I need some help convincing my dad to change his eating habits so he can become healthier. This is long, so bear with me. For the short version, read the last paragraph.
My concern is not really with his weight (I love him regardless of how much he weighs) but rather with his health. He has ridiculously high blood pressure but won't take the meds because he's afraid he won't be able to get off them. And he's too proud to be on daily medication (that's an issue for another day). So the next best thing is weight-loss to bring his BP back down to normal levels.
It's not like he eats bad foods. Very few of the products in our house are processed or oily or fried. Most everything he eats is "healthy", he just eats A LOT of it. And by that I mean that he'll eat 4 boxes of raspberries in one sitting, for example. Raspberries are good for you, obviously, but those calories add, especially when you couple that with numerous sandwiches and cups of buttermilk.
I've tried numerous motivation tactics for him, but none of them seem to work. I've tracked his calories and shown him that even fruit can make him fat. I've encouraged him to go hiking with me whenever I'm in town (I live several states away so it's not that often). I've even harassed and lightly ridiculed him about his weight (not my finest method but that's what he does to me so I thought I'd show him how it feels to be on the receiving end for once).
Most recently, I've enlisted my mom's help and asked her to stop buying snack foods. Unfortunately, that doesn't limit how many sandwiches he eats or other staples that he raids from the fridge when everyone is sleeping.
I think the main problem is that he believes in the traditional version of dieting where you deprive yourself of all the things that you like and suffer until you get to your desired weight. Naturally, this doesn't last for very long and he quickly gains back the weight he so painfully lost. His other method is to maintain his current diet but exercise a lot, which also doesn't last long because something always comes up to interrupt his exercise routine and throw him off track.
So I need to find a way to make him see the light and realize that it's a lifestyle change and not a temporary thing. And that he can still eat everything he wants, just in much smaller quantities (like one box of raspberries instead of 4).
I know true long-term weight loss will only occur when (or if) he makes the decision for himself and the motivation needs to come from within. The thing is, my dad realizes this is impacting his health but doesn't seem to realize the gravity of the situation. It's infuriating to watch him eat himself to an early grave.
So how do I make him change his ways? And most importantly, how do I make him think that it was his idea to do this? That last question is because he still sees me as a 10-year-old who doesn't know anything, so it can't come from me.
Pretty much, I'm asking you to share the things that ultimately motivated you to commit to this once and for all, and/or what was method of lifestyle change works for you. And if you convinced a stubborn loved one to change their habits as well, then please let me know how you did it.