I really didn’t mean to be devious. I was worried about his health and mine. I finally went cold turkey and gave up my two pack-a-day cigarette habit and put on 40 lbs. He weighed 241 lbs. and tried every diet in creation. After being on that famous high-protein diet, bacon and eggs every morning and steak for dinner, he wound up having a triple bypass. I’m usually not a nagging wife, but I knew this kind of eating couldn’t be right. He would tell anyone who would listen how he was losing weight and I wouldn’t leave him alone.
Not being a motivated person, I knew I needed help from a support group. How ridiculous to think my husband would join with me. Do you know how hard it is to find men at these meetings? I couldn’t imagine him getting on a scale every week in front of all these women, so there I was on my own.
The most important fact I learned from my group leader that day is that (we hope not intentionally), husbands, friends and family will try to sabotage you. Have another helping, it’s good for you!” Sound familiar? I realized this was true when I got home and with renewed excitement I rambled on about my meeting, the interesting diet plan and how they all laughed when I said my goal was to find my cheekbones again. He had this blank stare that said I’m happy for you but if you’re going to do this, I don’t really want to hear about it. He’s not usually the kind that tunes me out like that so I was a bit upset but I knew he really meant it.
At the next weekly meeting, I thumbed through the cookbooks for sale. I purchased the one that had quick and easy menus and lots of comfort food. My thought was that it wouldn’t be necessary to cook something different for the two of us. He would love things like Creamy Broccoli-Topped Pasta, Chicken or Veal with Creamy Mustard Sauce, and luscious sounding soups like Cauliflower au Gratin and Vegetable-Cheddar Soup.
That’s where it all began. The first meal I served was the Chicken with the Creamy Mustard Sauce. We thought we died and went to heaven! When Chubby Hubby raved I just played it cool and told him I purchased a new cookbook. No talk about healthy cooking, not a word about low fat and heaven help me if I mentioned the dreaded word ‘diet’.
Two weeks passed. I noticed my husband was depressed and seemed worried about something. He’s not one to pour his problems out easily. It took time to finally get it out of him. I’m really concerned about something” he said very seriously. I’ve lost a lot of weight for no reason and I think there must be something terribly wrong with me.”
Now I know it was cruel for me to laugh, but I had to. When I told him those meals that he was raving about nightly were low in fat and portioned correctly, it took a while to sink in. His plate was as full as always. The difference was that now it was filled with normal portions of meat and more with deliciously seasoned vegetables plus either rice, potatoes or pasta.
We continued to eat well. No gimmicks, no pills, no cabbage soup or grapefruit diets. I relearned the art of cooking and we both have a new respect for food. We’re both looking great. I lost my 40 lbs and more, he now weighs 178 lbs. Please understand that unlike the diet ads on TV, we did not do this in 6 weeks. It’s unhealthy to yo-yo diet. Have patience! After a while we realized that we would also have to change our lifestyle so my svelte husband is out on the treadmill almost every day and I take aerobic classes twice a week and instruct line dancing three times a week. By the way, we’re in our 70’s still eating right and still going strong.