Look after your man

This one is particularly close to my heart.  My father has struggled for years with his weight and, as a consequence, his health.  He is obese, has type 2 diabetes, early stage heart disease and is on a huge amount of medication.

I think that what upsets me the most is his apparent lack of wanting to help himself.  His wife does everything she can to keep him on a healthy diet, but he views going out to a restaurant as an excuse to not eat healthily - problem is, he eats out a lot.

Thing is, men tend to look after themselves a lot less than women.  Stress is a big problem and men tend to deal with this a lot harder than women.  My own husband will reach for the ice cream when stressed, for others it's a packet of biscuits or chocolate, or a few pints down the pub with his friends.

Jeremy Clarkson hit the papers this week for his unsightly pot belly while filming his new TV show. Thing is, that kind of fat around the middle is far more dangerous to your health than being obese all over.

Subcutaneous fat around the thighs that is more prone to women is a "healthy" fat.  It doesn't move, it just stays there and is difficult to shift.  However, belly fat sits behind the abdominal wall and is free to move around the body and it's this kind of fat that can clog arteries and cause heart attacks and strokes.

42% of men die before the age of 75, compared to 26% of women, men are also 60% more likely to develop cancers that affect both sexes, and 70% are por likely to die from them.

So what can you do to help your man, with or without him realizing?

If your husband or boyfriend is overweight and has an allergy to all things healthy and even refuses to admit he has a problem:

"My blood sugar levels are stable and within their normal parameters", my father stated on Saturday...

"And so they should be," I answered, "You're on medication for that, if they weren't within range while medicated then I'd be driving you to the doctor's not back to your hotel!" I almost screamed desperately.

Men are extremely competitive, so try exercising together.  Exercise is important for everyone, whether you are overweight or not, so it will be good for you too.  If your partner is very overweight then you might like to start with something simple like walking and gradually build up in distance and speed.  Adopt a dog, having a reason to go for a walk will actually make him get off the sofa.  If he likes going to the gym then buy him some new funky workout gear, it might motivate him to show it off! Also, recent British study of 3,500 couples working to reduce their risk of heart disease found that the men that worked out more and saw higher rates of improvement in their health, worked out with a partner.

Quit sugar and refined carbs.  Let's face it, the majority of us love a biscuit with out tea, or a dessert after a nice meal, but the fact is that there is so much hidden sugar in foods nowadays that most of us don't even realize how much we are consuming.  Change white bread to wholegrain and eat as little as possible.  For example, only have toast for breakfast twice a week - maximum.  The other days have fruit, not juice, or a protein breakfast.  Omelettes are great in the mornings.  Don't forget avocados either, these are a great source of healthy fats and fiber, so pack those in to your diet.  Put less sugar in cakes, if you bake, and use a smaller teaspoon to add sugar to drinks if you can't get him to switch to stevia.

Don't have bread and/ or potatoes with every meal.  I don't even have bread in the house.  Nowadays there are loads of healthier options that you can substitute.  Cauliflower is really in fashion at the moment, you can use it to make pizza bases, rice and other side dishes.  It's even great roasted with garlic and olive oil!  Love mashed potatoes, you can sub them for mashed butter beans, for example.

Eating more fruit and vegetables is really important for health and not just for your waistline.

Take and unflattering photograph of him and stick it on the fridge door.  A friend of mine had a small pig "toy" that oinked when the fridge door was opened and the light came on!  Hey, you never know, it might work as a deterrent.

Big often isn't better.  Big plates, big glasses lead to bigger portions.  Use smaller plates and when it's just the two of you, smaller wine glasses too.  Using a smaller wine glass means consuming 125ml instead of the 250ml bigger ones.  This will cut your partner's alcohol intake by  half and the calories too.  A small glass contains 106 calories while a larger one is closer to 252.

Supplement with Omega 3.  Omega-3 fats are found in oily fish such as salmon and also in walnuts.  They have great anti-inflammatory properties which have been shown to lower type 2 diabetes risk by 33%.  You can also take them as a supplement - krill oil is best as it is water soluble so much easier to assimilate by the body.

It also seems that shorter holidays are better for you than a two week break.  Studies have shown that a two week holiday can compound stress levels.  It seems that preparing for a long break and then trying to catch up afterwards can be just as stressful as not having a holiday.  It would appear that one long weekend break every 6-8 weeks, and evenly spaced one-week holidays throughout the year are healthier.

Above all, don't mention the word DIET.  Men believe that women go on diets and that dieting is unmanly.  Make it a lifestyle change for better health and there are loads of ways to improve both your diets by being adventurous in the kitchen, it doesn't all have to be grilled fish and salad.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com