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How do I eat healthy when my family doesn't?

I'm on month three of a six month diet and exercise routine, and while i'm great at working out every day, I cant ever seem to get a solid hold on my eating habits.

My family buys in bulk (costco) and will come home with random big boxes of desserts, high sugar cereals, etc. and my diet instantly goes down the drain whenever this happens. I feel on one hand it's my problem and my diet not theirs, bit I also feel like it's what's hindering my journey in weight loss.

I've tried to talk to them and even suggest family "cheat day dinners" to help keep the bad foods clear most of the time bit it gets shrugged off.

I'm at a loss here :( What can I do to help this situation?

Sent from my Nexus 6P using BariatricPal mobile app

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When you say your family, do you mean you’re a mom and your husband/kids eat differently.

Or your family as in parents/siblings?

i only ask because if it’s the first, I fee it’s harder because it’s hard to say no kids to kids and change their diet drastically in a short time. But change can happen for both parties. If it’s the latter, I say just buy your own food and don’t concentrate on the others.

My husband ate poorly but after my surgery he wanted to make a change too. He is by no means overweight, he just wanted to eat healthier. So now it’s easier for me which I am thankful for.

It’s all really about self control

but you can do it. It sure is tough

I tell my husband that it's fine if he wants his treats around as long as it's put away/hidden from me. It's a lot easier to resist if stuff is not sitting on the counter right in front of my face. I also encourage him to buy smaller sizes of the junk so we don't have a lot of leftovers sitting around. We are Costco shoppers too and he is drawn to the deals...but I would rather pay a little more and get a serving size that is normal so he can have his treat and then not have tons of extra around.

I personally feel that this is my journey and I'm not going to tell my husband what he can or can't eat but he is willing to help me by making small modifications like putting his crap in a cabinet where I can't see it.

Keep up the good work!

Easy, make them eat better too. Everyone in my family eats better now. Because we just don't buy things that we shouldn't be eating. They get their treats, etc. But it's greatly reduced now.

That said, you will ****ALWAYS**** be faced with foods you can't/shouldn't eat... that part is up to you to get your will power up enough where you can just not eat that food.

*Oprah voice* EVERYONE GETS A NEW DIET!!!!

VSG2017 HW 249 SW 238 CW 169

@luckyducky - who in the house makes menu decisions? Are you the mother, or a sibling/etc? Who cooks?

I could resist the bulk cereal, just eat your bf before or after they eat and have them put everything away. Have a separate space for the other items - like desserts in the freezer or maybe stored in another part of the house. Again just eat at different times from them, fix your own food. Make a list for the shopper for what you need.

You are not saying what regular meals consist of - only mentioning those items and not 'what's for dinner?'

6 minutes ago, Tealael said:

*Oprah voice* EVERYONE GETS A NEW DIET!!!!

VSG2017 HW 249 SW 238 CW 169

:D

This made my morning. Lol.

1 hour ago, KimTriesRNY said:

:D

This made my morning. Lol.

@Tealael mine too :lol:

3 hours ago, Sosewsue61 said:

@luckyducky - who in the house makes menu decisions? Are you the mother, or a sibling/etc? Who cooks?

I could resist the bulk Cereal, just eat your bf before or after they eat and have them put everything away. Have a separate space for the other items - like Desserts in the freezer or maybe stored in another part of the house. Again just eat at different times from them, fix your own food. Make a list for the shopper for what you need.

You are not saying what regular meals consist of - only mentioning those items and not 'what's for dinner?'

I think the eating at different times works well. I live with my husband and 3 grown sons. The boys do most of the cooking. Rather than watch them eat dinner, I make something for my dinner as soon as I get home from work. I'm already done and full by the time they put food on the table. I'm still working on getting them to put food out of reach. As far as I'm concerned, they can have the top shelf of every cabinet. They're all at least 6'1", I'm 5'6". Unfortunately, they still leave a lot on the counters. UGH! It's all still a work in progress.

You are going to be amazed at how well you're going to do after surgery. Your pouch will be so small and you'll be forced to eat right. My kids have lots of treats and dinners I can't have but that's ok. I just make my own. I've been doing that for years. The only thing that kept me from cheating on my pre-op diet was someone's post on here that said they cheated and their surgery was cancelled. You can do it, girl. Fill yourself up with water. It helps tremendously! My kids will grow up and move on one day and then it will be just me. You've got to do what is best for you.

Edited by Little Kansas Kitty

4 hours ago, Tealael said:

*Oprah voice* EVERYONE GETS A NEW DIET!!!!

VSG2017 HW 249 SW 238 CW 169

made me giggle too!

24 minutes ago, Little Kansas Kitty said:

You are going to be amazed at how well you're going to do after surgery. Your pouch will be so small and you'll be forced to eat right. My kids have lots of treats and dinners I can't have but that's ok. I just make my own. I've been doing that for years. The only thing that kept me from cheating on my pre-op diet was someone's post on here that said they cheated and their surgery was cancelled. You can do it, girl. Fill yourself up with Water. It helps tremendously! My kids will grow up and move on one day and then it will be just me. You've got to do what is best for you.

I had not seen that post where someone cheated on their pre-op diet and was canceled. Wow...

10 hours ago, luckyducky said:

I'm on month three of a six month diet and exercise routine, and while i'm great at working out every day, I cant ever seem to get a solid hold on my eating habits.

My family buys in bulk (costco) and will come home with random big boxes of Desserts, high sugar cereals, etc. and my diet instantly goes down the drain whenever this happens. I feel on one hand it's my problem and my diet not theirs, bit I also feel like it's what's hindering my journey in weight loss.

I've tried to talk to them and even suggest family "cheat day dinners" to help keep the bad foods clear most of the time bit it gets shrugged off.

I'm at a loss here :( What can I do to help this situation?

Sent from my Nexus 6P using BariatricPal mobile app

You say that you are already three months into your journey. That's great! Keep it up. The hold you need on your eating habits needs to come from you. You cannot hope that everyone around you will do what you need to do for you. It's your body, your weight loss. YOU must make it happen for you. It would be nice if everyone around me at work would quit bringing in donuts and muffins every day, or the cafeteria had a bariatric-friendly menu, but those things are not going to happen for me. I am accountable for my journey as well as you are for yours.

If they continue to do what you are describing, do not let it be an excuse to fail. You can do this! You know this in your heart-of-hearts. You would not have started if you really did not want to do this.

We're all here to listen... and if you need to, you can private message me too...

@macadamia - so true about the office temptations! We have Donut Thursday every week at our office.

That was a really kind and encouraging note above. I do love this community too!

Yep, regarding the surgery getting cancelled. When she told she cheated and had a cheeseburger, her Dr. put her I think on another month of liquids and rescheduled surgery. It scared the bejeezus out of me.

  • Author
57 minutes ago, macadamia said:

I had not seen that post where someone cheated on their pre-op diet and was canceled. Wow...

You say that you are already three months into your journey. That's great! Keep it up. The hold you need on your eating habits needs to come from you. You cannot hope that everyone around you will do what you need to do for you. It's your body, your weight loss. YOU must make it happen for you. It would be nice if everyone around me at work would quit bringing in donuts and muffins every day, or the cafeteria had a bariatric-friendly menu, but those things are not going to happen for me. I am accountable for my journey as well as you are for yours.

If they continue to do what you are describing, do not let it be an excuse to fail. You can do this! You know this in your heart-of-hearts. You would not have started if you really did not want to do this.

We're all here to listen... and if you need to, you can private message me too...

It's true- if not for my household temptations there would be temptations at work, dining out, etc. I just have to adjust myself to the world not the world adjust to me. Thank you for the good advice! :)

19 minutes ago, luckyducky said:

It's true- if not for my household temptations there would be temptations at work, dining out, etc. I just have to adjust myself to the world not the world adjust to me. Thank you for the good advice! :)

You are most welcome! As awesome as it would be for the world to adjust to us (me), it's not going to happen. I am in charge of my journey.

You'll do great and you will succeed! If I did not think so, I would have never responded. :)

I live with family members who do not eat healthy. My best tip is to keep your food separate. If at all possible, ask family to hide their treats. I have a separate pantry and separate shelf in the fridge. They order a lot of takeout. As much as possible, I try and eat home cooking so I have a lot of small, high protein meals in the freezer. I cook a lot of separate meals but sometimes I can figure out a healthy version of a meal that can accommodate everyone. Sometimes I make burrito bowls for myself and they might add sour cream or Doritos. Or I will make spaghetti for them, but zucchini noodles for me. Often I’ll just throw in bread or cook them some rice to go with whatever protein I’m having. you honestly can’t make people shift their eating habits if they don’t want to. It is difficult having temptations in the house or watching people eat whatever they want. But it can be done!

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