We eat out so much right now out of habit. When we first moved here we had a very tiny fridge and couldnt keep enough food to make meals. We would have had to shop everyday just to cook at home. We now have a bigger fridge but its a very hard habit to break.

Originally Posted by tahiti:
Well I really need to get healthy. But my husband is a very picky eater. He wont eat anything healthy, including salads, fruits and most veggies....snip... How do YOU diet when your husband doesnt?!

You have received some excellent advice, and I want to reinforce what others have said... You say you want to get healthy, but you husband is basically not interested? You take care of you! I have a friend who is a lovely person, and a great wife and mother, and she openly admits she needs to lose a good 70 pounds. So she starts on WW and decides in order for her to get healthy she also has to put her whole family on the plan. (3 sons ages 8 to 13 plus hubby) She majorly stressed over lunch boxes and "diet food" the boys will eat. She worries about finding food each person will eat. She basically went into a panic preparing 5 separate meals three times a day for each family member. She got overwhelmed and gave up in a very short period of time and is close gaining back any weight she lost. The boy's are just glad mom is over the diet. She just can't understand how I have managed to keep going for so long and I told her the same thing Faerie's mom told them:

Originally Posted by Faerie:
My mom had a rule in her house. She cooked every dinner. If we didn't like what she made, we didn't have to eat it.
We could make something else, but she wasn't a short order cook....snip

You don't have to be a fabulous cook and have a 50 cubic feet refrigerator to eat healthy. One meal I make a lot and none of my sons or husband complains is grilled anything, (pork, chicken, lean beef, or turkey), plain baked potato, (they can add what they want), a can of green beans, and a bag of salad. (again they can add what they want to the salad). It's great, fast, filling, inexpensive and even though some health guru will say it's not that great, I can say with 100% certainty that it is WAYYYYY better for them than a Super-Sized Number 1. Change it up a bit with a grilled burger (deluxe with lettuce, onion & tomato) on a whole grain bun and homemade oven fries. Roast pork loin and baby carrots....The possibilities are endless. There is a lot of great tasting healthy food that even picky eaters will eat.

My husband has never dieted with me...matter of fact he is a chip-a-holic beer drinking, meat eating fast food junkie...but at dinner time he eats what I make, or he doesn't eat.

The only thing my DH really whines about is we eat a lot of chicken. He's gotten used to the turkey breakfast sausage on Sundays. He's not fond of it but I told him it's all yer gonna get. Be glad I'm even out of bed cooking a big Sunday breakfast, most of which I can't eat.

Amazingly enough when I started WW and began cooking and eating a bigger variety of food, he expanded is taste buds and likes a lot of it too.

Maybe your picky eaters just need exposure. You might be surprised.

When the kids were home the rule was you ate what I cooked. The boys have good eating habits because I wouldn't fry everything and insisted on fruit and veggies. I really didn't gain weight till they left home and I didn't have them to chase around all the time to sports and stuff. Got bored and started eating too much.

Tell him what you've told us here. Actually, show him what you've written and let him read some of the responses.

Maybe he'll come around and at least try some new things with you and it will be good 'practice' for when your daughter starts eating table food and believe me, kids do notice when one parent turns their nose up at veggies or anything else 'new' - then that leads to a whole other set of ugly issues over meal time.

Better to nip it in the bud now than to just hope that he'll come around.

My husband was extremely picky at first as well (he still is to a degree) but when I make the meals that we all sit down together and eat (which normally is only dinner since kids are in school, and we both work - and we hardly ever eat out) everyone knows - you either eat what I've fixed or you go to bed hungry. Sorry, but that's the way it is. My daughter is picky but she's figured out how the program goes and DH will at least try things and tell the kids they have to at least try whatever it is they think they won't like - he himself has said that he's been surprised at some of the things he's actually tried now and figured out that he likes.

Hope things work out for you. ;)

I have the exact same problem with my DH - in fact - your story could have been written by me!

In the past, I've just decided that I was going to cook at home no matter what, and I was going to cook healthy. Then I would ask my husband what HE wanted to go with his dinner (mac & cheese or something else that I'm not supposed to have) and I would make it just for him. I would just avoid whatever he picked out to have with his meal.

That way I'm eating healthy, but he's still getting something that he wants too. :)

I have the same problem with my husband. He eats whatever and whenever he wants. Lukily he will eat veggies though. I make dinner for him and my son and make mine vary to how I need it to be on my diet. If I make chicken tacos for dinner then I make mine a salad and forget the cheese. Different things like that I find make it easier to deal. If that doesn't work then let him fend for his own. We've got to take care of ourselves first!!!

I know that since you are on a healthy kick, you want him to be healthy with you, but that is something he will have to figure out on his own. Like everyone else said, prepare meals that are healthy anyway. Try to incorporate things your DH enjoys, but if he isn't into something you've cooked, he can go eat Apple Jacks ;)

I feel your pain - my ex (who I lived with for three years) was a very, VERY picky eater. When we first started dating, I was not fat at all. Actually, I was relatively thin. Then, I started going out to eat all the time (like ya'll do), eating lots of fried food, eating seconds and sometimes thirds, eating dessert more than, say, once a week or so, and -- SHIZZAM -- I BLEW UP faster than The Challenger! The biggest reason why I was not eating healthy foods very often was because my ex did not enjoy them at all. She also loved cooking (all FATTENING things and usually FRIED) and thought my cooking was horrible because one day, I prepared dry chicken. She started to get angry and upset when I turned things down and took it personally.

Start buying healthy food anyway. It is your body. Try to create some lighter versions of your DH's favorite foods. If he snubs those (like my ex did :lol: - she'd hear the word "healthy" and immediately run away towards the grease), then, again, that is his problem. :) You could always either accommodate him by making him a separate meal or tell him to find his own if he doesn't like what you're cooking. :D

I have to agree with everyone else- he's a grown man- and you need to be healthy.

I started the fat smash a month ago and it wasn't easy- I'd done so many diets and failed because my hubby wouldn't eat what I made and I wanted to eat with him and blah blah- I came to the realization last month that I can't eat like him (though he's started gaining) and I told him that I'm going to start fat smashing and that I want him to eat what I make- but he's welcome to make himself something else for dinner.

I lost 8 lbs the first month (then the holidays came and gained four back ug) and he tried some things (vegetarian chili) but didn't like most of them and would eat cereal or some soup or something (funny thing is he lost weight).

After phase 1 when I started eating meat and cooking with meat- he has started eating what I make (sometimes with a smug face lol).

Now you just aren't eating right for you, but for your child too. Her needs come before your husband's in terms of food right now since she relies on you to feed her.

Oh and I also told my husband I didn't want to be a widow at 40 cuz he insists on eating burgers and fries everyday- since then he has done a lot better and drinks more water and eats more fruits and veggies.

Talk to him, tell him you need to get healthy and that you are cooking healthy from now and would like him to join you. If he doesn't then hey all the more leftovers for lunch tomorrow for you!

Originally Posted by Lori Bell:
but at dinner time he eats what I make, or he doesn't eat.

QTF (quoted for truth!!)

It is just me and the bf but here's the rule: I write the grocery list, I do the shopping, I do the cooking. Since I am taking all that responsibility he's going to eat what I make and like it. There's no bad food in the house AT ALL, so if he wants something unhealthy he has to go out and get it, which is generally too much effort for him. Our compromise is that we go out to eat about once every 2 weeks and he can order whatever he wants knowing that I won't bug him about it. I do try to make him healthy versions of his favorites in another attempt to compromise.
I have been working hard to help him understand about healthy eating and as picky as he is (he doesn't like veggies much) he has at least decided that he'd rather join me than fight me. He's also on blood pressure meds and that's not great at 23. He's decided to lose weight after watching my success. I found that so much for him was just understanding why I was doing what I was doing and HOW he could do it. Men are so into understanding HOW things work and why eating certain foods are better than others. I found that once he got that he was much more into it. Maybe it would help your dh to understand more of the mechanics of what you're doing.

Best of luck, but most importantly remember that he isn't a baby. You can only control what you do, what he does is ultimately his responsibility.

All the love,
Sidheag

Originally Posted by Sidheag:
He's also on blood pressure meds and that's not great at 23. He's decided to lose weight after watching my success. I found that so much for him was just understanding why I was doing what I was doing and HOW he could do it. Men are so into understanding HOW things work and why eating certain foods are better than others. I found that once he got that he was much more into it. Maybe it would help your dh to understand more of the mechanics of what you're doing.

Gosh, I hope that my bf gets to this point soon! We moved in to gether recently and have both put on a few pounds (eating out more, lounging around on the couch watching movies and eating popcorn every night). Now I'm trying to lose it and he just doesn't seem to get it AT ALL. Like, "But things are going great, we're having fun, why are you torturing yourself?" AARGH. But I'm holding my ground- I'll make soup and a salad, or grill something, or whatever, and if he has some, great, if not, then I take leftovers to work with me or freeze some for a quick meal another night. He loves a couple of the things I've made: grilled chicken with shiitake mushrooms and lentil and sweet potato soup are a couple faves.

OP: Ditto what most everyone else has said: Take care of yourself first. IT won't kill him to try what you're having for dinner...and if he doesn't like, just make sure that there are some simple options that he can make for himself (pasta, sandwiches, cereal, whatever). Chances are, if you hold your ground, he'll come around and at least try what you've made eventually...and might find some new favorite foods! Good luck!

Last night was a total shocker for me- I made brown rice and I made zuccini and grilled chicken in tomato sauce and my husband sat down and ate it all lol. I was like either he's starving or he likes it lol.

Slowly but surely ;)

Thanks ladies. I have started eating the way I wanted. I went through the weekend eating how I was and set yesterday as my new start day. We went shopping sunday and got stuff to get me through til my husband gets paid. I eat breakfast now (cereal and a fruit) a snack about 2-3 hrs later, lunch another 2-3 hrs later another snack 2-3 hrs after that and dinner another 2-3 hours. I told DH he could fend for himself since when we went shopping he made faces at everything i bought. Ill take care of myself and let him deal with is own issues i he isnt going to be willing to eat what I do. Im still eating some none healthy things (mac n cheese, grilled cheese burgers, etc) but it will be home made, and its a great difference then eating a mcdonalds burger or something everyday. I can atleast control my portions. and its healthier to make my own burger then to rely on however they cook theirs. Igotta take it one step at a time.

Good for you- so either he'll starve, make his own stuff, or join you (most men seem to join when they get hungry enough lol). It took my hubby about a5-6 weeks to just start eating whatever I made :)

I mean I won't lie- I still will cook things now and then that he'll like- like today I'm making "fried" chicken- but it's not really fried. I take pieces of chicken, coat them in egg and low fat milk, then put some bread crumbs and BAKE it- much better for you- MUCH lower calories AND he loves it :)

lol just wanted to add- next time he eats somthing fattening- make the same face lol.

And when your child gets older- make fun of daddy (if he's not on the bandwagon) and say look at daddy he eats WRONG but you and me eat RIGHT :D