In June of 2005 I made a few decisions that would change my life forever. The first one being to leave an extremely unhealthy relationship (literally and figuratively speaking), the second was to lose weight. I was 5'3" and weighed 250 pounds, I was so depressed and I knew weight loss would make me feel so much better. A lot of people lot me that weight loss wasn't the answer, but I knew all of the problems I had in my life stemmed from my weight.

It took a lot of hard work and dedication but within a year I lost 80 pounds, I got down to 170 and felt amazing. My weight loss changed everything The way I felt, the way other people treated me. I actually didn't want to hid myself for once in my life, it was nice to be noticed. I was full of energy and very happy, weight loss was my answer.

Now you're probably thinking that I've put this in the wrong topic, but I'm not writing this as a "weight loss success" story, it's more like a work in progress.

For a little while I felt that I didn't need to lose any more weight. Don't get me wrong I am not, and never have been, skinny, but being that I was SO big before I was happy with being chubby.

My current boyfriend calls me "curvy", my friends say that my chub is cute and that I carry it well, but when I look in the mirror I am somewhat unhappy.
I am not disgusted with myself and anytime I find that I start to feel that way I think about how far I have come, I know that I look great now compared to what I once was.

I am not the type of girl who is obssesed with being skinny, my goal actually isn't even to be skinny, it is to be healthy with a little bit of weight loss as a bonus.

My problem with trying to lose weight/become healthy is not that I don't know how to do it, it's that I have horrible portion control and terrible will power. That may sounds strange to you since I've claimed to have already had a major weight loss but at that time I lived alone, I had complete control over the food that was in my house, I also worked a Monday-Friday 8-4 job, so having a regular/healthy eating schedule was very easy.

I now find myself living with my best friend. It is working out great but we have opposing problems, I want to eat healthy and lose weight and he [has actually been told my his doctor] that he needs to gain weight by eating fatty foods.

I am trying, really hard, to continue eating healthy but it is so hard when I look in the fridge and cupboards and see so much fatty foods, you know.....all the yummy stuff. As I mentioned earlier I have horrible will power, to the point where I feel that I can compare myself to an ex crack addict.
If you fill up an addicts fridge and cupboards with crack, what do you suppose they'll do?

Some of you are proabably thinking that I should move, but in my city right now it is almost impossible to find an apartment, especially one with a roommate that you can actually trust.


I also now work shift work, meaning that for 2 weeks I work from 6am-2pm, then 2 weeks of 2pm-10pm, then 2 weeks of 10pm-6am. I find it extremely difficult to figure out and eating schedule for the time that I work graveyard shifts.

I guess the whole point of my post is that the last thing I want is to start gaining weight again, I'm wondering if anyone out there may be in a situation similar to mine. Maybe trying to lose weight alone but live with a family who has unhealthy eating habits.

Also, do any of you have any tips for how I can maintain a healthy eating schedule with shift work, or any special training I can do to become more healthy? Or maybe some idea for healthy meals that are quick and easy to make? And feedback whatsoever will be greatly appreciated.

I know this post is very long, thank you for your time. And best of luck to you all

Also, if any of you are wondering how I lost the weight, it was pretty easy. I did try Atkins, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers......all of those things. The only thing that worked for me though, was to eat healthy food, mainly all natural. Fruits, vegetable, meats.....that kind of stuff.

Melissa,

I understand how you feel. My husband is very thin with an extremely high metabolism. I'm trying to do the best I can to eat healthy for myself & my daughter - but hubby is the worlds biggest fan of fried, fatty foods. I'm only about a month into my weight loss journey, so right now it is fairly easy to look at certain foods and say no, and when I can't I try to keep it in moderation.

I've started a weight loss journal on here, and write in it on a near daily basis. I've set myself a calorie limit and try to adhere to AHA guidelines as far as how much of what to eat during the day. It holds me accountable for EVERYTHING I'm eating. When I know I'm at or very near my calorie limit it is SO much easier to say "I really want that (insert fatty object of desire here) but it will put me way over my max!" I write down every food and percentage in my own personal journal and post the totals in my blog journal here at DT.

If that doesn't work for you there are several programs that send you fresh food within your desired calorie range that give you well balanced meals. You can even order them for the roomate with the intention of he gets the high cal meals and you get the low cal ones. Good luck & welcome to Diet Talk!

Momma D

My hubby also needs to gain weight ! dirty rotten man for having such a problem lol ;)

BUT what we do is - I cook the same for him as I do for me - but he eats much more then I do and he drinks whole milk with a high calorie mix ( bought from a health food store ) added to it - where as I drink fat free low calorie milk - he eats normal cheese - I eat low fat cheese - etc etc - it works out pretty well. I am not sure I agree with your room mate gaining weight on "fatty" foods as then he may be left with a high cholesterol or some such problem - my hubby is gaining weight but not on junk or fatty foods.
This can be done - it takes some effort and a lot of thought in the beginning but now its just second nature for us.
Please keep coming back here and we will offer you support as you strive to reach your goals :D

Momma D - The calorie counting is a great idea, I do know that in order for me to lose the weight I can have, if I remember correctly, 120o. I'll get myself a little notebook to track it all down, thanks!

Beth - Your idea of cooking the same things for you and your husband, but him eating more, is not something I can do. Only because my room mate and I work different shifts, we very rarely eat together. Although we usually do eat together on the weekends, so I will give that a try. Thanks for the advice!

hubby and I work different shifts as well - we use a Crockpot and keep it on warm or heat up the meals in a microwave :)

I am the same way if bad foods are in my house I can't stay away from them! Drives me crazy! Good luck, hope you figure out a solution. And welcome to Diet Talk!

When I'm at school in my apartment, it's easy for me to eat healthy: No junk around, I don't eat junk (usually). When I'm home it's another story, as no one in my family really has the same concerns I do.

Here's what I suggest: talk to your roommate. Explain to him your issue. Divide up the cabinets, so some are strictly yours and others are strictly his. Try to do the same in the fridge, if possible (divvy up drawers, etc). That way, when you're looking for something healthy to eat, you don't even go into his cabniets full of unhealthy food. If he's the type to leave half-full bags of chips on the counter, ask him if he can make sure when he's done eating, that he puts the bags away.

Go shopping seperately from him (or if you go together, take different carts and checkouts, then meet at the end), so you're not tempted to grab some junk food where he does. You say he's a close friend, so I'm sure he'd understand if you explained to him your history with food and your concerns.

As far as working the graveyard shift at work, and that whole wonky schedule, that's tough. Try to keep healthy snack foods (pack healthy meals in a lunch box) with you when you're at work, at all times, so you're not tempted to eat junk while you're at work...

I hope that helped?

--Azure

That's good advice! And maybe you could tell him to tell you that his food is off limits!! Then maybe you would be too embarrassed to get caught sneaking some.:laugh:

I have a hard time with alot of the same things! But in my home my husband is obese and teenagers cant go a day without junk food. They are horribly picky eaters.

And face it. Eating good is EXPENSIVE! Id eat seafood 3 times a week, BUT WE CANT AFFORD THAT!

I hear ya! I was having the same problem until I just said forget it! When I seen my almost teenage son putting on the pounds, watching my 4 year old eat start bad eating habits and watching mine and my husbands waistline expand I figured, who am I helping here by making sure everyone is getting what they want? So I stopped. How horrible would I feel if my husband died of a heartattack and I had helped him get to that point. Or if one of my kids grew up to be obese and dies before me. I get one box of snack cakes and it's the regular size box and when those are gone, they are gone. I can't have temptation in the house or else I will give in! My husband isn't a big snack eater, so it doesn't really bother him too much, but my kids go crazy for them. So, in the end, I shouldn't feel guilty for not giving in, I should have felt guilty FOR giving in. This month my oldest son, my husband and I had a competition on who could lose the most weight and whoever wins gets $100 to spend how ever they want. My son has lost 3.6, my husband 3.8, and me 4.2. If I win I plan on giving my son half since he has done so well! Anyways...sorry for the long post, but I just wanted you to know you are not the only one to deal with that aggravation :laugh: And it is hard at first, but you can get thru it and change it for the whole family.

You have to decide what is really important to you and not let others eating choices dictate yours. And I know where you are coming from. I am the sole caregiver for my husband who has congestive heart failure, renal failure and vascular problems (just had a leg amputated). I also have a full time job. He has an aid during the day. We struggle to put weight on him - he is 6 feet tall and currently is up to 159 pounds - a 12 pound gain since January 2. I have to keep all kinds of high calorie food in the house for him. I know I can't eat it and to be truthful, it doesn't even taste good to me anymore. I have maintained my 200+ pound weight loss for nearly 30 years now by making the choices that are important to me and not letting others dictate what I eat - because it is my hand the puts the food in my mouth.

Thanks for the support! I can control myself because I know I need to. My husband cant stop! He eats constantly all night long, and nothing all day. So I know his metabolism is all screwed up. I cant get through to him but I cant let that stop me.

I would literally have to have "no food" in the house for them to stop eating poorly. Excessive eating of anything, wven seemingly harmless food choices.

Good luck Kristen! There are always solutions out there, the tricky part is finding them. I'm searching for a solution for my 12 year old's school problems at the moment!:laugh: