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June 2012 Moms
Weight loss plan for DH
DH went to the Doctor this morning to get a refill on his blood pressure meds. The doctor told him (not surprisingly) that he needs to loose a few pounds. About 50lbs to be exact. If he can lose the weight then he will likely be able to go off the blood pressure meds - which would be so perfect.
I told DH that I would help put together a plan for him - but I am not sure which way to go.
When you/YH go to lose weight - what works best for you? I know that diet programs (weight watchers etc) are quite effective, but I also know that DH won't be willing to pay for a program - not when we lose my income for a year.
I'd like to put together something that I can join in on to help me lose the baby weight after the birth. Suggestions?
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Re: Weight loss plan for DH
Check your insurance to see if it will cover a nutritionist Given he has high blood pressure, which puts him at a greater risk for heart disorders, it may. If so, I would schedule a meeting. He or she should be able to put a plan together for your DH to follow and it should not cost too much if it is covered by insurance.
Once and a while when my husband wants to get back in shape he does this thing for 60 days where on day 1 he'll do 1 pushup and 1 sit-up and jog for 10 minutes. Every day he adds 1 more pushup and sit-up and every week another minute to the run.
I've tried it before and it's great for toning up and shedding a few unwanted pounds.
It feels a little ridiculous at first doing 1 pushup, then 2, then 3...but by the time you get into the 50's, it's not so funny anymore. It also makes it easier to do because every day you say "just 1 more pushup today" eventually you get to 60 and feel amazing.
My brother lost 50lbs using myfitnesspal.com - it's basically a diet diary. You enter in what you ate and it calculates the fat, calories, nutritional value, etc. You also input the exercise you did with your activity level for the day and it can calculate the calories you burned. He loved it because it did a lot of the counting and calculating for him. And at the end of the day, week or month it can calculate how much you should be losing if everything you entered was correct.
He's been using it for a year and half now (now just uses it occasionally). Diets would work for him but he would always crash. This helped realize that a calorie is a calorie and no atkins or any other weird diet was going to be a long term solution. Good luck to your DH!
I like the idea of making lifestyle changes - not dieting just making healthy choices.
The part that I struggle with is DH is a huge snacker and struggles with portion control. We eat fairly healthy meals but it's the snacks - and the late night ones - that seem to be his downfall. He loves salty snacks so fruits/veg don't really satisfy his cravings, and when he does have chips or something he rarely has a portion - it's more than likely he'll take down the whole bag. Even if we don't have any on hand - he'll do a snack run to get some.
I know some of this will change with a change in mentality, but I worry about how things are going to be in a few weeks when the initial motivation wears thin.
These are great suggestions! I got DH a TRX system from Craigslist for Christmas that he's using. We also do Crossfit together-you can find the workouts online if you don't want to pay for the gym (this is what I'll be doing when Baby is here). I love it because the workouts are fast, intense and you can brag about them on Facebook.
There's also the SparkPeople group for June Moms that someone on here started. I can't wait to use that-I'm really excited about being held accountable by the group, seeing everyone's progress and posting mine. Maybe you could join and DH could just have a regular SparkPeople account? It's free and has a smartphone app.
My DH is trying to loose some weight, too, although I think he looks great. His plan is to do the above, but also to bike to work each day. It's about an hour commute for him on the bike, but then he's gotten in 2 hours of biking each day.
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My husband usually follows my cues on eating. I do the shopping, plan the menus and do the cooking. I was on WW and was pretty sucessful with it. In turn, he was too. The same goes for working out. I did curves up until about two months ago and he said that it motivated him to go too (not to Curves, but to his gym).
Since being pregnant, especially in this last 3 months, all bets are OFF! He seems to be gaining with me.
So my game plan after birth is to go back to WW and the gym. I really liked WW, especially the meetings. Its a good way to connect with other people and get good ideas.
When I started doing myfitnesspal, I noticed my problem was also portion control. So every time I would grab a snack, I would measure out a certain amount. When it was gone, I was done snacking. Nuts are a good snack and are salty. It's all about control and willpower. He can't make excuses, and he's going to have to WANT to do it in order for it to work. If he doesn't want to, then he won't be successful.
I think you have to consider what foods are really important to your DH. For example, if your DH is a big meat and cheese eater and can't live without those things, you might consider the South Beach Diet. My DH lost 20 pounds very quickly with that diet after the birth of our daughter, and I like that it only really restricts you for the first two weeks. We plan to go back on this diet after this baby comes.
If your DH is in love with carbs and can't do without them, you might want to consider doing a vegan cleanse type diet. If he needs a little of everything to stay happy and on track, Weight Watchers would be a great start for him. Good luck!
My DH also does South beach when he needs to lose 5+ pounds in conjunction with working out. It works out really well with him. It's really all about low carb and low sugar type foods. More fruits and veggies and more protein. He should also really start working out if he isn't already.
I would definitely invest in a food scale (usually can get one from amazon for around $30). Helps with portion control because you can weigh your food to make sure you're eating an actual serving size. I have this one and like it because it is easy to change the unit to match whatever is on the package:
https://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Precision-Digital-Kitchen-Silver/dp/B001N07KUE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336588065&sr=8-1
Also, if he's a big snacker, than don't buy them for the house. It takes a lot of effort to go to the store to buy something to eat and much easier to eat what's in the house (although I think I read that you said he would do a food run to get snacks). Also agree with everyone about using a calorie tracker program like myfitnesspal or similar.
There is some evidence that there is an addiction to certain types of foods. I know when I eat a lot of sugary foodss, I crave them, but then if I can avoid them for a few days, the cravings go away. Maybe just try to get him to go a few days without eating the salty snacks and see if that helps with the cravings. Baby carrots and hummus are a good alternative to chips and dips!
He does have a gym at work that he uses - on a good week he is there about 3 times.
The part that I really worry about is the long term commitment. It's happened before that he feels the need to lose weight - will start some type of plan or make some change and will stick with it for a week, maybe 2 if he feels like he is seeing results. But... inevitably something happens and he reverts back to old habits or just gives up on the changes. He gets frustrated when he doesn't see results quickly and the lack of sufficient change on the scale often causes him to lose his motivation.
He knows that he didn't gain all this weight overnight and shouldn't expect to lose it so fast. I really understand how he feels and sometimes feel the same way. How do you do it so you can stick with the changes for at least 3 months? How do you keep your motivation?
I always "rewarded" myself when I reached a goal. Tell him to set small goals. He shouldn't be looking at it as "I HAVE to lose 50 lbs" Tell him to look at it as, "Ok, my goal is to lose 2 lbs a week" If after a month he is able to lose 8 lbs, he gets to reward himself with something that he enjoys such as a new movie or a round of golf. I was addicted to redecorating our house at the time, so every time I reached a goal I rewarded myself with a new wall hanging or glasses. That gave me something to work towards, and 8 lbs is a lot less menacing than 50 lbs
I tried WW for awhile, and although I lost 20 lbs doing it, it really didn't work for me. My big problem was the numbers - I have an anxiety disorder and a tendency towards obsessive personality, and counting the numbers for everything I ate became overwhelming and started to take over my life. The thing that worked the best for me was exercise - but it was really important to have a goal. For awhile I tried running every other day, and that was just too easy to give up on.
What finally worked for me was Couch 2 5k. I started thinking of myself as a runner - someone that wanted to run in races purely for enjoyment. It gave me a reason to want to get to the gym. It really helps with eating, too, because when you're physically active it's more apparent that unhealthy foods make you sick. I found that my running went better and I had more energy when I ate fruits and vegetables, but when I had been slacking off and just eating a lot of carbs, it was a lot more work.
My husband has lost 60lbs since I got pregnant using an iPhone app called "Lose it". It's basically a food journal app for your iPhone.You can even scan the barcodes from food items and put in your number of portions and it calculates everything for you.
I've tried to get DH to do Weight Watchers with me for years, but he hated counting points. But he loves tech and gadgets, and having this app on his phone has turned changing his eating habits into a game for him.
I used the My Fitness Pal app (free on iphone) and lost 35lbs pre-pregnancy. Super easy to use. It's always with you since everyone always has their phone on them. Makes it easier to stick with. Just look up the foods you're eating and it tallies the calories. I highly recommend it.