Healthy eating becomes a whole lot easier when your household is on board whether that be your roommate, kids, boyfriend/husband, partner or parents. I am dedicating this post to how you can help get the guy in your life eat healthier… something that benefits both them and you!
Personally, I recommend a lead by example approach combined with a little bit of sweet sneakiness. Just because health is important to me and you, we must remember it’s not a priority to everyone: friends and family included. Be an example to them of how healthy eating can be delicious, enjoyable and easy without forcing it on them. But also, a little bit of sweet sneakiness in the form of cooking a healthy meal goes a long way.
I’ve fooled my family so many times with meals that are healthier takes on their favorites and simply because I don’t say “this is healthy” or “I used this instead of that,” they enjoy every bite. There are still so many people who assume healthy = not tasty. So, share some healthy deliciousness without advertising it.
Now, before I turn my laptop over to my husband, Anthony, I thought I would introduce him for those of you who don’t yet know him. If you follow me on Snapchat (username – LaurenGleisberg), you’ve seen Anthony and his antics a time or two. Anthony is my sweet, hilarious husband who, like me, enjoys fitness and food (and by a love of food… his Sicilian heritage takes that to the next level).
Anthony loves a daily workout… weight lifting is always at his core and recently found his passion with powerlifting. Now, for healthy eating, I’ll turn it over to him…
^I found this photo from an email I sent awhile back when Anthony tested out the meal plan himself
Fitness or Healthy Food… What is Your Approach?
I think like most people out there I go through phases. Workouts are always something I do. I find it fun. I’ve gone with Lauren to the gym for over a decade and same with my buddies in college. The food is where I go through phases. I enjoy food way to much to give up the things I love but I’ve found an approach that works well for me.
I know Lauren talks a lot about an 80/20 approach and I would say I do more of a 70/30. 70% of the time I am eating foods like chicken, lean ground beef, salad, veggies, rice and the other 30% of the time I am more lax with foods and eat pasta, chips, cookies, and ice cream.
I also don’t overthink anything. We try to make healthy meals regularly and fill in the blanks with some fun foods. For example, we will cook tacos with lean ground beef and use our own seasoning combinations but if I’m craving chips, I may do chips and salsa instead of a brown rice or sprouted grain tortilla. Sometimes that 30% of fun foods means that I have an entire meal that’s not all that healthy but then I try to make my other meals that day with nutritious foods.
How do you use the Eat Your Way Lean Meal Plan?
Option 1: like anyone else there are times when I want to lose a few pounds like before a trip or when we were getting married. That’s when I follow the meal plan more closely. I mainly watch my portions because for me and other guys that’s usually where things get out of hand. I don’t even have to change my food much from that 70/30 approach but I just keep the portions in check. I listed how I change them from the portions Lauren uses because of our physical size difference.
My Meal Plan Portion Changes:
Protein – increase by 1.5-2 (depending on muscle mass; 1.5 for those with less muscle, 2 for those with more)
Fats – increase by 1.5-2
Carbohydrates – increase by 1.5
Vegetables – unlimited
Extras – stays the same
Option 2: this is probably what I would suggest to other men and that’s simply just to make recipes from the meal plan and not go crazy with portions. Not to toot my own horn but I’m a pretty good cook. Lauren is too. We both think keeping things simple works best for healthy eating. We make recipes out of the cookbook every day. They are so good that you don’t even think about your eating being healthy but it just is. A good place to start for other guys is just to make recipes from the cookbook and go from there.
My Favorite Cookbook Recipes
-Tuna Patties (pg 24)
-Chicken Fried Rice (pg 35)
-Baked Chicken Nuggets (pg 19)
-Stuffed Salmon (pg 31)
-BBQ Chicken Pizza (pg 34)
-Spaghetti Squash Pizza Bowls
(Warm + Toasty Cookbook pg 6)
Any Specific Tips?
-I don’t eat unhealthy multiple days in a row because then I just feel gross and that leads to more unhealthy eating
-When I do my more relaxed foods or meals, I try to eat healthy things first like I’ll have chicken then some ice cream to keep it balanced
-I like salads and if you do too, making a salad with dinner really helps fill me up
-Drink a lot of water
How do you think Women can Help their Men Eat Healthier?
Lauren and I make things fun. We try new restaurants and encourage each other to pick healthier things. We will grocery shop together on the weekends. We help each other a lot with the cooking which is nice. I know when I have a long day the last thing I want to do is cook, but if she does, then I have no problem eating healthy. And when she is really busy with work, I help out with the cooking. It makes it feel like neither of us is always in the kitchen.
Any Advice Straight to the Men Out There?
Maybe start with small steps. Nothing drastic. Nutrition is more important than working out, especially for long term health I believe. I’ve tried to just train and not eat well and it doesn’t work so just knowing that is incentive enough for me to make it a priority but also don’t go overboard with that. The balanced approach will always win. Start with making some healthy recipes and you can always go from there. The most important thing is to not obsess over it.
JOIN THE MEAL PLAN TODAY!
Get the easy-to-follow guidelines, 100+ recipes, exclusive email recipes, and all future updates for free (get the brand new Warm + Toasty Cookbook instantly)!
See physical results through food + enjoy every bite!
Leave a comment