The mystery involved is my husband. He was following Weight Watchers ( as we all were in the beginning) , but certain points were really difficult for him to comply with. One was the health goal of 3 vegetables a day and 2 fruits ( or 3 or unlimited depending on what plan you were following). He has to brown bag both breakfast and lunch , and has bad teeth. ( No discussion of dental work here please- he has very strong reasons for his position and I respect his choice). Eating raw fruits and vegetables ( with the exception of oranges or berries) is something that he claims hurts. He hates bananas, beans, fresh tomatoes and a whole host of other things . (Interestingly enough he was his mother's least picky eater) So for this reason he has opted to take a large can of low sodium V8, Orange juice and a Fiber One Bar every day ( why the Fiber One Bar is fine on his teeth but a carrot or apple is not is something I don't understand and have rather strong opinions about, but....). As Nick and I have changed, he has moved more into this way of eating, but not quite there. With last weeks gain and yesterday's discovery of a further gain, it is time for me to step in and begin to say "Not on my watch !!" Meaning some things are going to change, but it has to be in a gradual form. I will still send him with the one Fiber One Bar and the orange juice, but the V8 is out. Here is the menu plan for next week, which SHOULD help to bring his weight loss back. Meal one is for dad, 2 is for son and I
Saturday
Breakfast- oatmeal with fruit
Lunch - Deli fare ( minestrone soup or salad or a pizza slice)
Dinner -roast vegetable pizza, tropical fruit salad
Sunday
Breakfast- Overnight steel cut pumpkin oats with berries
Lunch- Garlic Linguini with kale, tossed salad
Dinner- Grilled T bone, Orange Sesame Kale, Roast asparagus, dinner rolls
Monday
Breakfast 1 Cottage cheese, blueberries, cereal, orange juice
2.Oatmeal with fruit
Lunch 1.Black Bean Corn Moc crab salsa salad, whole wheat crackers, fruit
2.Butternut squash soup, veggies
Dinner-Turkey Spinach Burgers on Arnolds Thins, roast asparagus, tossed salad
Tuesday
Breakfast- Oatmeal with fruit ( OJ for dad)
Lunch 1.Sardines, whole wheat crackers, fruit, cole slaw
2.Quinoa Bean salad over greens
Dinner-Quick Vegetable Black Bean Medely, Healthy Slaw
Wednesday
Breakfast 1 Cottage cheese, blueberries, cereal, orange juice
2.Oatmeal with fruit
Lunch 1.Black Bean Corn Moc crab salsa salad, whole wheat crackers, fruit
2.Bone soup , veggies
Dinner Roast Chicken Breast, Chard vegetable medley, Barley Pilaf
Thursday
Breakfast- Oatmeal with fruit ( OJ for dad)
Lunch 1.Sardines, whole wheat crackers, fruit, cole slaw
2.Quinoa Bean salad over greens
Dinner-Lentil Soup from the freezer. Citrus salad with orange peanut dressing, rolls
Friday
Breakfast1 Cottage cheese, blueberries, cereal, orange juice
2.Oatmeal with fruit
Lunch 1.Black Bean Corn Moc crab salsa salad, whole wheat crackers, fruit
2.Fast Black Bean soup Crackers and veggies
Dinner-Pasta with roasted vegetables, salad
I showed him the plan and explained why, and it looks like we have a winner.
Meanwhile, we spent most of the day without hot water ( boiler problem that was remedied by afternoon) , explored finger knitting, did an hour of exercise involving the stability balls, weights, yoga and Wii Sports Resort, had oatmeal for breakfast and the following:
Lunch was garlic linguine with kale and healthy slaw- yum!
Dinner was a roast vegetable pizza with a salad of baby spinach, blood oranges and caramelized walnuts. They had a similar salad at Sweet Tomatoes over the weekend and I tried to copy it . The walnuts got a little too done and they were not as "saucy", but it was a very tasty salad !
5 comments:
I went back and read your post from yesterday too. I wonder if hubby is eating somethings on the side while he is at work too? Not that mine ever does that. . .
I like how you said, "Not on my watch!" You are doing an amazing job of feeding your whole famiy healthy, interesting foods. I admire that a lot!
Looks like a great plan!
Diane- I suspect he might be hitting the office treats as well, but I cannot control that. He works in an office where vendors are constantly sending "gifts" of food, then there is the birthday parties, other life passages, corporate sponsor meetings, management meetings and more. It can be a real land mine , and I really have no way of watching what happens. All I can do is control what happens here and I am hoping that through making changes he will 1. See how much better he feels with eating a higher quality of food and 2. realize that the not so healthy stuff really does make you feel bad and he will find the strength to say no. He has never had a weight problem before, and the whole skills management of behaviors is a brand new thing. He was rail thin as a kid, never smoked, never drank, never experimented with recreational drugs or so many other things that many engage in while they are young. As bad as any of those things are, one learns different self discipline skills through swimming a while in those waters and then getting out before serious damage is done. Those things are hard to learn as a young person, and even harder to learn when in your 50's ! All I can do is supply the good stuff, set an example, and love both him and my son no matter what happens. In the mean time, the brat in me is kind of liking the thought of being a sort of Jillian Micheal's in the kitchen !
Suzy- thanks ! I keep visualizing the way the colors will look and it makes me excited to think I will get to play with these colors on plates next week.
Food at work can be tough. I struggle with it daily. It also doesn't help that I keep the after school program's vending machine stocked, so I literally have to touch junk food almost daily. :)
Jeremy- that can really be a challenge !!
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