For the last year, I have vacillated on writing about my weight loss journey throughout the years, but something always stops me.
Bottom line, women and weight issues hold a lot of emotional baggage, and there are NO easy answers – no quick fixes, no “over night” success stories, nope, just a lot of plain, hard discipline. Discipline that I don’t have a lot of right now.
Something happened to me during the winter months where my love of french fries pushed away all things having to do with healthy eating and exercise.
As I think through writing this post, I thought it would be interesting to hear how you balance healthy eating, watching your weight and cooking for the family.
Do you cook differently for your family than you do for yourself as you try and drop those pounds?
I have two children who have my metabolism. They smell a chocolate cookie and gain a pound, while the others are literally trying to put on weight by drinking high calorie protein drinks…it’s SO.NOT.FAIR! It still amazes me how our metabolisms can all be wound up so differently.
I want to stress making healthy eating choices, but it is definitely a challenge.
I look forward to summer and all the fresh garden veggies. One thing I’ve instilled in our children is a love for fresh vegetables. Seeing those veggies go from seed to salad is so enriching, and I find it easier to cook healthy during the summer months since I do eat what I cook for them.
So what about you? Is balancing weight loss, eating and cooking an issue?
Do you eat differently than your family or does the lure of the beloved carbo load call to you as well? 🙂
I love your blog even more! I have packed on about 15 pounds this last winter. I know why. My sister passed away and I was sad. Homemade chocolate chip cookies help that. I must have made 3-4 batches a week. My whole family gained weight. Then it was like my eyes were opened! I have not baked since then, but I still am struggling.
Please share your story. I am always so envious of how thin you are. How cute you look. I always think “I never find cute clothes because I am so fat”. So share! Please! You are always so sensible and happy. I know that your story would be so good for me to hear.
Oh my. This is something I constantly struggle with. Thanks for being so open and sharing. This winter I’ve gained 10 lbs again. It gets harder as time goes on. I go back and forth with living with it, and working it off. I don’t know the answer.
I’m the same way, I so much as look at a cookie and I’ve gone up a dress size. That doesn’t mean to say I don’t eat them, In my opinion a balanced diet contains all things, including cookies.
When cooking for my family, I try to keep things balanced and not stress about what we’re eating. It’s ok if we have Mac and Cheese one night and salad the next, so long as we’re getting everything our bodies need throughout the week.
We have small portion sizes, served on European sized plates, and get plenty of exercise every day. I refuse to be a short order cook, so hubby and the kiddo eat what I eat, actually my 2 year old is really good at eating whatever I make him, I’m so thankful I don’t have a particularly picky eater.
In the summer we eat a lot of light and healthy food, in the winter we eat a lot of meat and starchy food. I always put on a few pounds in the winter, I think it’s normal and it’s my insulation against the cold! Then with the lighter food of spring and summer, along with the extra outside time, the weight quickly disappears.
These past 2 years have been such a struggle for me since my husband and I became empty nesters and my dad passed away all in the same year. It seems like I really turned to food and it has been so hard to lose the weight. I think my hormones are crazy right now and my thyroid is off. The good news is the older we get, the more my husband seems receptive to healthy meals…. which makes cooking easier. I think it is really hard to cook different for my family and myself.
As we age our hormones change, and that makes it even harder to maintain a healthy weight. The upside is that it keeps me aware that I must take care of myself (and my DH) and not take our good health for granted.
Thanks for hosting!
You’re right, Jen, this is such a hard topic – especially for women. Especially when emotions and challenging situations are involved!
I do eat slightly different than my family, usually for breakfast, lunch and snacks. But we eat mostly the same suppers. But it’s small differences like extra veggies (which we all eat a lot of) and smaller meat portions and skim milk.
I had three babies in 4 years (youngest is 19 mos) and even that fluctuation in weight is hard – even though it’s completely necessary! There is just something about our bodies changing that makes us question our worth and how people see us. Especially if we are not solidly grounded in who we are. (And I’m right there with all of you who sometimes doubt.)
And finally, to end this random, too long comment, there is the fact that God made us each different. Even if we eat the same exact food and do the same exact exercise as someone else, we will STILL LOOK DIFFERENT. That’s hard.
But you (each woman reading this) are beautiful. God made you beautiful. Listen to what he says about you. Find someone in your life (friend, hubby, mom, me) who sees your beauty, no matter what you look like, and listen to them.
We eat healthy for behavior reasons. I have noticed that I have a few kids that act like maniacs when we have too much sugar or white flour. I have never really had to worry about weight, but I want to be healthy so I try to cook healthy for my family.
I also want to instill good habits in my kids, I know that even though you have a fast metabolism when you are a kid, once you are an adult that can all change- if you have poor eating habits from childhood those are harder to change when you are an adult.
I have struggled with 20 pounds for a few years, but I have always been an emotional eater and a yo yo dieter. I have recently lost 12 pounds so I will share what has worked for me! First off, I realized I am allergic to gluten. I was diagnosed with IBS 16 years ago, and found out the whole time it was an allergy to gluten. Getting off of gluten was no easy feat, but the energy I feel now is amazing… I have lost my cravings for sweets, comfort food and believe it or not, chocolate. This great feeling led me to start training slowly to run a 1/2 marathon. I have had to learn to go to the Lord with my emotions instead of food, because all of my “comfort” foods have gluten in them! ha! My life finally does not revolve around dieting and losing weight for vanity sake. I am learning that I can eat an amazingly healthy diet and run long distances and be strong and have loads of energy…. the Lord is amazing! I realize not everyone is allergic to gluten. I realize it is HARD to give it up. I also know thought that gluten has been linked to all auto immune diseases and autism. My quality of life has improved 100% w/o it.
I’ve lost 30 some pounds in the last year but have since plateaued and can’t lose the final 10-15. I know where my weaknesses are – portion size and sugar – and it all comes down to self-control. Am I willing to give these things up – or limit? I don’t cook something for myself – but try to cook healthy for the entire family and just eat the correct portion for myself. But watching my weight is an everyday battle – and if I’m stressed or busy – oftentimes it’s a losing battle.
I have struggled with this as well! And let me just say, you are lucky your nice and tall. I’m 5’2″ and when I gain 10 lbs it looks like 20!! But I so know how you feel! I have noticed the older I get (I’m 37 now) the harder it is. Right now I have just lost 5 lbs but it has been HARD!
Exercise is the hardest for me to fit in with the kids. I mean, don’t get me wrong I’m always outside playing with them (trampoline, kickball and etc) it’s gotta count for something right? 🙂
I don’t buy anything (ok almost anything) for my family that I wouldn’t eat myself. I usually make very healthy meals with lots of fresh (mostly organic) salads and vegtables. And we all eat the same thing, I don’t have time to eat differently. I purposely don’t make a lot so there is not leftovers (unless I know I won’t have time to cook the next day) because when there is food left in the pan, I am ENCOURAGED to eat more.
Right now I am trying to follow my body. If I am not hungry I am not eating, even if that means skipping a meal. Because if I am not hungry why eat? When I am hungry I eat. I am trying to “listen” to my body and I think it does work. I think there is no magic answer. I wanted to lose 15-20 lbs by now and I have only lost 5! I hope I can lose some more. I am going camping in July with my two skinny sisters (they are obsessive about weight, I obviously am not, LOL) UGH! 🙂
Kristi
Oh boy,do I know what you mean! I definitely struggle with all the weight that i gained little by little through all of my pregnancies. My husband and I have been focusing on making better choices for our family and trying to start our boys out on the right foot. It’s not always easy, and we definitely slip, but I’m trying to take one day at a time and make it a lifestyle thing. Right now I’m trying to make being active a priority as well as just eating simpler real foods at home. I think that can go a long way, but moderation can be the hard part for me. I have such an all or nothing mentality that it makes the whole thing much harder.
I’ve noticed as time goes by, I’m starting to add a few pounds too! Must be those cupcakes 😉
Thanks so much for hosting!
~Liz
Balance? What’s that? I try to eat healthy, but gosh I love me some chocolate and white cheese dip and tacos and pizza. I’m not good with not having what I want. I get really crabby!
I used to work out a lot and could maintain my weight no matter what I ate, but then the babysitter at my gym quit and they decided not to replace her. I didn’t work out for 9 months and I packed on about 8 pounds on top of the other 13 or so I needed to lose. UGH! I’ve joined a new gym and I’ve taken off about 4 pounds, but I really need to lose another 15 to be back where I was when I got married and 3 kids ago. UGH! My Hubby has such an easier time pushing away the sweets and drinking a protein shake. I, on the other hand, go through a few weeks of doing really well and losing a few pounds to a few weeks where I eat what I want and try to just maintain. If I deny myself for too long, it backfires on me BIGTIME! I just can’t do without my KitKats and Golden Double Stuff Oreos for too long. I swear they put crack in those! YUM!
It’s a constant battle!!!
My hubby and I are the only ones that struggle with weight loss. Our girls don’t have a problem…but our entire family is on a journey of healthy eating. I don’t bake very often and if I do it’s usually for when company comes or to take somewhere this way it doesn’t stay in our home. We avoid things with empty calories (except my coffee with I’m sure too much sugar..if i cut that out I know I’d lose weight)…my struggle is the exercise part of it. It’s hard to get motivated. The eating healthy isn’t a problem, so I know I need to get back on track with that.
I’ve found the only way to help with my carb addiction is to cut back on carbs and eat those carbs that are high in fiber – like legumes. I feed everyone here very healthful food, but once in a while I succumb to my weakness: CANDY. Good’n’Plenty, Dots, Mike and Ike. I know it just drugs me, and I have to try to stay away from it! Usually I’m successful. Occasionally not.
Ok, now I feel guilty for posting Banana Pudding Trifle. 😉 I think my weight journey has really changed since I passed 40. My body is so different, and I feel like I am still getting used to what it really needs (instead of what it says it wants) in terms of exercise and diet. I’m ready for my glorified body!
I married into a family with high metabolisms. I sometimes wonder if they feel weird having a daughter-in-law with weight issues. :s Funny enough, I feed my children healthy foods: fresh fruit, veggies, milk, water, limited amounts of real fruit juice, etc. But I really struggle with making good choices for ME. I know that it takes dedication and discipline to start a healthy lifestyle…I mostly feel like a slacker. :s
I am short (5 ft 2, like Kristi above) and any extra weight looks AWFUL on me. Last year I lost 40 + pounds and it all came down to food choices and counting calories for me. I also had to force myself to stop buying all junk food completely (the family got over it) because if it is in the house, I’ll eat it! I’ve managed to maintain the loss for about 7 months now, and frankly that has been harder than taking the weight off was.
Honestly, I’ve been clicking on many of these wonderful food links that everyone posts here for the past couple of months and most of the recipes look amazing, but many of them are just not something I can make and expect to keep the weight off! I’m very particular about things like sugar, butter, and cheese, all of which happen to be very popular in really good food, and cheese is a major weakness of mine to boot! So…what to do?
Well, these days I stick to a few healthy, low calorie, simple dishes to be safe. We eat a ton of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in things like stir-fry with veggies over brown rice, chicken fajitas, chicken with veggies and pasta, ect. We eat meals like this 3-4 days every week, with the other days a bit more lenient. It does get boring and repetitive, but it’s what works for me!
Ever since I started reading this blog, I have thought, “I am so thankful for this person! She is a real woman, talking about real issues, with real and frank emotions and humor. I just love her!” 🙂
The weight issue has never troubled my husband – he loved me chubby, and has continued to do so – but after my two boys were born and we stopped having children, I thought that a little of it needed to come off. We are constantly striving to make our food choices better, since my firstborn loves all things processed: pizza rolls, hot dogs, sausage, breaded mozzarella cheese sticks deep fried… the list goes on. Neither of them is big on fruits or veggies “as is” – they have to be modified in some way. So we’re working on that. A few years ago I successfully lost some weight, by serving myself salads at each meal. That was boring, and I didn’t realize how much I griped about it until I suggested we do that again. 🙂 At least I know now!
Thank you for an informative, cheerful blog, and for all the fun and honest encouragement you offer those of us without blogs (or with) out here in cyberspace. 🙂 I am very thankful for being able to eavesdrop on your life, and glean a few suggestions for my own. All the best to you!
Emily
This is my first time to participate in Tasty Tuesday– I love posting recipes on my blog, so when I found your blog, I figured I might as well link up!! Thanks for hosting. 🙂
As a homeschooler, I incorporate learning about nutrition and healthy lifestyles into our lives. Two of my kids could really use to gain a few pounds, and the youngest is a little bit heavy. I cook one meal for the whole family, but the ones who have had an active day have the options of seconds. I’ve taught my kids to read nutrition labels and we discuss choices — “Sure, popsicles are lower in calories, but they are strictly energy without any building blocks. If we make some fruit pops out of real fruit and juice, let’s look at what other nutrients we are getting!”
Unfortunately, since food is either protein, fat, or sugar, our body sees fruit juice as ‘sugar.’ We get more antioxidants from veggies, so we can do with very little fruit. Fruit juices are like a candy treat to be used sparingly.
Again unfortunately, what I know and what I do always aren’t the same thing. 🙁 Mike and Ike don’t even have antioxidants. 🙂
Jen – oh, how I understand. I struggled with this for soooo many years. By God’s grace, I have lost 90 pounds. You can read about my Chewing Tobacco Diet on my blog: http://gailgolden.blogspot.com/ I hope it helps you and your readers, too. You can do it!
Look at all those beautiful recipes!
WOW – what a great way to share what you are cooking! I just linked up – I know really late! But I will be back next week! Can’t wait to cruise through all the recipes!