My husband has asked me to help him lose weight. He has about 30 pounds to lose and I am excited that he has decided to get healthier because I am a little bit of a health nut while he tends to be more of a sugar nut ;). I am going to be prepping and planning out all of his meals but I am trying to think of cute incentives along the way. He is very competitive so I know that having mini "goals" would help him out. Any ideas?
Coupons: Like a hike together, bike ride together to a special place, new shirt, tool set, or anything he may be interested in.
Leave sticky notes in his closet sharing how hard this life style change it and that you are very proud of his accomplishments. (even if it is small)
Well if it were me and my hubs I'd just give him bonus "attention" for rewards/incentives LOL
What about some mini date nights? but not just at night, normal dinner stuff. They could be fun active type activities that you like to do or always wanted to try - a trip horseback riding, a trip canoeing, a boat trip, special hike or place close by to go check out???
Go to the supermarket or the farmers market together! Take a cooking glass, go through a cooking/recipe magazine (Rachel Ray has some simple ones but there are others). Go to the library and take out a few cookbooks, or look to see if there is a magazine exchange. Ours has one (bring a mag, take home a mag). Get inspired by the beautiful photos of healthy food and learn how simple it is to prepare.
Why are you in charge of planning all of his meals? He has to be invested in this too! Does he at least grill? Have him learn to marinate and grill salmon, fresh veggies and more. We do a TON of that, and I find if we do the planning, prep and cooking together, we enjoy the time with each other as well as the finished product!
Invite people over to share your grilled or kitchen magic with them. Nothing like socializing to make it fun! Just resist the urge to serve a ton of unhealthy appetizers and 3 bottles of wine plus a bunch of desserts!
Does he have a gym membership? If not, can you get one? Usually they give a couple of free sessions with personal trainers who will help him set up a manageable routine, write it out on a sheet that he takes with him from machine to machine. They are good at establishing goals, and making him accountable to someone. Sorry, but I don't think a lot of people are as accountable to themselves or to their spouses as they are to a third party! And I go to a regular class of people who are all friends now - at least gym friends - and we call each other if someone misses too many sessions!
I also think goals can't just be "pounds lost" - they can be "miles walked" or "weights increased" or "inches lost". Most people plateau during weight loss regimens, and muscle weighs more than fat, so a pure "pounds lost" goal is defeating.
Will he use a treadmill at the gym? Get him a book rack that holds books open while he's walking. Get him a couple of books he's been meaning to read but "just doesn't have time for" - 30-40 minutes on a treadmill is a GREAT time to read.
Great music on his phone and some comfortable ear buds make it pleasant to listen to a great playlist while walking. He's just not going to lose weight based on diet alone. He has to get up, get out, get moving, get away from the sugar sources. He has to learn that he doesn't "reward" himself for a workout by going for ice cream.
Helping is one thing, doing it for him is another. For meals, you have the planning, the shopping, and the cooking. He needs to be involved. It won't do to just serve him meals that he had no hand in at all.
Get his and hers pedometers and see who has the most steps and such in a week. Winner gets to pick that weekend's movie (or other joint activity).
If you're a health nut and you do the cooking then he's already eating the same food you are. SO why does he need to change his diet? Maybe cutting down on his desserts or something?
This question confuses me I guess. Why isn't he eating the same foods as you are already?
I've been posting a lot about our teen and how I'm structuring or overstructuring his time this summer. And, advice I'm going to take: Let him make the choices. What motivates your husband? New clothes? Vacation travel? New tools for his shop? I think I'd let him chose his incentives, and then let him decide how he wants to structure a motivational program.
Mini goals definitely worked for me. I started with just 10% of my weight. Then 20%. I had a baby at the time so one goal was to lose more than my baby weighed. Another was to really weigh what my drivers license said. I rewarded myself with non-food related things that I didn't always do for myself--going to a movie, buying new shoes, etc. Eventually even just hearing compliments were reward enough for me.
The good thing is, it is usually easier for men to lose weight than it is for women. My husband has a little sugar issue too, however cannot handle acid at night before bed. I was making him such wonderful fruit smoothies and sneaking a little spinach in there and one night he came home after working all day in the heat. I had a smoothie in the refrigerator and he drank it. He woke up in the middle of the night choking and puking up all of that acid from the fruit. It was horrible.
Anyway, back to the weight loss. I have been eating more fruit and veggie smoothies and I just noticed a little more comfort in my clothes.
The goal...baby steps are okay.
