Boyfriend that is not interested in Keto lifestyle

(Samantha Drewry) #1

Hi there! I’m planning on starting my new keto lifestyle this week. I’m a bit nervous as I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing. No more papa murphys pizza on Tuesdays?!

In addition, my longtime boyfriend whom I live with is not only an extremely unhealthy eater (lots of pop, sweets and snacks) but he has no interest in changing his diet. I am generally responsible for getting dinner ready, as he works later than I do. Does anyone have any suggestions on a good compromise or what to do to make my keto journey any easier?

Also, I’m having trouble trying to figure out what to do for an “on the go” breakfast for days during the work week.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thank you!

(Marta Loftfield) #2

Hi Samantha, there are lots of great recipes on Pinterest. For Pizza night look up, Fathead Pizza Dough. It makes a great pizza. My husband loves it. My favorite Keto cookbook is Simply Keto. There is not one recipe in there that does not sound good. We have made 70% of them since February not a loser in the bunch! Plus they are really easy. There is a sausage, egg, cheese casserole you can make on the weekend portion it out for the rest of the week. Good luck. MG

(Robert Hollinger) #3

on the go breakfast days are great days to implement intermittent fasting. just skip breakfast or maybe have a keto coffee / bulletproof.

or you can get some frozen breakfast sandwiches and ditch the bread.

as for your BF, try making a keto main course (which he should generally enjoy as well because MEAT!) and a keto side dish (veggies with oil and bacon?) which he’ll probably like and if he insists on more than throw in a rice or potato just for him and you simply don’t eat it.

(Stephanie Sablich) #4

I’m gonna go out on my feminist limb here and say that if he isn’t supporting you, that is his choice… but he should then have to worry about and pay for his own food.

But I know that doesn’t go over that well for plenty of people… so. I’ll second the idea of making a keto main for dinner, and separate sides for the two of you. Maybe you can compromise and make the main dish and just your own side… if he wants more that doesn’t go with your way of eating, I’m sure he is capable of heating up some pasta or popping some bread in the toaster.

Not everyone has to come around to this lifestyle, though we sure do want them to. What people SHOULD do is be supportive.

Why are you doing keto? Focusing on that could be a really important starting point and a way for you to resist temptation and make a Fathead pizza when he orders out, or insist that your new way of life is improving your wellbeing, and ask that he at least be supportive.

On the go breakfasts… bacon in a bag :slight_smile: Hard boiled eggs. Cheese sticks. Salami with cream cheese roll-ups. If you like avocado, that’s pretty easy to do. People here will talk about skipping breakfast… I wouldn’t push that until you feel like you’re ready. This is NOT a deprivation way of eating, or way of life. You shouldn’t have to suffer to be healthy. I was a crazy carb and sugar addict, and those first few weeks were not easy… but I promise it gets better. I now regularly join friends and family members who are eating VERY non-keto things, goodies I would have pounced on before, and I don’t even feel tempted. It is pretty remarkable.

One other thing that might work for you, depending on your level of carb addiction/cravings… asking him to support you in simply keeping his junky food somewhere where you can’t access it. Seriously, can he store his bags of chips in the car, or keep his candy at work? I understand that mealtime presents a different challenge, but as far as snacks go, you really shouldn’t need to be exposed to them all the time. I bet y’all can find a way to work this out :slight_smile:

#5

I’m the only one doing keto in my family. So I cook “normal” for them, and keto for me. Pretty much I make a typical meal, add extra fat to my meat portion, make sure the veggie is keto-friendly, and I don’t eat the carb dish. The most difficult thing is sauces - my family may want typical gravy, so I make that and then for myself I’ll have a cream sauce with meat broth or cheese. It’s not difficult, just takes some practice.

#6

Oh, and for pizza … many places will happily make a “double pepperoni” pizza but put one of the pepperoni portions in a cup instead of on the pizza. Or, in my house I happily have a dairy-intolerant child. So we get pizza, I get the toppings and he gets the crust. Of course that means being careful of the sauce since so many pizza sauces have hidden carbs like sugar in them. But in a day I plan for it there isn’t a problem.

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #7

Wife doesn’t keto. She does the Mediterranean thing. I cook for me. She cooks for her if she doesn’t want to eat what I’m eating. If she were getting a lot of pizza, I’d eat the top and leave crust. Like everything else in marriage, it’s about negotiation, compromise and marking some boundaries.

Or DTMFA if he’s a problem. I broke up a long term relationship because of negative feelings caused from an active undermining of my diet.

#8

Sucks to be him, worry about yourself, many people start off doing this solo (myself included) in many cases it self corrects when your other half see’s you tightening up and he’s not. But if not, who cares? When it was me I’d just make meals that could easily be tweaked both ways. Nice ribeye and mashed cauliflower for me, strip and mashed potatoes for the wife. Buger normal for her, bunless for me etc.

#9

I don’t see where this is out on a limb at all. Sounds sensible.

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #10

You might want to address some other issues that are important to you since healthy eating seems to be a break point for you two. How does he feel about saving money, having children, amounts of exercise needed for a healthy person, you might not be compatible, just sayin’.

What I do is cook what I want for dinner, if DH does not want to eat it, he can cook something he does want At first he was reluctant to do keto, but once he got the official word he has T2D, he is on board except for some sandwich rounds and potatoes, he gets high protein pastas when he tires of our zoodles. Works for us.

#11

I have the same issue. I usually just make dinner keto and he wouldn’t necessarily notice anything different. Like steak and salad and green beans in butter, or pork rinds and parmesan breaded chicken- he don’t know it’s pork rinds and he don’t care, it tastes good. Sometimes I’ll throw a potato in the oven for him-- I often have some crumbled bacon in a jar in the fridge from when I overcooked a batch- he can make loaded potatoes with that. I keep bread in the freezer in packs of 4-6 slices and he takes a pack out to defrost after he finishes one. I keep tortillas and pasta and rice in the cupboard. It’s been pretty easy overall

(Katherine Robinson) #12

My husband and kids have constipation issues so they can’t do the keto diet with me. I just make a regular dinner but just make something like a cheese sauce topping or add flavored butter to add the fat I need. I also make green veggies which I can eat and my kids like. Then just make sure to not eat to much protein. But really not a problem anymore. I know when I’m full now and just stop. I will say that even though my family can’t keto with me they are supportive. So mixed keto families can work.

(Lauren) #13

When I started keto, I told my husband that I would make meat and veggies I could eat, and if he wanted carbs with it, he was responsible for picking it up at the store and making it himself. I wouldn’t do it anymore. That lasted about 2 weeks…

Then he switched to keto, too. :slight_smile:

(Renee Slaughter) #14

This works. I made a meat course with my veggies and starch for my husband. Not hard and he likes cauliflower rice and gravy.
Best wishes in your journey.

(Sarah ) #15

Meat and veggies, fish and veggies, eggs and cheese and veggies. If he wants to add bread, he can

#16

Some great replies already and I don’t have anything new to add really except skillet pizza for the win - it is amazing and really easy.

I think the idea of a compliant main with different sides to suit is probably the best option. You can’t be cooking two entirely different meals. Hopefully he will see how good your food is and come over to the dark side soon!

(Robert Hollinger) #17

and thinking about what I and others have said, I’d be a little careful because if I overload my bride with fat and she’s still eating tons of carbs I could be seriously impacting her health. better if I simply add more fat just for me to the protein or veggie rather than prepare it that way.

(Samantha Drewry) #18

I REALLY appreciate all the advice! He is definately supportive, just doesn’t enjoy many veggies/greens and loves his rice and potatoes. Tonight I made a delicious cheese/spinach stuffed chicken with almond flour breading. I had broccoli and he had potatoes. The idea of sharing a main course and doing separate sides is great!

Right now I’m still so new to everything. I’m focusing on cutting out carbs but haven’t and probably won’t master the whole protein to fat ratio for a while? Just focusing on no/low carbs and cooking with/eating high fats. Is this a good way to ease into things?

(Siobhan) #19

Yes, I find that focusing on the carbs and getting my fat and protein from generally un-super-processed sources (e.g. butter, not seed oils. Meat, preferably not protein powder) and eating to satiety has worked wonders for me. If you need to tweak you can always do so if you run into problems down the line.

But then again I prefer things as simple as I can get them!

(Troy) #20

:joy::joy::joy:

Here I am trying to get a reply out…
Then read ur post
Man!..rofl
I get it though. No doubt

Sorry. No offense to the OP