Diet While Living At Home

The Challenge

Living at home is a necessary evil for so many in my generation. Burdened with student debt and depressed wages from the recession, living on our own is infeasible. One of the biggest challenges I've been dealing with since I've moved to Phoenix is eating healthfully at home.

Eating right throughout the work week is no problem. I simply pack my meals and bring them all to work with me on Monday. Then the only challenge is saying "no" when I'm asked if I want to go somewhere for lunch. That's another thing I'm working on.

In the evenings and on the weekends, however, eating right is difficult. My grandmother, who I live with, is an excellent cook and makes epic meals all the time. Controlling myself at these times is difficult. What's worse, though, is that even ordinary meals that she prepares are very traditionally prepared, with lots of fats on everything, including the vegetables. She has tried to accommodate my diet, which I appreciate a lot, but she prepares the healthful food she makes in ways that she will enjoy eating it. Unfortunately, that means that she smothers it in butter or oils.

In short, eating at home is killing my diet, so I am either faced with the challenge of eating very early before I get home or choosing to eat very small portions that will leave me hungry all evening. I'm going to try something else and see how it works, however.

The Solution

My plan is risky. I may offend my grandmother, which is certainly not my intent, but I need to do something to take control of my diet. I can maintain weight the way I've been eating, so this is a short-term (maybe a couple months) plan that I can use when cutting. Once I'm happy with my body fat %, I can switch back and be disciplined 80% of the time like I am now.

What I'm going to do is go shopping every Sunday and prepare even my dinners in advance. I'll grill chicken and fish, put it into proper portions and seal it. Then I'll make sweet potato hash and lace that with veggies like bell peppers and onions. I'll also cook up some green vegetables like snap peas and broccoli and portion that out as well.

I spend a lot of time at a friend's house in the evenings after work, so maybe he'll let me stash that food there so it doesn't upset my grandmother. If not, I'll just have to risk it. What I can't do is nothing.

By, Marcus Krieg