Help for a picky eater...
 

I had a baby 2 months ago and I want to start dieting again. I've been successful before so I think I'll be okay going at it alone, but my boyfriend needs help.

He keeps complaining about his waistline increasing, but the mention of the word "diet" sends him running for the hills. I'd like to get him into eating better, but he's so picky. He doesn't like fruit at all except pineapple when its used in combination with other foods, he doesn't like salads of any kind, shape or form, and he's selective with what veggies he eats too: corn, potatoes, green beans, pinto beans, onions, peppers, pickles and I think that's about it. NOTHING ELSE. He eats mainly fast foods, candy, and other not-so-healthy stuff. About the only thing he does do good is drink diet sodas and water.

Can anyone offer any suggestions of how I can get him to start eating better? I mean I've tried to incorporate other veggies into things but he notices right away. I just worry about his health as he gets older. We are both in our mid 20's. :?:

Hmmmm...tough one.

My DH is pretty much like your BF. Before we were married, he would eat out of what I call his four food groups (pizza, tacos, spaghetti, Hamburger Helper) 95 percent of the time. He didn't like veggies, he wouldn't eat things if they had weird sauces or dressings or certain spices. He is the kind who can't go to a restaurant and order straight off the menu.

But he has high blood pressure and keeps telling me he wants to lose a little weight and keep things under control. I have been on South Beach Diet for a while, so I tried to integrate some of the SBD principles into his diet. I got him eating more whole grains and stopped keeping "garbage food" like frozen pizzas at home. Munchies (one of his major downfalls) aren't usually in the house anymore either. When I cook, I'll often make lean meats such as chicken in ways that appeal to him and I'll swap ground turkey for ground beef in his spaghetti sauce. When we go out on dates, I try to steer him towards restaurants with healthier options. He doesn't always eat the best, but something like a chicken tender salad from Cracker Barrel is certainly a step up from a Burger King combo. Baby steps.

As for veggies, I'm still working on that one. I usually encourage him to try a little bit of whatever I'm having, although, admittedly he doesn't always go for it. He has tried a few new things lately and has found (to his surprise) that he actually likes them!!

It's not easy...I think boys are very stubborn. Good luck to you!

Sweet potatoes are good My girl loves them...Wheat thins are a good too. They are a little sweet.
I am a picky eater too. I like less than your b/f...lol Change the way you cook the food use olive oil or Pam..dont fry foods...I am now eating alot of grilled foods I think it has helped me....

My boyfriend is VERY picky - even more so then you BF. He wont even try something he just KNOWS he doesn't like it. We take turns making dinner - when I make dinner if he doesn't like something he is SOL. When he makes dinner I make sure he cooks something I can eat. Slowly he is learning that eating "heathier" isn't so bad and now he is even talking about using the treadmill too.

The key is DON'T PUSH HIM! You can't tell him what to eat; just let him do his own thing. Eventually he will figure it out for himself.

This is a tough one. It's very easy to complain about one's weight, but then refuse to eat healthier because you don't like the better options. I did it myself for years. It's non productive, and there is nothing anyone else can do to change someone else's eating habits.

My inclinination would be to be blunt with him whenever he complains about his weight.

"Man, I hate how heavy I am!"

"You're going to stay that way until you change the way you eat. You know this, right?"

"I don't like all that healthy junk!"

"Then get used to being fat. It isn't going to change, until you do. Seriously."

Repeat as neccesary. Yes, it might sound unsupportive and cruel. But it's better to treat people as adults than try the "Poor baby, let me bend over backwards trying to feed you stuff that will help you and will fit into your current ideas of what is acceptable to eat" route, in my opinion. I really believe that no external force can make people get to the point where they will be willing to do what it takes to lose weight and keep it off, no matter how much they say they want that to happen. Playing into that fantasy will only fustrate you both.

My boyfriend didn't eat veggies when I met him, I think the only "diet" he would do was Atkins (which he lost 50 pounds in 3 months), but as he grows up he has started to eat veggies. Part of it is.. he's a grown up, eating healthy isn't a CHOICE, its something thats required to be healthy and to do the things he wants to do.

I'm with Annie - weight loss has to come from within.. he has to decide he wants to do what's necessary.

-Aimee