find carb/sugar loaded foods to be triggering, but not really hunger satisfying.
Maybe combined with a big salad that takes a lot of chewing, you might feel fuller after and less likely to overeat.
That way, you get to indulge a bit, but nourish your body as well.

All in all, you don't have any reason to feel like a failure! It's what you are doing day by day that dictates your progress, not just one meal.
And being interested in your health while struggling with depression is something admirable.

It can be hard - my DH is one who was told to get on a diet by his doctor so we thought we'd do this together. But he's not ready really and leaning on me to make sure he eats right. That can be hard too. I don't want to monitor what forever goes in his mouth watching my own is enough. We have young kids who I am trying to help learn what smart food choices are. It can be hard - that's for certain. But you know, if you have the gumption to keep working w/your plan maybe it's something that will carry over into their lives. You can't change what they do, but perhaps they will see your success and start making small changes in their lives. How about this idea, do they walk at all? Would they have interest in going out for a walk with you after work/school? It doesn't have to be a lot, but it's a start for you all to move and keep you on track with some movement.

I would also look to keep snacks on hand that are good for you when those crazy times hit and you so want to turn to the sweets or the like. Most times I can offset the need w/my almonds and some water. I know, not always does this work and you find yourself taking in more than you had planned because you are still trying to find that sweet overload. I guess finding what works for you in those stressful times might help you out. When I find I want to eat a house, I go exercise and find then that gets diminished. A lot of it is trying different things and changing how you react to these hiccups in your life.

Hang in there - you can do this and remember they might actually be watching you and your changes to make changes on their own.

That is certainly hard, and you are not a failure!!! I agree with adding small portions of what you love and are tempted by and balancing it with something more healthful and satisfying. It might be hard at first, but when your body knows that treats happen and will be in your future, its easier to stop and not over eat them. Best part is, you still loose weight this way

I, for example, celebrate Taco Tuesday at my house. Freaking love tacos, and we almost never had them as a child. I would eat eight, ten tacos alone (and usually skip out on the veggies in them after the first four!) When tacos became less scarce in my diet and more frequent, I still had the habit of eating almost a dozen tacos. Now, I have tacos every other Tuesday. I only eat four, and as much as I want to eat those other six tacos when I'm full I just say to myself "Taco Tuesday is next week! More tacos then!!!" This same principle also applies to Bacon Monday

Another option might be to offer to cook dinner a couple of times a week. Choose recipes that are tasty, yet on-plan for you. You can supplement the meal with side dishes that they like but are not on-plan for you, if you can resist the temptation.

Or eat a main dish that is on-plan for you, and eat only small portions of their dishes. I do this a lot with my husband, who is not eating low-carb like I am. If he wants mac&cheese, he has it as his main dish, and I have a small amount as a side dish. It's not enough carb to mess me up, and I can enjoy sharing something he loves with him.

Sending support your way...

Don't look at this as a cross to bear, but a challenge!

A challenge to, sneak your healthy lifestyle into what you have to work with!

You have two choices:

get your family healthy and point out that at their age they really need to look after their health.

Make seperate meals that are healthy for yourself.

I imagine you'll go with Plan B

Personally my parents are in their early 60's and are rather unhealthy. Yes they eat vegetables in small amounts, but they still eat loads of processed foods and drink way too much wine. I have tried telling them and have never really got very far.

They also spent years telling me to lose weight and how fat and unhealthy I was. Well I am now thinner than them and they still don't listen to me