Just a quickie post from work today for you fine people!
As an ex-weight loss counselor, and someone who's working on maintaining the healthy lifestyle I love, I am well-acquainted with one of the biggest challenges you might face in your weight loss regime: the significant other. He/she might say they support you, and they probably really do! They want you to be happy (well, they better at least!) and healthy, and fit, but when it comes down to dinnertime on a Friday night or brunch on Sunday, they are tempting you with fancy rich dinners laden with fat, sugar, refined carbs, and alcohol. We want to be with them and still have weekend fun, and not feel too restricted. What to do??
I definitely love my sanity-saving Saturday night cheat meal, and that's ok. But I like to keep it somewhat in line, and someone who isn't paying quite as careful attention to their nutritional intake can be a little tricky to eat with. Ideally, your partner will see you getting results that make you happier and confident, and will be inspired to change their naughty ways. Sometimes it takes awhile, and maybe he only is open to changing a few habits at a time. Regardless of what your partner does, you need to stay true to what makes you happy - being a strong and healthy individual is a big part of what makes a relationship strong and healthy. It happened that way with me and Ed. He was always active, but he ate a lot of 'junk' - a glass of chocolate 2% milk is not a decent breakfast there, pal. These days, he makes an egg white omelet and a flax whole gran waffle for breakfast, with a small glass of light chocolate soy milk. Wow. For the record, I didn't force him into this! (He might argue that point, but he would be wrong.) Little by little, he started asking me what he should get at the grocery store, or what would be better than this or that, etc. So, there's one way to handle it - be strong, and lead by example.
Another option I want to share with you today, because it came up today, is to make dinnertime more fun. Get in that kitchen! Use some weird gadget or vegetable you haven't used or eaten before. Ed (and I, too) love a fun new dinner - we like eating healthy, but baked chicken breast with rice and veggies can get tedious. So, when he told me he was bored at work today, I told him to hop on eatingwell.com and pick out a recipe, any recipe, and I will make it, or try to, anyway. And that is what we'll do. Eatingwell.com has awesome healthy recipes that are pretty easy to throw together. This way, we're excited about dinner, trying something new, but still sticking to healthful choices. Give it a whirl tonight. See if your grumpy anti-veggie fella will play the game, and test your culinary skills. I'll be testing mine out with Ed's choice, Southwestern Beef & Bean Burger Wraps. I got off easy - I can definitely pull off making a wrap. ;)
Be not afraid of your kitchen - lay down the challenge to your man and give your best shot to creating whichever healthy recipe he requests. Enjoy it, and good luck!
As an ex-weight loss counselor, and someone who's working on maintaining the healthy lifestyle I love, I am well-acquainted with one of the biggest challenges you might face in your weight loss regime: the significant other. He/she might say they support you, and they probably really do! They want you to be happy (well, they better at least!) and healthy, and fit, but when it comes down to dinnertime on a Friday night or brunch on Sunday, they are tempting you with fancy rich dinners laden with fat, sugar, refined carbs, and alcohol. We want to be with them and still have weekend fun, and not feel too restricted. What to do??
I definitely love my sanity-saving Saturday night cheat meal, and that's ok. But I like to keep it somewhat in line, and someone who isn't paying quite as careful attention to their nutritional intake can be a little tricky to eat with. Ideally, your partner will see you getting results that make you happier and confident, and will be inspired to change their naughty ways. Sometimes it takes awhile, and maybe he only is open to changing a few habits at a time. Regardless of what your partner does, you need to stay true to what makes you happy - being a strong and healthy individual is a big part of what makes a relationship strong and healthy. It happened that way with me and Ed. He was always active, but he ate a lot of 'junk' - a glass of chocolate 2% milk is not a decent breakfast there, pal. These days, he makes an egg white omelet and a flax whole gran waffle for breakfast, with a small glass of light chocolate soy milk. Wow. For the record, I didn't force him into this! (He might argue that point, but he would be wrong.) Little by little, he started asking me what he should get at the grocery store, or what would be better than this or that, etc. So, there's one way to handle it - be strong, and lead by example.
Another option I want to share with you today, because it came up today, is to make dinnertime more fun. Get in that kitchen! Use some weird gadget or vegetable you haven't used or eaten before. Ed (and I, too) love a fun new dinner - we like eating healthy, but baked chicken breast with rice and veggies can get tedious. So, when he told me he was bored at work today, I told him to hop on eatingwell.com and pick out a recipe, any recipe, and I will make it, or try to, anyway. And that is what we'll do. Eatingwell.com has awesome healthy recipes that are pretty easy to throw together. This way, we're excited about dinner, trying something new, but still sticking to healthful choices. Give it a whirl tonight. See if your grumpy anti-veggie fella will play the game, and test your culinary skills. I'll be testing mine out with Ed's choice, Southwestern Beef & Bean Burger Wraps. I got off easy - I can definitely pull off making a wrap. ;)
Be not afraid of your kitchen - lay down the challenge to your man and give your best shot to creating whichever healthy recipe he requests. Enjoy it, and good luck!
