How do i convince my husband to eat better??

Question

My husbands family has so many people in it with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and even grandparents that have died from it, he eats so bad and loves sugar, but i cant make him see how bad it is for him, he just thinks it will never happen to him.Any suggestions or websites to help me with this issue!! Thankyou

Answer 1

Join a support group, go to a dietitian together.
Subscribe to diabetes magazines.Just have them around the house.
Education is power.

Good luck

Answer 2

1. Make a schedule: Plan healthy meals ahead of time.
2. Don't force any food down his throat. It'll only make the transition harder.
3. Introduce healthier foods slowly.
4. Experiment with vegetable dips. That way they make the vegetables taste great and you get him to eat them.
5. Really make breakfast count. Most people don't get the fiber they need everyday and breakfast is a good place to do that. For a batch that serves five, sift together 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour, 4 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 2 Tbs. sugar. When you're ready to cook, mix in 2 Tbs. ground flax meal, 2 cups water, 3 Tbs. canola oil, 1/4 tsp. vanilla, and 2 Tbs. applesauce.
6. Try anything soy-based. Its good for people with allergies and has lots of phytochemicals that are good for the body. Plus it's low in fat and sugar.
7. Try to buy less junk food.
8. Allow a little sugary sweet every once in a while but not all the time.
9. Be a good role model. Eat these healthy meals with your husband and you two can be happy and healthy together.
10. Have fun with it!

Answer 3

Well, you can through out me as a BAD example. My father died of a heart problem ascerbated by his Type 2 diabetes. But, that was HIS problem, not mine. Time passed. So, here I am, a Type 2 diabetic who L-O-V-E-S her sweets.

But, I do try. I am learning to use Splenda-type sugars instead of sucrose. I am learning to cook without using sugar - and even harder for a Southern cook - without fats.

It's not an easy path, but healthier eating is a MUST. And if you are the main cook, you can control at least part of his choices. The big thing is to not make it seem like he is being deprived, but that he is being enabled.

Answer 4

This is a tough one! I was going to ask a similar question myself today.

One way is to suggest going to the gym together. It's more fun than going alone and it's something the two of you can share.

Another way is to perhaps change the way you try to persuade him. Can I ask you how you've bought it up in the past? Are you a healthy person, and he's an unhealthy one? Ask yourself honestly - are you *nagging* him to be more healthy? Is there a chance you could possibly be using a slightly 'holier than thou' tone when you talk to him? He might not be very receptive if he feels that you are just 'telling him off'.

I'm not saying this is the case at all hun, I'm just wondering!

If you haven't done this already, I'd suggest that you have a proper sit down chat with him. Get upset and show him that it's really important to you. Tell him that you love him and you want to spend the rest of your life with him and you worry that if he doesn't do something to improve his health, you'll lose him.

Another thing is obviously to cook healthy things and incorporate more fruit and veg into his diet where you can. Even simple things like switching to 'diet' 'low fat' 'low salt' and 'low sugar' products can help. Since I started doing this, my boyfriend nearly always buys 'diet' brands of cheese, crisps (lol!), pop, etc. even when I'm not around. He even tried diet Cobra beer once!

Ultimately though, it has to be his choice. You are a partnership, but he is still his own person. If he doesn't want to change his lifestyle, he won't.

I suppose it is then up to you how you choose to proceed. If he tells you flat out that he does not want to change his lifestyle, you need to decide how you feel. If it's something you can accept and live with, then that's fine. If however, you start to resent him and perhaps feel that he is being selfish and not thinking of your future, you need to tell him that this is actually a serious thing for you. You can only do so much to help him!

Good luck hun!

xx Emmie

Answer 5

I would suggest he look at all the serious complications of diabetes-hypertension, heart disease, erectile problems, potential loss of a limb or eyesight, the list goes on and on and scare him into doing it.

If that is not enough find a doctor who specializes in diabetes and have him get a heart to heart talk about what Diabetes can do to his life.

If his family has a history he already has a key risk factor so he is on his way to prediabetes.

I wish I could talk to him for 5 minutes. Since I can't this website is the next best thing.

http://www.diabetesinfoforyou.com

Answer 6

Well, he may not every choose to eat better. I recently had my gall bladder out and was told to eat better. I choose not to and suffered the concequences for it. I learned. Until he has a REAL cause and effect for his actions, his behavior will not change.

You may want to bargain with him. Perhaps you'll cook healthier food most nights of the week and then designate a day where he can just pig out on the things he loves.

Thats the best I can suggest.

Answer 7

If you're doing the household cooking, prepare healthy meals and try to control what he eats while at home. Put healthy snacks in his lunch bag like fruits and vegetables instead of junk food. Keep junk food out of the pantry.

Answer 8

You could do the shock thing I did with a member of my family. She wouldn't watch her sugar levels and ate terribly. I just told my aunt that she would look nice with an artificial leg and those dialysis machines would go absolutely stunning with her jewelry. Needless to say, I struck a nerve and she started taking care of herself. Extreme?, maybe, effective? definitely>

Answer 9

Consumption of sugar, fat and oils may be reduced to the minimum. This will postpone diabetes mellitus. But you must note that genetic causes can not be prevented.
Causes of Diabetes.
(1) Hereditary factors.(parents, brothers & sisters having diabetes.
(2) Overweight & belly stomach. In obese subjects, losing a kilogram of mass generally reduces blood pressure by 2 mmHg.
(3) Over 45 years of age.
(4)Ethnic community more suceptible for diabetes.
(5) High Blood Pressure.(above 140/90 mm Hg). Get your blood pressure checked during every visit to the doctor's office. (Target: Below 130/80 mm Hg)
(6) Persons having high triglycerides level. Triglycerides. (Target: Less than 150 mg/dL) (7) Persons having high cholesterol in the blood. Cholesterol- Get your LDL (bad cholesterol) levels checked at least once a year. (Target: Below 100 mg/dL). Serum Cholesterol (Target: Less than 200 mg/dL) HDL (good cholesterol) (Target: More than 50 mg/dL)
Eat a low-cholesterol, low-fat diet. This kind of diet includes cottage cheese, fat-free milk, fish (not canned in oil), vegetables, poultry, egg whites, and polyunsaturated oils and margarines (corn, safflower, canola, and soybean oils). Avoid foods with excess fat in them such as meat (especially liver and fatty meat), egg yolks, whole milk, cream, butter, shortening, lard, pastries, cakes, cookies, gravy, peanut butter, chocolate, olives, potato chips, coconut, cheese (other than cottage cheese), coconut oil, palm oil, and fried foods.
* Glucose (Sugar) test. Control your blood glucose & do self-monitoring as & when required. (Target: Fasting blood sugar 60-100 mg/dL; Postprandial blood sugar 2 hours after food-Less than 140 mg/dL)
You must work against eliminating possible causes.

Answer 10

go to the library and get books on deserts for diabetics make him some . with the sugar substitute he wont be able to tell the difference and u will enjoy it too and its less calories