If you are trying to lose weight do you make a separate meal for yourself

[Quiver0f10]

Or do you cook what you are eating for everyone in your family?

[Parrothead]

I've not done a separate meal. I prefer to limit portion size.

[Truscifi]

I have done the separate meal in the past, but am trying portion control now. I think dh and ds would revolt if I fed them what I ate when I was hardcore dieting. Of course, I was doing the liquid diet with the shakes.

[colleenebeans]

My poor hubby needs to lose weight too so I cook ONE meal, he is just stuck with it. LOL

[Katie.Louise]

I am doing a diet plan called the carbohydrate addict's diet. It is a slow weight loss plan, about 1 lb per week. I have been doing it for about 10 months. It keeps your blood sugar level and is working well for me. I feel so much better throughout the day. Anyway, the idea is that you eat 2 low carb meals and 1 reward meal each day. My reward meal is dinner. You can eat whatever you want for your reward meal. This works well for me because my whole family can eat the same meal. Then for lunch and breakfast, I make a low carb meal for myself and my family eats leftovers or something they can make on their own. I usually just skip breakfast. It is a win/win for all of us. I would not be able to make myself a seperate meal all the time.

Hope this helps,

Katie

[Sputterduck]

I do. My child is 6 and a very healthy weight. He shouldn't be eating anything that could cause him to love weight. He should have healthy balanced meals, and he does. Unfortunately, I don't lose weight on healthy balanced meals, so if I need to lose weight we can't eat the same things.

[Laura Corin]

i change the proportions: I eat a tiny bit of the main dish and mostly fill my dish with veggies.

 

Laura

[jld]

Whatever I eat, the whole family eats.

 

McDougall is good for the whole family and for losing weight. Is there rebellion in the ranks, Quiver?

[Peela]

Ideally, I cook one meal for the whole family and just eat a smaller serve.

Ha.

With a dd with allergies, a ds who won't eat so many things, a dh with gluten intolerance and strong food allergies, and me wanting to eat healthier than any of them are hpapy with....not often.

But usually everyone will have parts of the same things and then different things as well.

ANd sometimes- everyone jsut fends for themselves and I make myself exactly what I want. Which no one else will eat.

[Mrs Mungo]

i change the proportions: I eat a tiny bit of the main dish and mostly fill my dish with veggies.

 

Laura

 

This is what I used to do. My kids are so skinny that I am supposed to put mayo and cream in everything they eat. I have gained 10 lbs. Them? Not so much.:glare: So, new plan. My food is different in the ways that count. It does not mean making separate meals, just adjusting mine a bit and isolating it at some point in the cooking process.

[jld]

This is what I used to do. My kids are so skinny that I am supposed to put mayo and cream in everything they eat. I have gained 10 lbs. Them? Not so much.:glare: So, new plan. My food is different in the ways that count. It does not mean making separate meals, just adjusting mine a bit and isolating it at some point in the cooking process.

 

But they're healthy, right? Does it really matter what they weigh? There are a lot of really, really skinny Indian kids, and adults, for that matter, but they're healthy. Don't some genetic types just resist weight gain?

[RoughCollie]

I cook the same thing for everyone. The differences in our meals boil down to portion size. I eat much larger portions of veggies and whole grains, and very little meat.

 

I have tweaked a lot of my recipes so that they are healthier for all of us. My basic family dinner plan calls for a meat, 3 vegetables, whole grain pasta, noodles, brown rice or potatoes, and skim milk. I eat the same thing everyone else does, except I will either not eat the meat or will eat just a tiny portion of it.

 

* Chili or spaghetti sauce, I use half the meat the recipe calls for, and substitute ground chicken or turkey for ground beef. I also put in at least twice as many vegetables.

 

* Beef stew and soups have half the meat and at least twice the veggies.

 

* Boneless chicken breasts are baked with a Penzey's spice mixture sprinkled on them; no sauce or gravy.

 

* When I make gravy, I use Knorr mixes instead of making my own because it is less fattening.

 

* Salad is on the menu every night. We use fat free salad dressing.

 

* I usually have a dessert available for the boys.

 

* If we have hamburgers, hot dogs or pulled pork, I eat something else. We don't have those things very often.

 

* I don't make mashed potatoes often, but I never tweak that recipe. I just don't eat more than 1/2 cup of them. I make them with plenty of butter and heavy cream.

 

* I keep brown rice and plenty of veggies in the fridge. I cut up a 2-day supply everything except tomatoes, and wash & spin the greens and keep them in ziploc bags, so it is easier for me to make the salads. If I serve a meal that is inappropriate for my dietary plan, I eat rice, beans, and other veggies for dinner.

 

* I keep desserts in the house for the family, except for the ones that I will be unable to resist. Luckily for the boys, I am not real fond of eating sweets.

[chickenpatty]

For breakfast & lunch, I don't eat what they eat, but for dinner I eat the same (while *trying* not to eat too much of it).

[Dayle in Guatemala]

If I do make anything separate for myself, it's usually just a salad. Otherwise, I eat what I cook for everyone else, because, for the most part, it's pretty healthy and natural. I just eat less.

[jld]

* I don't make mashed potatoes often, but I never tweak that recipe. I just don't eat more than 1/2 cup of them. I make them with plenty of butter and heavy cream.

 

 

 

Any particular reason you put butter and cream in them? I just boil potatoes and mash them in some of the boiling water and some salt.

[NanceXToo]

A little bit of both. I stop making totally unhealthy things that I used to (like processed mac and cheese, things that are really greasy, fatty, etc- not that I made those things all the time or anything but still).

 

Now instead we have more chicken, more fish, more lean meats etc. They are prepared in health ways, and the whole family eats that main dish for dinner.

 

We all eat vegetables.

 

So the only thing that is SOMETIMES prepared differently for the kids is a side. For instance, I've tried, but for a long time I couldn't get them to eat brown rice. So I might make some brown for me and some white for them. I might use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray for me, but real butter for them. I might buy low-cal wraps for me if we're having something like fajitas, but regular wraps for them.

 

That kind of thing.

 

It works out pretty well!

[Crimson Wife]

I change the proportions: I eat a tiny bit of the main dish and mostly fill my dish with veggies.

 

:iagree:

Typically when I'm dieting I skip the rice/noodles/grains and add extra veggies.

[Crimson Wife]

Any particular reason you put butter and cream in them? I just boil potatoes and mash them in some of the boiling water and some salt.

 

If you're going to eat something that's not terribly healthy like a potato, you might as well make it taste good. ;) I rarely eat mashed potatoes but when I do, darn tooting it's with butter!

[Renee in NC]

Generally we all eat the same thing, but I will skip some parts of the meal. For example, last night I skipped the butter parmesan noodles and just had extra green beans. On Christmas Eve, when everyone has lasagna (our tradition), I'll have something else all together.

[Renee in NC]

If you're going to eat something that's not terribly healthy like a potato, you might as well make it taste good. ;) I rarely eat mashed potatoes but when I do, darn tooting it's with butter!

 

Why is a potato not healthy? A medium potato has less calories, less carbs, and the same fiber as a cup of brown rice. I eat potatoes sometimes when dinner is something I really can't eat - like on Thanksgiving when just about everything had butter in it.

[Tammyla]

I did this year, and even ate at earlier times.

 

Most of the time I strive for a little something for everyone within one meal, but many times I'd eat what looked or smelled yummy. Out of sight was out of mind for me, and by eating earlier...I wasn't tempted or interested in the other stuff.

 

Do what ever works for you.

[Quiver0f10]

Whatever I eat, the whole family eats.

 

McDougall is good for the whole family and for losing weight. Is there rebellion in the ranks, Quiver?

 

 

Yeah. My family didn't really like McDougall and I gave up on it. I am trying to figure out what the best route is for me to lose but also for them.

Edited December 20, 2010 by Quiver0f10

[Quiver0f10]

Thank you everyone!