Family Fitness

Make 1 change. Decide to eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day. Do it for 30 days no ifs and or buts. Then add another change like drinking water instead of soda, milk, or juice. Do it for 30 days along with your 5 servings of fruits and veggies. Then make another change. If you change everything all at once you are setting yourself up to fail.

Next stop worrying about other members of your family. At this point you are the one who needs help now. Once you make the changes others may follow your example.

Unless you are trying to set yourself up for failure, change yourself. Change how you cook, how you eat, what you do. Then after you have met that challenge consider changing your whole family.

You are all in climbing Mt Everest mode when you need to climb a hill first.

When your family sees you making changes they will become interested in changing themselves

Plan healthy dinners and have better snack options like apples, almonds and carrots. Focus on yourself or they will revolt.

I am going to be blunt (I have been there)...you have back problems probably because of your weight. Overweight people tend to have a lot of "reasons" why they can't exercise. You can. If the sweets are not in the house, no one will eat them. Stock up on healthy snacks and the kids will adjust.

One things that happens a lot with diets is that people look at "low fat" and think that means it's healthy. So be sure you have protein in every meal and snack for all members of the family. That fuels you for longer and you avoid the crash that comes from carbs (in sweets and white flour) that turn to sugar quickly. And of course no one can eat sweets if you don't buy them. People are only choosing what's in the house - so make some fundamental changes there. A trail mix of almonds, walnuts, or peanuts, plus a few (really, a few) dark chocolate chips and some dried fruit like raisins or craisins is a better snack than "low fat" crackers or cookies. And hydrate more - everyone should have a stainless steel water bottle (just fill with tap water - bottled water is so expensive and a real budget-buster) - a lot of "hunger" is really thirst.

Everyone should get involved in the cooking and prep - a great salad bar or taco bar can offer healthy choices. Your 15 year old likes to cook, so everyone can help be part of his prep team! Add more beans (protein and very filling) and less cheese, make healthier pizzas by adding frozen spinach (don't even defrost it) and peppers to a whole wheat crust, and go easy on the other items.

It sounds like most people are getting a fair amount of exercise except you, so try to walk on a treadmill which won't strain your back. Once you drop some weight, it will be easier to exercise. I'd say to get out of the house more - if you're all away from the kitchen except for community meal planning when you can support each other, it will help.

I think, if you aren't buying on impulse and the sweets/desserts just aren't in the house, there will be no choice but to eat healthier. Don't take all of this on yourself as the cook and planner - everyone needs to get into the act. Give each child a night to be in charge of dinner, and then you and your husband can take the other 4. Most everyone gets exercise so your problems are in the constant eating. I think, if you make some smart substitutions, you can cut back. Oven roasted potatoes (or half sweet & half regular) with olive oil and salt/pepper are a much better choice than frozen fries. Vegetable stir fry with some cubed tofu and some chicken chunks is really easy, and if you add brown rice, it makes you feel like Chinese take out. Make your own burgers with a lot of veggies added - we use low fat beef or bison or mix in half turkey, with things like spinach, beans, onions (plus their juice), horseradish, or Worcestershire sauce and a whole wheat bun. If everyone eats the meal that's on the table, and the "sweet" is fruit for dessert, you'll see that you'll all have more energy for exercise. Make sure school lunches are take-your-own leftovers or healthy wrap sandwiches instead of junk. If you want any recipes, let me know.

Can you just start eating whatever your husband eats?

FYI...We keep a bag of frozen meatballs in our freezer. They can be microwaved and ready to eat in about a minute. Therefore there is no valid excuse to get fast food most nights.

At Christmas time I lost 10 lbs. Every afternoon I would cut a cucumber and leave out baby carrots on my counter top. If I wanted something to eat I would go to my vegetables plate vs reaching in the cabinet for a piece of dark chocolate.

It sounds like you need to start out with a grocery adjustment. Don't buy the bad stuff for the house. Then pack your healthy snacks.

I try to keep it healthy, but my husband likes to put the goodies in the shopping cart.

I'd start with the son who likes to cook. Take him to the grocery store and shop the perimeter (you know, the whole fruits and veggies, unprocessed meats, ect. ) and assign him 1-2 meals a week. The frozen microwave veggies are a great time saver. Talk about what is healthy and challenge him to help the family eat right. Change your big dinner plates for smaller salads sized plates. General rule of thumb, half the plate should be filled with veggies, a quarter with proteins, and a quarter with complex carbs.

Find a snack that works for you (nuts and dried fruit, jerky, peanut butter and celery sticks) and take it with you on days where you may need to eat on the run. Remove the sugary snacks in the house (just don't buy them) and replace them with fruits, berries, etc. I mix a large healthy cereal with a small sugary counterpart to satisfy the sugar cravings in my kids (kix with reeses, rice krispies with fruity pebbles, or cheerios with chocolate cheerios)

Start small with exercise, walk around the block first thing every morning. Take one of your kids or your husband, have them help you do it even the days you don't wanna.

Try to pick a few changes at a time so you don't get overwhelmed. Plan to learn one healthy recipe or meal a week to add to your repertoire. And one or two new healthy foods. I find that some foods I need to have in advance or in a pinch I also revert. For me personally I cook up brown rice ahead of time for the whole week, and sometimes chop up cabbage or cook and freeze beans to use in salads etc.
I agree also not to stock the tempting foods. Buy your treats at the regular grocery store in small packages and not at costco in large packages. If you want to keep more treats for your family, but not for you, then buy the things that aren't as tempting to you. For example, I don't stock chochocolate ice cream, only vanilla. I can resist vanilla ice cream but often I give into chocolate etc.
If you want to pick one change that will really make the difference to motivate more change, cut out sugar.
As for exercise, walking is a huge benefit to your whole body. Although it does not feel like it, it burns almost as many calories as running. Plus you can combine family time, conversation, and a walk.

Stop buying sweets and they won't have access to them. Tell yourself that your CC (or check/debit card) doesn't work at fast food places - anything with a drive thru. I did that a few years ago and while the kids were younger, it helped all of us. If you need to eat out, try a salad from Panera or a bowl of soup. A sandwich from Subway is another good alternative. "Chicken" nuggets from McD's not so good - though sometimes yummy.

Find a fun activity for all of you. My youngest son (8) got a basketball hoop for his big Christmas gift and my husband put it together a few weeks ago, now we are all out in the driveway whenever we can be to play a game of horse or an actual game (I'm coming off of a broken ankle so I don't do the full out games). My daughter likes to ride her bike when her brothers play a game. Or the whole family enjoys walks - but we are also super busy.

Try things like walking while a child is at an activity...you can walk around the field so you are still there and involved, but also moving. You'd be surprised how much just moving will do for your health. I noticed how bad not moving was when I broke my ankle and now I'm working on getting back in to it, so I completely understand your spot.

Hello
even if your husband is good on his own, he needs to join in and do so without judgement.. if you have someone like that on the sidelines, everyone will feel they are being WATCHED.. that said.. start simple..
for example, if you go to the grocery store/mall... don't park close, look for spots farther away... walk when things are less than a mile away and the weather permits.... (this might mean people getting started earlier) rather than taking that drive that takes 10 minutes, you ll need more time for a walk.. plan accordingly. which leads me to .. self control on its own, unless practiced solid for a long time, will never do.. in order to be successful you must plan for success, this means.. get all sodas and juice out of the home.. those alone have loads of calories... as you take away, add back in.. get a brita water filter and make chilled water with things like lemon, pineapple (and I don't mean juice) I mean fresh to give the water the essence of it.. or whatever else you like. mint is also good in water.. I can drink it without all that stuff, but some can't...
also... get rid of boxed cereals and be prepared to make food... such as eggs or other non starchy items..
losing weight takes effort... you can't exercise yourself out of a bad diet.. the cuts have to be across the board...
again, go it slow.. but do start with an intention the night before.. example.. tomorrow, I am walking this or that amount of steps (get a pedometer) 10k is recommended when it comes to steps each day... sounds like a lot but they add up.. believe me..
you can do this.. again, it will need to be the ENTIRE family... even if dad is slim, doesn't mean he can't use more exercise. a slimmer body is no indication of better health as you can't see what is going on on the inside..
good luck and keep us posted !!

Tell your family you are all going to make a big change and are going to start eating healthy foods. Make some family rules...dessert only twice a week. No more sweet snacks. From now on snacks will be fresh fruit, yogurt, veggies and hummus, cheese and crackers, apples and peanut butter, popcorn, etc. Don't buy the junk foods...it it is not in the house then no one can eat it. Make a list each Saturday of your weekly dinners and then grocery shop to get what you need. Roast chicken with veggies and salad, shrimp stir fry, taco night, grilled salmon, etc. Plan out the healthy dinners you think your family will enjoy. The nights you are super busy plan on doing something in the crockpot that day. You just have to do some planning each week so that you do not grab fast food or eat something unhealthy. A few times a week take a walk together after dinner. Each weekend plan one physical activity that you all do together. Good luck with making changes...just stop buying the bad stuff and start planning out healthy meals each week.

I know that some gyms have fitness/weight loss programs that you can sign up for, like 8 weeks or something at a reasonable price. They help you to figure out how many calories a day you should be eating, give you snack & meal suggestions, create an exercise plan for you, and have weekly weigh ins/measurements taken to track progress. You count calories on an app like myfitnesspal. It might be a good way to just get started, it helps if you have people to support you. You can then pass on what you've learned- your good eating and exercise habits to your kids.