Motivating others?

vs0609 · March 2012

Hi ladies,
I've been trying to motivate my FI to shed some weight before the wedding, but mainly just so he can be healthier. He has lost 50 lbs but still has a long way to go. When he achieved his 50 lbs lost, I gave him a kindle (something he has always wanted) as a reward for a job well done. He's been walking outside for an hour each day (2miles/day). However, I've noticed that he eats a bit more now compared to before, so I'm trying to encourage him to log his food intake to see how much he's actually consuming. He says he's not eating that much but I'm sure when he logs everything, it will add up to be a lot. For example food intake for today, Breakfast: 3 eggs, 2 slices whole wheat with butter, 1 cup applesauce & coffee. Lunch: PB & J sandwich on whole wheat bread, salad with blue cheese dressing. Snack, 2 sticks of string cheese & several handfuls of pretzels. Dinner: Homemade cheeseburger on whole wheat buns, 1 bag of popcorn, several handfuls of pretzels, 3/4 cup mozzarella, artichoke, tomato salad, salad with blue chese dressing, and homemade baked fries.
To me that's a lot of food, but he says they are all healthy food so it's okay. My questions are: How do I get him to see it's a lot of food without logging his food consumption for him? How do I motivate him to be more active? Any advice you ladies can provide would be appreciated. Thanks

Lobsters25 · March 2012

That's not a lot for a guy who is exercising (depending on the number of handfuls), but that is a lot of snacking. If you try to cut back on his food, he may just end up snacking more. I would perhaps try tracking his calories, and then focus on where the calories are coming from compared to daily recommendations.
It sounds to me like he needs some more substantial planned snacks for mid-morning and mid-afternoon, which would stop the evening and pretzel snacking. How about hummus with veggies, almonds, or a greek yogurt with fruit.

Edit: By tracking his calories, I just meant once, to see if there are any huge red flags, not monitoring daily. That would be a bit obnoxious.

anna.oskar · March 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_motivating-others?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:754be6a3-2277-4179-9cc4-ba1a70fecec5Post:1ef06617-3e00-41eb-b760-dd66c9d4c25a">Motivating others?</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi ladies, I've been trying to motivate my FI to shed some weight before the wedding, but mainly just so he can be healthier. He has lost 50 lbs but still has a long way to go. When he achieved his 50 lbs lost, I gave him a kindle (something he has always wanted) as a reward for a job well done. He's been walking outside for an hour each day (2miles/day). However, I've noticed that he eats a bit more now compared to before, so I'm trying to encourage him to log his food intake to see how much he's actually consuming. He says he's not eating that much but I'm sure when he logs everything, it will add up to be a lot. For example food intake for today, Breakfast: 3 eggs, 2 slices whole wheat with butter, 1 cup applesauce & coffee. Lunch: PB & J sandwich on whole wheat bread, salad with blue cheese dressing. Snack, 2 sticks of string cheese & several handfuls of pretzels. Dinner: Homemade cheeseburger on whole wheat buns, 1 bag of popcorn, several handfuls of pretzels, 3/4 cup mozzarella, artichoke, tomato salad, salad with blue chese dressing, and homemade baked fries. To me that's a lot of food, but he says they are all healthy food so it's okay. My questions are: How do I get him to see it's a lot of food without logging his food consumption for him? How do I motivate him to be more active? Any advice you ladies can provide would be appreciated. Thanks :)
Posted by vs0609[/QUOTE]

1st. You cannot motivate people to do something if they just plain old "don't wanna"

2md. My H tracks his food right now and I gotta tell you, it sounds like your FI eats less than my H. He'd be starving if he only had those measly breakfast and lunches. I think he should track just because he might need more food.

3rd. Are you losing weight too or just him?

mbody · March 2012

Does HE want to lose weight or eat healthier? If not, you're going to have a hellava time trying to get him to do something he doesn't want to do.

You can try tracking his calories for him to find out where a majority of them come from and offer up some things he can do differently. However, this is, IMO, a fine line because you don't want to cross over from being helpful to being overbearing and too motherly. KWIM?

What has helped my FI, is the way I'll cook. He eats anything and everything so any healthy dinners I cook, he eats. Which is waaayy better than anything he'd make for himself. I'll also suggest activities that we can do together- go for a bike ride, go to our school's gym after school/before dinner.

entropicbeauty · March 2012

Honestly, it sounds like he's still doing a good job. He's not on the path of gaining weight back, he's not eating unhealthy foods...he knows his own body and what his needs are. That honestly doesn't sound like a lot of food for a guy.

I agree with a PP - maybe make some suggestions for a more protein or fiber based snack that he can use to replace some of the carbs...but otherwise I'd say let him keep on his good track.

Motivating others?

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