I want to hear opinions and suggestions on having other people in the house who are not following a healthy eating plan.

After reading Jill's FFS book, I really want to start following that plan. My problem is ... hubby is a meat man and junk food junkie (and he's not overweight, grrr!). He doesn't like very many vegetables and hardly ever eats fruit. My kids are taking pretty well to most fruit, but are frequently balking at the vegetables. Most of the meals I often fix have ingredients from the "F" list, like butter, oil, cheese, milk, hamburger, pork, eggs ... and pasta (from the "C" list) is very frequent.

With 5 young kids (7 and under) it's not easy to fix something separate for myself, let alone have time to cut up and prepare veggies.

Buff

Buff-Congrat's on the weight loss!!

I would suggest making a side of something for yourself withouth the butter,oil etc...etc...or making the dishes with lowfat milk rather than 2% or whole. For instance: you could make yourself a salad (comes in ready made bags at the grocery store), or you could get some of those baby carrots and have those on the side. My husband is also a meat and potatoes guy, so I know it can be difficult.

What about portion control? Did it mention in Jill's book the size a regular portion should be of meat? (sorry I haven't bought it yet). It should be the size of your palm. Jere's a trick I use: I give my husband and kids their dinner or one size plate and put mine on another smaller size.

You could also ask your husband to hide the junk food or limit it to eating it after dinner and it it's not gone by bed time throwing it away. Just tell him it's hard for you not to eat it if it's around all the time and I'm sure he'll understand and support you in your quest for weight loss. Sue

Buff, congrat on the loss
I follow the FFS book most of the time, My DH does not do O nor worry about what he eats (tho he should)
I make food i know i will eat, and something he eats, then if i have left overs thats what i eat the following meal/day.then fix him something a bit different.
If u have not tried the Morningstar Vegie Burgers believe me the originals are great & the chicken is to.They also have it already cooked for speghetti &ETC great in soups also. i like to fix instant mashed potatoes w/ them and a side vegi.u have to combine enough foods u can eat along w/ what they like.
Good luck on the menu to please everyone. welcome to the board.

Buff, I've got a husband and four kids who swear my healthy cooking's going to be the death of them. My husband usually ends up cooking something for them separate from what I'm having. I'm still struggling with that aspect of things so I have no great advice.

My saving grace has been that the food program I found that works for me allows for slow changes over time. In the past when I would try to eat healthy, I would get an all or nothing mindset. Inevitably, I couldn't keep up with it and would give it up completely. This time, I'm learning the skills I need for planning and cooking ahead, and I have been making steady (not perfect) progress which is very affirming.

So, my one and only piece of advice is to be patient with yourself (and with your family) as you make changes in your diet.

Here's my 2 cents. Years ago, I decided that we were going to eat extremely healthy...and we did for a while. We didn't feel any better or get less sicknesses than anyone else, or anything like that. All I did was make a few people disgusted with me, and maybe hurt some feelings.
I learned that there is nothing wrong with eating some things that are not 100% good for you some of the time, and that you can increase the good things and cut down on the bad over time, and it's much easier for everyone to adapt.
Most kids love fruit salads, and if you chop up some apples and slice a few bananas, add a few raisins and stir in some yogurt, you've got a healthy side dish. The idea of buying yourself some ready made salad is good, too. I always rinse it off though, before serving it, because of the bad publicity it's had sometimes.
I eat mostly raw veggies, because I prefer them that way. Lettuce, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery...these are my "staple" veggies. I usually use a light dressing with the broccoli and cauliflower, but a very moderate amount. If your children see you eating these things, they may want to try them, too. Mine do. Crunchy things often appeal to kids.
I buy junk food. I eat junk food, but I eat lots more healthy food than anything else.
Susanna

Although my big kids & hubby eat everything I make them, my lil ones hate anything green. I do what BlueEyes does. Make something good for me then eat the rest the next day. Often I'll do more pasta for them & be careful to have 1 serving only.

I've found ChangeOne to be a good plan. The portion sizes are realistic & it used food we eat.

One thing we all have to be careful of is perfectionism in the form of "all or nothing". "If I can't do FFS 100% I can't do it at all" sort of thing. The changes in diet & exercise we are making now, is what we have to do to keep our weight off. So at least I need to get a plan I can do for the rest of my life. If it is gradual, I am more likely to stick with it. Just the portion reduction has had a great effect so far & though I think FFS is best, I cannot do it 100% for various reasons.

Sorry for the long post! Just my .02 worth I guess.
Shelby

Well, let me jump in with my opinion, too. There are four of us living at home right now and we all have different tastes. I'm a vegetarian, but still eat eggs and dairy. My daughter doesn't eat beef or pork. My son eats very little meat other than turkey, ground beef or hotdogs (the red ones, not the all beef or turkey). My husband likes most things, but tries to stay away from lots of tomato products and stuff that irritates his GERD. So.... what do I cook?

Most meals I prepare a meat, a "starch" (usually rice, potatoes, pasta, grits, etc.), a bread, and two veggies/fruits. (I grew up with a mother that always had "pretty" plates at supper....always a green veggie and a yellow/orange veggie.) Everyone then just eats what they want from what I've prepared. It usually works out. If my son (he's 14 and a growing boy) doesn't like the meat, I'll usually allow him to grab a slice or two of deli turkey to add to his meal.

Like Susanna said...we don't always eat healthy stuff, but I try to keep the portions under control when we don't.

I think the FFS plan is great, but I just can't follow it entirely. I really have to have my eggs and dairy...and have proven to myself that I can still lose weight eating them in moderation.

I didn't mean to get carried away with this post, but just wanted to let you know how we handled it.

Oh...one other thing. This might be off topic, but thinking of your young children.... I quit letting my kids have things like gummies and fruit roll-ups when they were small. Stuff like that might not seem that bad for you, but it really stays in their teeth and promotes tooth decay!

Okay...I'll stop now!

Thank you all for your advice.

Here is what I decided to do:
1. use a smaller plate and eat smaller portions
2. try veggie burgers when I make burgers for the others
3. add a raw veggie or salad to dinner menu often
4. continue to eat my eggs, cheese and milk but cut it back
5. have smoothie or fruit salad for breakfast instead of cereal and milk
6. always drink water or vegetable/fruit juice intead of tea or soda
7. gradually decrease butter in cooking so it won't be so noticeable to the others, and gradually switch to using 2% milk instead of whole in cooking

That should give me a good start.

Buff

Buff,
That sounds like a good start to me. Go for it!
Susanna

good start on the menu keep us posted.
have a great day

Sounds like a good plan! I'll look forward to hearing how it all works out for you.

Remember to be gentle with yourself.

RE: Getting kids to eat healthy foods...

In a letter to another customer Jill has suggested using the "better than" philosophy. for example, it's better for kids to eat broccoli with cheese sauce all over it than not to eat veggies at all.

Some kids will eat a variety of veggies in Top Ramen.

Jill also suggests having lots of healthy snack foods available to choose from.... grapes, raw nuts, raisins, baby carrots. Even canned spaghetti-o's. She tries not to make a "big deal" about food at home, but just has healthy choices available and allows her kids to make their own decisions as much as possible.

She says that her husband grew up as a real "meat and potatoes" man, but has gradually started trying some of her menu items... and has found that he really loves tomato sandwiches!

Another item most kids really like are fruit smoothies... made with freshly squeezed or frozen orange juice, frozen berries, frozen bananas.... or any other variety of fruits.

So far I have been doing well in rejecting the bad food. Except for one day ... DH brought some donuts home when he went grocery shopping. Guess he couldn't stand all the produce he had to buy, LOL. I avoided them that night, but the next day I had an emotional eating attack and ate 3! of them. The next day I made myself be good. I've been having lots of smoothies because I love them. That's what I should've done before I ate the donuts. Kids are always begging for smoothies, too. And they actually liked the sauted cabbage I had for dinner the other night. And tomato sandwiches! The kids and I both love them! Wish I had a place to grow my own tomatoes. Store bought ones just can't compare!

Buff