Desperate for advice for husband

**zoey** · 08-12-2005, 05:17 AM

Of course we all know how important it is to eat small meals on a REGULAR basis. Does anyone have any advice what what to do when that is simply not possible. My husband is a truck driver. His days and nights have no schedules. He drives when he has to, sleeps when he can. Typically he only has time for one meal a day and usually that's a "to go". He's planning to come off the road and get a local job but that won't be for at least 6 more months. This is the scary part. He is 6'5", smokes over a pack a day, and weighs 430 pounds. He is energetic, athletic, doctors say blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol levels, all are okay. He knows he needs to lose weight. He's not that much in denial, but I just don't know what we can do that will work for him in this situation. He tries to increase his exercise levels but realisticaly the only thing he can do is park further away from the door at the truck stop. Any ideas would be gratefully welcome!

LadyJ · 08-12-2005, 05:35 PM

Well I know that my husband and I work about 50 hours or more a week and I have been on the South Beach Diet what I do is pack a soft sided cooler with part skim mozzarella string cheese, veggies and assorted protiens. He can also get a Soy protien shake mix to replace a meal, they come in different flavors and you get all the protien without all the fat and carbs, they can be mixed with water or skim milk, the best thing to do is eat the most protien without all the carbs, but you also need to keep an eye on prepackaged food of all sorts because they are high in sodium (salt) which henders weight loss and increases blood pressure. If you have any more questions feel free to send me a note.

Jenne

lehman · 08-23-2005, 12:52 PM

well..A truck driver's daily routine is not really a healthy one as we all know..No fixed time to sleep, to eat etc. It may cause some health hazards in the long run. Maybe if he's really health conscious, he may avoid that by being very careful.

**zoey** · 08-23-2005, 05:50 PM

That's the problem. He isn't very health concious(sp?) He doesn't see himself as being in as bad shape as he really his. He's one of those people that sees himself in the "yeah, I'm big but I look good." way. When I try to talk to him about it he just gets mad. I know that deep down he knows but he doesn't want to admit it.

**lovebliss** · 08-23-2005, 06:03 PM

I think what you can do is maybe get him some healthy food while he is at home. There is not much you can do while he is on the road unless you are the one who is making him food to go. You should try cutting the food from your home first that way when he is home he doesn't have a choice but to eat healthy. He will get used to not having junk food around and maybe get the hint without getting into an argument.

I know from experience that when someone tells me I gained weight I tend to eat more. Once my husband stopped telling me what I needed to do I realized that I needed to do it for myself and not so much for him.

Good luck into getting healthy.

**zoey** · 08-23-2005, 06:18 PM

I try. It's not easy. I don't buy the ice cream so he goes and gets it or acts like an ass about it. He gets mad when the food isn't fried, etc. We are supposed to be going to a relationship councelor so I think I'm going to try to approach it that way.

**strengthsports** · 08-25-2005, 12:57 PM

Zoey, it's important to realize that he has to do this for himself. If he feels no need to change or does it simply for you, then any changes to his lifestyle will more than likely go back to the way they were. I see it more often than not with some of my clients-they are pressured by their spouse or family to lose weight and do it half heartedly or without any drive of their own and it fails every time.

If he could use a few whey or egg protein meal replacements and a multivitamin it would go a long way towards a start while out on the road. He could also take a walk before he settles into sleep-any activity is better than no activity.

**zoey** · 08-25-2005, 04:49 PM

thank you. One of the things I suggested to him was to find some way to not wait all day long before eating. He'll go for 12 to 20 hours without eating at all and then be starving. We're talking 2 triple cheeseburgers supersize fries and soda or milkshake. Then he goes to bed. I thought maybe having something like Ensure would be good for during the day, that way when he can stop to eat, he hasn't been starving all day. Do you know of anything that he could carry with him in his truck. Refrigeration is a problem in the truck he's in right now. He has a fridge designed for that but the truck doesn't have a plug.