# How to cook for everyone and still lose weight???



## Melissa (Apr 15, 2002)

I often think if I lived alone I would have no problem at all with my weight. However I live with and around a bunch of thin, hungry people and I promise I don't eat half as much as they do! I do love to cook and enjoy cooking for everyone, but I really think that I eat more because I cook it. How do you balance weight loss and cooking for others?


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

Melissa said:


> I often think if I lived alone I would have no problem at all with my weight. However I live with and around a bunch of thin, hungry people and I promise I don't eat half as much as they do! I do love to cook and enjoy cooking for everyone, but I really think that I eat more because I cook it. How do you balance weight loss and cooking for others?


well, having a teenage son how is still growing and is a marathon runner, we deal with this a lot! What I have had to do is this: make what I need to eat (or make what I was going to make lower calorie for me) and then add sides of breads, pastas, etc... so that other people can bulk up their caloric intake but I don't have to. I have had to be militant about measuring everything that I eat so I am not eating too much and keep extra veggies or other low cal things on hand in case I am still hungry. I limit my intake of desserts. I keep protein bars on hand for him. I don't make casseroles as much as I used to. That makes it easier. everybody can have a portion size of a protein, a carb, and some veggies that is appropriate for them in their situation. Son will have LOTS of carbs and bigger protein portions. I will have smaller protein portions, smaller amounts of carbs and very large portions of veggies. Also, take a fiber supplement before each meal if you want. that helps you feel full when all that food is sitting there in front of you. =0) If I am cooking something wonderful for dinner that I really want to eat, I just eat a salad for lunch or don't eat lunch because it is worth it to me to wait for what I really wanted to eat.

K. HTH,

Cindyc.


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## Tinker (Apr 5, 2004)

No reason why they can't eat healthy too. Summer is the best time to diet (IMO) cause of all the fresh fruits & veggies. Make lots of salads loaded with veggies, and use a light vinegarette dressing. Make 2 veggies as side dishes, and lighten up you meat by baking, or BBQing instead of frying. Have watermelon or a mixed fruit salad with yougart for desert. 

I am a WW member, and I can't tell you how many times I took a WW recipe to an outing, and had people rave about it and ask for the recipe. There ARE good (and good for you) foods out there.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

> I don't make casseroles as much as I used to. That makes it easier. everybody can have a portion size of a protein, a carb, and some veggies that is appropriate for them in their situation.


This is pretty much how it works at my house, too. EVERYONE eats healthier, because that's what the cook makes. But within that, they can make their own selections.


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## Melissa (Apr 15, 2002)

Pretty much everything I cook is healthy, there is just so much of it around with all the meals per day. They are all just thin even if they eat all day long and I am not! Just something I have to struggle with I guess.


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## Forlane (Jul 17, 2010)

sounds like you need to train your metabolism to speed up, I knew a lady who weighed nearly 400 lbs possibly more. She changed the way she ate by eating more often and smaller meals. Was Roughly the same amount of calories a day but she ended up dropping down to a normal weight. It was amazing.


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

Melissa - Eating many small meals and snacks but staying within a caloric range and mantaining portion sizes and number of servings really does speed up your metabolism. 

As for cooking for others and still losing weight - I have done this sort of balancing act for years for two different reasons. First because I am a vegetarian and no one else is and second to lose weight. 

I found that the only way to succeed is to accept that you are going to be eating the same foods (minus things like lashings of cream and brown sugar on your oatmeal) and just control your portion sizes and serving numbers. 

I started losing weight by just cutting out a quarter of what I ate. This got me used to less and motivated. Then I followed the Canada food guide pyramid (same as the USDA pyramid) and the weight just came off. 

I did cut down the use of high fat foods such as butter and cream and we only have sweets for desserts on Sunday and sometimes Wednesday. I eat them but a very small piece. For me deprivation only makes me feel deprived and want what I think I can`t have.

If you change or reduce your ingredients slowly the rest of the family does not even notice. I eventually dragged my family along with me to healthier portion sizes. No one is ever hungry but they all lost some weight and have much more energy.

Our friends visited us before Christmas and wanted to know what we were doing. They have been following the portion thing - eating what they normally eat but less - and she has lost 30 lbs and he has lost almost 50 in just 8 months. They each have about 20 more to go but they say they don`t even think about it anymore just know that it will happen.

For any cancer survivor it is imperative that you maintain optimum weight with the best nutrition. Fat is a stimulus to cancer cells. With the cancer meds that I have been on it has been a struggle not to gain weight so all we can do is be as disciplined as possible with the occasional splurge.


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## Melissa (Apr 15, 2002)

That is great that you have lost weight. I know portion size is very important. I have been really focusing on that and not taking seconds and we have been having dessert only once or twice a week even though everyone here would eat it every day if I made it!

The rest really don't need to lose weight at all. My girls are all at normal weight or below, Brady is 19 over 6 ft tall and weighs in the 160's and Cale has weighed the exact same since I met him and he was 23 then, about 170, he is very muscular, and works a hard physical job. 

My youngest daughter eats pretty much anything she wants and even after having a baby wears a size 0 and weighs about 110 pounds. I think she eats more than anyone and not small amounts. It is strange how different people are. Cale's whole family is like that though, slender with big appetites, my family tends to be a lot bigger- taller and heavier also. My Dad was 6'8" and weighed over 400 pounds at one point, but he is smaller now. My twin brothers are in the higher 6 ft range and weigh in the mid 200's. My sister is 6 ft tall and probably about 220. I am the smallest person in my family!


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## farmgal (Nov 12, 2005)

I've been trying to answer the same question. I am sorta short, so my caloric intake is so much less than the guys here. Its tough. I couldnt imagine how hard it is for a very short person.


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

I can say without immodesty that I am an expert at weight loss. Have started a diet every Monday morning at 7:00 a.m. from 1968 to 2001. By 10:15 a.m. I was unbearable and by 10:45 my co-workers were begging me to eat a donut. Just the anticipation of my future suffering was enough to roll me over the edge.

Diets really don't work. If you want to lose weight and keep it off you have to reduce how much you eat and improve what you eat but you have to eat what you like or you will never last. 

And if you are cooking for a family then you will constantly be making things that you (and they) like so it will be a pointless battle. I have cooked 17,361 completely separate meals for my family; worn a mask when baking so as not to succumb to the deadly mind altering fumes of butter and vanilla (I admit I tried it but I never inhaled); eaten my diet food alone on the back porch in summer and shared it with the mouse who lives in the basement in winter. A complete waste of time.

Deprivation and isolation just makes you feel deprived and left out of the fun and that leads to self pity and the traumatic moment when you come to your senses to you find yourself face down in a carton of caramel pecan ice cream with potato chips in your hair and the poor dog lying at your feet in a snoring and farting chocolate cake induced coma. Not a pretty sight and a really shameful memory.

Over time you can change a lot of what you like to eat which then makes it easier to control your weight. I nearly never ate soup and now I eat it all the time. Lots of nutrition in a bowl of soup (vegetable) , fills you up and low in calories and fat. 

It is really all about redesigning your eating style. There will always be foods that tempt you beyond reason but if you deny them you just want them more. You can desensitize yourself to them. I was a potato chip addict. We rarely bought them becasue I would eat the whole big bag and then blame it on the dog. 

When I decided to lose weight I decided to desensitize myself to chips. So every day I ate 25 grams (about 125 calories) of potato chips at lunch. At first I kept going back to the bag for "just one more chip" but over a few weeks the fact that I could have them meant they lost their strangle hold on me. Eventually I just didn't even want them every day.

Never allow yourself to get really hungry. Eat 3 small meals and 3 to 4 snacks per day. The fourth snack is a before bed snack which you should try to avoid except if you are really, really hungry. You fit these in to the number of servings you should have per day. Just spread your food out. All these small meals will actually speed up your metabolism as well.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

When we went Paleo Style (Gluten free), it wasn't a diet, but a change in what we ate. There is no calorie counting or anything like that. I just removed what didn't fit the menu. We modified the eating style for us, personally (I have a high metabolism and do not need to lose weight, but Len needed to lose almost 30#s). He lost that weight in a month! My DS came to stay with us, just ate what we ate, and lost 20#s that month. This was a few months ago, and DH hasn't gained any of the weight back.

I also eat more than 3 times/day, usually 5 times/day, yep helps to even out the blood sugar throughout the day, also. I should add the reason I have a higher metabolism has to do with being physically active and exercising regularly.


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## Melissa (Apr 15, 2002)

I don't feel like I need to change the style of food I eat, I do believe I just eat too much of it. I don't have the junk-food problem, I am kind of a food snob in that I don't eat donuts, or store-bought snacks of any kind. I rarely eat ice-cream, wouldn't really care if I never ate chocolate and hardly ever eat out. I think emdeengee is on target with the portion control thing. I really need to eat just small amounts. Thanks everyone for the ideas, there is value in every post~


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Gluten, empty Carbs, and Sugars account for most of the weight gain issues. Since I opened the door by mentioning the Paleo Style of eating, I'll just explain why I did. This style of eating is Gluten free, processed sugar free, and also empty carb free. There is no counting calories, points to keep track of, or anything other than choosing the right foods (according to the Paleo style). Whole grain bread is highly fattening, even without any sugar in it at all (it is a super carb).

Unfortunately, reducing portions initially results in losing weight. Then, the body adjust to less calories, lowers the metabolism to effectively burn less calories. This is why so many people gain it initially, then hit the plateau, and get frustrated with dieting. Some folks work out like fiends, reduce their calories, suffer a minor injury, then gain the weight back very quickly when they are no longer working out. I watched family members go thru the yo-yo dieting for many years (none kept the weight off). Since I never had to lose weight, I wasn't in their position. Then, I hit 40, and gained 20#s (my metabolism slowed down a bit). I changed the way I ate, lost that 20#s in just one month, and am now almost 49, weighing 120#s, which is my target weight (kept it off). I eat Paleo Style and don't have to worry about counting calories or gaining weight. 

My cousin, a few years older than I, came to visit. He is at his target weight, also. That is primarily due to being a seriously in shape athlete (I am fit, but not like that). While visiting, the Paleo Style of eating came up and it turns out he knew numerous folks tired of the yo-yo dieting results, who went the Paleo route and lost the rest of their weight and kept it off. 

I absolutely hate the idea of dieting, so changing the way I ate worked great for me, but I do understand others preferring to diet rather than change the way they eat.


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## SageLady (Jun 10, 2008)

You can eat what your family eats doing WW plan. Doing the points plan will open your eyes to how many calories/points you are really eating. You have to be accountable for absolutely everything you put in your mouth.

I found out personally that I needed to cut out a whole bunch of little bitty things that added up to alot of extra calories. It only takes a few extra calories to keep you from losing weight.... I eat 3x a day, small meals, and no snacking. It was hard at first, but when you see results on the scale it is all worth it!


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

Melissa, I know for me it wasn't so much of what I ate at meal time, but when I cooked. To make things right and just like the family likes, I had to taste several times as I cooked each dish. I never realized until I added it all up, how many calories those 'tastes' work out to. Plus when putting leftovers away, I tended to lick the spoon on those things I particularly liked. It all adds up quickly.


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