Husbands and healthy food.

Midge I like your style

Same problem. Oh overweight high blood pressure and diabetes. He knows what he should eat and when I cook he gets the right stuff. If left to his own devices fry-ups, cheese in large quantities and other unhealthy foods take over. I am sick of hiding cheese and having no biscuits or cake in the house as I can eat them. It's a problem I cannot resolve. He knows the score. I have to accept that he holds his fate in his own hands.
By the way to hide food in the fridge, cut off the bottom of a LL milk carton or similar and store cheese in it?

Everyone 'knows' someone who overeats, smokes 'like a chimney' or soaks up the alcohol like a sponge and lived to 100! Therefore, they think it 'will never happen to me' - until it does.

Then there's the other scenario of the slim athlete, who never touched 'a drop' or smoked who dies, aged 35, of cancer/heart attack/bubonic plague, so there's really no point in trying to live a healthy lifestyle.

Personally, so long as they aren't bankrupting the NHS (they are) or taking up HD beds (they are) or making waiting lists even longer (they are) or A&E even more dysfunctional (ditto) or distressing their loved ones then it's entirely up to every individual how they live their lives

what about a deal eg - healthy eating during one week, if doesn't like, he might return to usual habits or spending a week-healthy holiday abroad

My h had and still had a stomach ulcer it's taken years to get it under control. He has to be carful what he eats but he does like cake and biscuits especially chocolate ones so I don't begrudge what he eats.
He has never tried a curry or anything spicy won't very often eat fry up. If I cook bacon for a sandwich it's got to be grilled.

ps his cholesterol level is lower than mine.

Just now:

DH "What shall we have for lunch"
Me "not sure, perhaps an egg or perhaps I should skip lunch today, what would you like?"
DH goes off to kitchen, sound and smell of frying bacon wafts from that direction.

Thia is a tricky one and I have a similar problem with my own DH. My late FIL ate everything he shouldn't all his life and lived to the age of 95.

My DH does all the food shopping and sneaks sweet stuff into the trolley whilst in the supermarket and hides the receipts.

If anyone's DH has a family history of high cholesterol or diabetes, etc then it may be be easier to dissuade them from ruining their health.

I'm thinking of trying another approach whereby DH is allowed to have one treat per week. That way he won't feel deprived.

Another solution is to make healthy versions of the unhea;thy stuff, but I'm not sure if this is a good idea.

I'm so relieved others have this problem - thought it was just me!
I feel so guilty eating all the healthy stuff, while he stocks up the fridge with all the unhealthy treats he actually enjoys and chooses. Also he's the one that should be looking after his health, but it just makes him miserable to look at anything remotely green on his plate.

My BiL was the same. He did the shopping and the cooking, and the eating and drinking and wouldn't be told.

He's been in hospital since February 20th, exactly a month now. Had the inevitable heart attack, open heart surgery, triple by-pass. Isn't recovering well.

He can't talk. He can't swallow, even three weeks after surgery. Being fed via a tube. Has had to have his heart shocked back into a proper rhythm twice since his operation. The wound in his leg where they took the veins for the bypass isn't healing well.

Not funny

It's amazing what can get tucked underneath other things in the shopping trolley

dont buy things he shouldn't eat ,always freeze home baking as soon as its cool,its much harder to scoff things that are rock hard.My OH had a hear attack 5 years ago ,he's active walks between 5 and 10 miles a day and we eat mainly mmade from scratch ,he's cut down on cheese and sweet stuff,I make flans with fresh fruit and sugar free yoghourt and jelly ,but he's still got a wee pot belly he didn't have before .Now thinking swimming might be the answer

I'm reading a book by Raj Persaud. He used to be the resident psychologist on morning TV if anyone can remember?
He claims that the only way to change habits is not to rely on the person or willpower. You need to change the surrounding environment. In this case, it would mean buying only healthy food and not bringing home the unhealthy options or leaving them anywhere where your husband could find them. You literally have to change your kitchen environment by changing how you shop.
Makes sense.

perhaps you should enter him for Master Chef

I can eat it when I'm on holiday but generally I have yogurt and fruit or a poached egg on toast.

Not me, the master chef does it himself, full flame under the frying pan, kitchen full of smoke, HP sauce on the table, at least he does toast and not fried bread!
What is it with men? I couldn't eat that to save my life!!

I have muesli with yogurt and blueberries!

ginny you are assuming that Mrsmopp kindly does her DH's fry-up for him

If my DH wants a fry-up he does his own (and on rare occasions, if I do fancy one, he does mine too ).

Oh and I'm supposed to be proud of him for being 'economical' cos pork pies, sausage rolls, doughnuts and other junk are 'on special offer' or buy one get one free, "I've saved £2.50 on this lot." he says proudly... Aaaagggghhh!

Husband and healthy food is an oxymoron.

OH will not eat (or at least only in small quantities and under protest or hidden in a dish as you would for a toddler!): salad, vegetables, fruit, soup, pasta.

OH will eat: meat pies, sausages, curry, rice, chips, fried fish, chocolate, cake, custard.

And he still weighs under 8 stone - yes you did read that right!

The hospital says I should help him gain weight, so I feed him all the unhealthy stuff in the hope it will put weight on - but no!

I finish up cooking separate meals as I love pasta, vegetables and fish and eat virtually no red meat. And I am nearly 11 stone - there is no justice in the world!

goldengirl - can you tell me more about Hello Fresh please? How would it work for me with my no red meat?

Mine has high blood pressure and cholesterol, father had heart problems (4 heart attacks), and he pops pills for both. He is not supposed to eat sugary/fatty stuff but if he had his way it would be chips with everything, any fried food. He will eat a cooked meal, sometimes pudding and then eat biscuits with his cupppa. Nearly every time he makes himself tea he has biscuits or cake with it.
He has gradually got more trouble walking, not helped by dodgy knees, and has put on weight.
I have given up trying to change his habits.

I have a DH who loves everything fattening such as cakes, scones, crumble, fruit pies - would love suet pudding but I severely restrict what I make in those lines as anything made is eaten fast!

Mrsmop, use a few sprays of fry light instead of other oil or fat when doing a 'fry up'.
Eggs will fry on a low heat with a lid over them. Bacon and sausages really don't need any extra fat.

DH is a bit of a cake monster - I made eight scones yesterday while he and DS were at the match. When they came back, I had one, DS took two home as he was in a hurry, and DH had one with me. Now I was never good at arithmetic at school but even I know that there should have been four left last night but ?! There is only one. Now who could have eaten the others, I wonder? Add to that the dish of whipped cream and the jam he must have to go with them and you have a recipe for a heart attack! When challenged, he puts on this "greedy, moi??" face, and says "well, you always say they don't keep!" He can't walk out of the supermarket without two packs of custard tarts ("they're two for a pound!"). And the thing that really galls me, is that he is a consistent twelve stone and gets a pat on the back from the surgery for keeping his weight stable! When we go out to eat, I will have some healthy fish dish and he will have either a large helping of pie or a burger. You can't win.

ps I don't buy or make the cakes and buns, they appear on his plate by magic if we go anywhere for a coffee.

Apparently it's 'my fault' because I give him too much to eat although I don't put the food on the plates, I let him help himself to however much he wants. "What - no pudding??"!
It couldn't possibly be the sly bits of cake, iced buns, chocolate bars or few pints of beer he seems to consume weekly of course. Oh, and an occasional fry-up.