What I did
My husband has never been into exercise or eating right and, for a long time I followed his lead. 2 years ago, my doctor warned me that I was on the road to diabetes and heart disease, so I decided to start exercising and to change my diet. It was hard at first because I actually had to make different meals (one for my husband and one for me) and he would get upset with me if I took time to workout. After I lost weight and started having more energy, he became more interested in what I was doing. When I told him I just wanted him to live longer and be healthy, he made the decision to change himself.
How I did it
What worked for me was not to nag him, but to show by example. If I harped on him about what he was eating or his weight, he would basically shut down. But, I kept asking him if he wanted to go for walks with me or to the gym and, if he said no, I would just shrug and do my thing, but I never stopped asking. I tried to do things to encourage him without making it seem like exercise. I bought a Wii and we started playing games at night instead of watching hours of TV. On nice weekends, I suggested we go on walks and take pictures with a new camera I bought him, etc. I also learned to make meals healthier without compromising on taste, so I was able to feed him a little better without him even realizing (that was the hardest, but it's worth it!). Change was very slow and you have to wait for them to come to it on their own, but some encouragement may help.
Lessons Learned
- Don't nag them. That will usually backfire and make them even more stubborn.
- Try to find what they like to do and do it with them. My husband would never go to a gym, but he likes to walk and ride bikes.
- Live by example. If they see you being healthy, they may want to be healthy too.
- Live your own life. I hated making separate meals, but I was committed to my own health and, if that's what I had to do, then I was going to do it. Now we eat the same, but there were times I wanted to give in and just get fat with him. I'm glad I didn't.
