I hope you had a fabulous weekend and Happy Summer Solstice! We are officially in the summer flow (at least for my friends reading this in the Northern hemisphere!).
I wanted to post this yesterday on the actual Father’s Day but I had to work on something all weekend, so I am a day late! But it can still count, right? 🙂
I love my father so much that when I really think about it, it makes my eyes well up in tears. You know that kind of love? He has always been such a support to me, even when I have been known to do a few wacky things here and there that a father might not like- such as, I don’t know, wander around the world for 3 years with a backpack?! He is super kind and mellow and easy to talk to, and probably the most non-judgmental person I know.
My dad grew up eating the SAD way (Standard America Diet). God bless my grandmother, but the standard fare in the house was pot roasts and meat loaf. Any vegetables to be found were mushy peas. She just didn’t have an in-depth knowledge of nutrition, like most people don’t, and she was busy. Again, no judgments! But what it does mean is that my father did pick up some certain dietary habits, and likes and dislikes, which he carries with him today.
My dad loves crackers and cheese, hamburgers, ice cream, and Cheerios, and he was not such a huge vegetable eater. That is, until recently! I am writing this because I want all you ladies out there that have fathers, brothers, boyfriends, spouses, etc. whose diets range in varying degrees from so-so to horrendous to know that things can improve! I don’t mean to single out the men… but well in this case today with this particular topic I guess I sort of am! 🙂
My dad always exercised and went to the gym, but over time, like most men, he started packing on some excess pounds, especially in his belly area. About two years ago, I realized it was time I had to intervene. My mother is amazing too and very health-conscious, but sometimes it takes a person outside the couple to peer in and make suggestions. That is probably why I do a lot of nutritional counseling for couples! Sometimes the other person is too close to the situation, and their well-meaning suggestions can be interpreted as “nagging.”
We certainly shouldn’t try to change everything all at once. And that’s what I want to emphasize. It is sort of like going into your kid’s room and throwing out all of his or her stuffed animals (which we know they have outgrown and need to get rid of) at once and packing them into a garbage bag. What would your kid do? He or she would throw a hissy fit! So what we do is start with one stuffed animal, and throw it out, then move on to the next, and then how about that huge old stuffed teddy bear in the corner that is leaking out stuffing everywhere?? Time for him to go! The kid has a chance to see over time that he doesn’t really need all the old stuffed animals, and that it actually feels better to have them gone and he or she has more space to run around! We don’t shock though- we gently remove in stages.
Men can be like children sometimes. They want to cling to their “food comforts”, especially when they view them as treats because they work hard and “deserve a treat.” Getting them to see that food should not be viewed exclusively as “treats”, but rather that it is fuel for the body is a process. And that process becomes fueled by making small improvements that allow him to feel and experience the benefits for himself. Otherwise, it just seems like we are taking away all the “stuffed animals” at once, and being mean!! And that never sticks.
With my dad, we started introducing Green Drinks, which my mother faithfully makes for him. As long as it is front of him, he will drink it –though he would never make it for himself! At first he missed his beloved morning bagel with butter, but then the Green Smoothie crowded it out because he gets full from it, and discovered (gasp!) on his own that he feels better having that!!! So much more energy!!!
Coffee is his true comfort so I leave that alone right now as we focus on other things…. We’ve made vast improvements in the diet (including the very important elimination of most of all the dairy) and he has lost so much weight, especially in the last few months! He looks so young and healthy. I am so proud of him!
So remember ladies, no matter what foods your men might love, no matter how they grew up and with what foods, positive change is always possible. And the best first change might just be Green Smoothies, and you can build from there.
All my love,
Kimberly
I don’t think its just men that view food as a treat or a comfort. I’ve struggled with emotional eating and I know many other women do too.
Absolutely women do! But that is a different issue/topic from this Father’s Day blog.
Thanks, I needed this post to remind me to make small changes. My hubby is all about the meat-n-potatoes diet!!! And beer! It’s really tough to get him to WANT to change. I’ll keep trying though. 🙂 Thanks again,
Meredith
Yes, and you feeling and looking better and better with improvements to your own diet could help reinforce his wanting to change with time!! xx
Great post. My dad has type 1 diabetes and a less than great diet. He eats cheeseburgers while I’m eating salads etc. and it breaks my heart. The other day I made your glowing smoothie and handed him a glass and he drank it! 🙂 But I don’t know where to go from there…maybe making chicken for him instead of beef?
<3xoxo
My boyfriend was the sort of healthy type–he’d eat the way that we think of as healthy (tofu and veggie stir-fry with a ton of rice). After reading Kim’s blog, I would just sort of mention little things…”Honey, please don’t give me as much tofu, ok?” Then when he’d ask why I’d tell him how much I loved him cooking for me, but that I didn’t think tofu was such a good idea for me. That made him curious, and so I showed him Kim’s post about soy. From there, he’s just been more and more interested, and asked for advice for his health concerns. Same thing with the green smoothies. I didn’t say anything about them to him, but would just make myself extra each morning. Slowly, he’d start asking for some too. And I always give him positive feedback (which sounds like I’m training a dog). The point is, instead of lecturing or nagging, I let him come to me. Works every time!
Great Morgan!!!! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
YOU WERE SO FRIGGIN CUTE!! hahahahahahaha
Hi Kimberly!
This is way off subject, BUT I just ovreheard a guy in my office telling someone that coke helps to settle your stomach. His reasoning was that, like the acid in your stomach, the acid in coke help to digest your food. I know this is totally ludacris, so (for future reference) what would I say to someone as a response to this?
Thanks for you advice,
Ashley
Hi! Kimberly,
Your every topic are nice, also very helpful about everyone and this is one of them. keep it on………..
Kimberly-such a beautiful post. You could feel the agape love expressed in your words. You rock.
You were such a cutie! 🙂
Funny, my mother and I were just discussing this recently. That’s around exactly what my father eats, won’t touch his vegetables either.
I try to be understanding with my father since I know food can become like a comfort to some and certainly can feel like invading. I focus on educating my father in a loving way about how you can get nutrients from certain types of food. And that I care for health because that’s a part of him. But first I’m getting him in the habit of the mindset that food is first & foremost a life source. Just as you said about it being fuel versus “treats”.
And the funny thing too is that if my mother just makes something, he will most likely eat it. Of course, we’re trying to get him in the habit of actively making these choices for himself but one step at a time! Hope is always there.
Nice post… would be awesome if you did one for mothers day and I would have love to see your mother..
nice blog,
i am very impress by your blog
Great post kimberly, i never had the best eating habits but i am changing my diet and i feel better already.love the smoothie. I live in new york, china town is awesome!.
Do you have any ideas about how to gain weight? The principles of combining and using appropriate order seem like they would work for people trying to consume extra calories, too, because they are underweight.
Yes combining have to do with helping the body be more efficient in using energy and cleaning out the body. I have clients that haven’t been able to gain weight until they cleansed their body from mucus and toxins which were clogging their digestive tract and villi int their intestines, and though they ate a lot previously they were emaciated. Stick to the same rules, but keep healthy oil and fat in your diet, and increase portion size of nuts, seeds, avocados, coconuts, quinoa, etc.
xx Kimberly
Hi Kim,
Can you post more ideas on how to get picky eaters to eat healthier? My hubby is the pickiest eater I have ever met – lettuce is the only vegetable he will eat (and only if it’s covered in ceasar dressing!)
Nutrition has been a struggle in our relationship and I want to help him out but I’m tired of nagging.
Anyways, more suggestions from you would be amazing!
Namaste,
Karla