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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Husband's disordered eating

195 replies

cockcrowfarm · 03/06/2020 00:38

This isn't really a aibu, more wwyd, I'm posting for traffic.
My husband has very disordered eating. When he is at work he doesn't eat breakfast, rarely eats lunch and only eats dinner if it's a business meeting. He might eat a snack when he comes home at night when I'm usually asleep already with the baby. He survives the day drinking coffee.

Just before the lock down his weight was around 57kg for a 1.80meter man. I have made lots of suggestions and I'm ready to help him in any way. He agrees that there is a problem but doesn't do anything about it.

For example, I've made him smoothies with nuts, milk, fruit etc which he says taste good but he just doesn't finish it. Now, he is working from home, I can go into his room after a few hours and he's only taken a few sips. If I bring him snacks it's much the same.

We are staying at his parents house just now and his mum cooks good meals every day, a lot of meat and different vegetables. He eats a reasonable portion of it but I have to bring him to the table to eat. Today, I asked him to join us, he dissappeared for a cigarette and didn't come back. I ate with the family and then went to get him and he said he forgot and came down to eat alone. The food was really nice and he said he would leave me some since it was vegetarian, I am in no need for extra portions at the moment! In the evening I made the baby her meal and I always eat something with her, I had rice crackers, cream cheese and salad. My husband ate two apricots.

Before I had put it down to stress in work and he has a busy job but now there is less going on and he is home with good food on offer daily. He has put on a few kilos and definitely looks healthier. He says he would like to weigh 70kg but he does nothing about it. We have discussed some options, this is a long term goal and he has to slowly increase his daily calories. We read through lists online of healthy foods that help to put on weight nut, milk, cream, olive oil etc and he says he likes to eat them all but doesn't make any effort to do it.

I'm looking for long term solutions, I don't expect him to bulk up in a month. Even if he would have two digestives and a glass of milk extra, it so little effort I just can't understand why he won't do it for his health. Before lock down I had already asked him to discuss it with a doctor because I want him to realise how serious it is. He is 48 years old, these habits as well as smoking are very dangerous. As well as the damage he is doing to his organs the lack of body fat means if he ever even gets ill he will be in a bad way.

Compared to that it seems quite frivolous to say as well that it is a big turn off for me sexually, first of all the behaviour that he won't care for himself and secondly that he looks like a skeleton and doesn't have much energy.
Thanks for reading this long post. Has anyone been in a similar situation? What can I do to help?

OP posts:
QuacksInTheDark · 03/06/2020 00:52

I think you need to back off, he’s an adult and you’re not his mother.
He’s managed 48 years eating this way if he wants to change his diet he will, no amount of cajoling and pestering from you will change him besides, you could actually be making it worse. If he has issues with food constant pressure about it isn’t going to help the situation. Leave him be until he’s ready to ask for help.

Loopyloopy · 03/06/2020 00:59

His BMI is slightly low - I would be aiming for a weight if at least 60 kg for him. On it's own, it's not the bigger issue. The smoking is. It's the smoking that is hugely likely to have devastating consequences, consequences that you will be nursing him through.

cockcrowfarm · 03/06/2020 01:01

Thanks for your reply, I don't give him pressure despite how my post might read. I largely leave him alone. The discussions we have had are not in a frequent basis at all, less than once a month. I don't bring him food or snacks every day either. I know it is him that has to make the change and not me. Soon he will be back at work and I'm sure he will loose weight again. 58 kg is really a very unhealthy weight for a man. He just seems to have no biological urge to eat.

OP posts:
ineedaholidaynow · 03/06/2020 01:04

I assume the smoking might curb his appetite, how much does he smoke?

ExShield · 03/06/2020 01:05

Has this come on all of a sudden? Is it better or worse at his mums? Does being super thin mean that he gets to avoid something? Sex? Is he rejecting food as a way of rejecting you?

mrwalkensir · 03/06/2020 01:06

my best beloved is similar height and slim built. His optimum healthy weight is around a stone and a half heavier than your DH's. The smoking & caffeine will be supressing his appetite. But if he's 48 with a small child, can you somehow get across to him that he needs to get it together to be there for them for the next 20 years? How long have you been together? If he's been like this for so many years, it's not surprising you have a battle on your hands. Have you chatted to his parents about it - has he always just not been that into food? And around 50 is when long term slightly dodgy lifestyle choices actually start to take a toll so you're not being frivolous .xxx

cockcrowfarm · 03/06/2020 01:08

@Loopyloopy Yes, over 60 is ok, I appreciate he is a slim guy, he was when I met him. When his weight goes under it starts to looks very haunt and boney. Smoking is a huge issue, especially as we have a baby. He managed to give up for a whole when I was pregnant but started again. After he goes back to work it is going to be more difficult for him to quit as well. My father died of throat cancer a few years ago so I'm unfortunately aware of the suffering it brings.

OP posts:
DamnYankee · 03/06/2020 01:12

Some of us are just not interested in eating at the moment and don't need the pressure to eat more. Many of us - thin and not thin - lacking energy.
I'd be more concerned about the smoking...(However, I'd guess he's been smoking for a while...? Maybe even before you married?)
And, what if he said he's turned off by you and your eating habits?
I'd focus on myself.

ineedaholidaynow · 03/06/2020 01:15

How much time does he spend with the baby after he has been smoking?

DamnYankee · 03/06/2020 01:18

Does his mom pressure him? As a mom, I could see me doing this...Smile
My G'Dad died of lung cancer - quite dramatically. So I get that. No answers. Just sympathy.
Glad you are not pressuring him.

Smallgoon · 03/06/2020 01:18

@QuacksInTheDark What a ridiculous response. She has every reason to be concerned, as his eating habits are not normal. And if he were female, people would rightly assume an eating disorder.

OP, I have a friend who didn't eat breakfast, or have any lunch whilst at work. He too used to survive on coffee (3-4 a day) and was a 20 a day smoker. I do know however that he did then often go home and have a big dinner and then binge on snacks. *I know this because he sends me pictures of all the naughty things he ends up eating in the evenings, presumably because his body has been so starved of nutrients during the day.
This did change in recent months after he had a heart scare. He's a day of two, and just shy of his 40th. He's not overweight, but I'm guessing the stress, coupled with the coffee and smoking definitely contributed. He does now aim to eat properly and has limited his coffee consumption - the smoking has remained.
However, your partner doesn't seem to eat a square meal at all by the sounds of it. It does sound to me like work stress is suppressing his appetite, which is not a good thing. Guessing his sleep is affected too. Not really sure what to advise, as it took an actual heart scare for my friend to start taking his diet seriously.

cockcrowfarm · 03/06/2020 01:20

@ExShield No it hasn't come on all of a sudden. He is better at his mums and definitely increased his appetite in the first month but now that he is working from home more it's going less again. I can't see any reason that he would like to be thin and he often has mentioned when he felt in his 'prime' he was still slim but 70 kg.
His mum said that he never ate much when he was a child either and she often says something to him about the food avoidance behaviour like I mentioned in the post. I have been a lot more subtle about it with my approach, and not so direct as his mother is. I've had more success but I feel when he goes back to work it will be back to the same as before.

OP posts:
Disquieted1 · 03/06/2020 01:24

He's not an ignorant child. He doesn't need someone to tell him what to eat (and I'd say the same if he ate pie and chips every night). Leave him alone.

QuacksInTheDark · 03/06/2020 01:25

@Smallgoon ODFOD. You have your opinion and I have mine, except I won’t insult you by calling you ridiculous because I actually respect other people’s differing opinions without trying to make them feel ‘ridiculous’ about it.

cockcrowfarm · 03/06/2020 01:27

@Smallgoon Yes, his sleep is effected too. Before we came here in our normal life I would hardly see him in the evening because he gets home after I am in bed but in a working week he might only eat a few meals. At the weekend is our only time together and his with the baby and he would sleep until I wake him up at lunch time. Usually we go out for a meal on Saturday and the in last few months he got dizzy and weak after eating a proper meal. I guess it's his body reaction to having a big dinner and maybe a bottle of bear after a full week of near starvation.

OP posts:
nevermorelenore · 03/06/2020 01:28

When I smoked, I lost all enthusiasm for food because my taste buds were dead. I'm sure the constant coffee drinking isn't helping either. Maybe he needs to work on those things first before he can start to enjoy food again.

user1473878824 · 03/06/2020 01:29

For god’s sake. All these responses acting as if the OP is some sort of awful nag rather than worried. What would your response be if he was her teenage daughter? It wouldn’t be even slightly the same.

ArriettyJones · 03/06/2020 01:30

Does he accept that he has an eating disorder to some degree? That treatment would help?

SuckingDieselFella · 03/06/2020 01:33

I had a male friend like this when I was younger. He 'forgot' to eat, fell asleep when he was invited to a meal and didn't turn up, had to work and missed get-togethers when there was food or turned up and said he had already eaten. He also drank lots of coffee and smoked. Turned out he was anorexic. This isn't normal and you are right to be worried.

cockcrowfarm · 03/06/2020 01:35

@mrwalkensir We have been together about three years, not so long. He was always very thin, I accept that and am not looking for a body builder I just want him to be healthy and have more energy. He has children to a previous marriage as well, they are grown up and he only sees them twice a year. So far he is fairly healthy, I would really like him to make a small effort before there is more permanent damage as you say.

OP posts:
squeekums · 03/06/2020 01:37

I eat very much like your DH, i force myself to eat dinner. Even as a young kid i NEVER ate breakfast, just didnt feel like it. I threw up on a school camp once after being forced to eat breakfast, it just didnt sit right.
Im just not hungry during the day, i love my coffee and smoke too.
To me, eating is a chore, always has been.
Eating when your not hungry just leads to feeling sick so i can see why he isnt jumping to up his food

To be fair for clarity, i had many years (age 10 - 15) of abuse/no food in fathers house and being homeless at 15, so food wasnt around much anyway but even now i can buy food as i need, im just not hungry or interested.
10yr old DD eats more than me in a day, i eat what she does over 2 sometimes 3 days

Disquieted1 · 03/06/2020 01:37

"What would your response be if he was her teenage daughter?"

But it's not her teenage daughter! It's a 48 year old mature adult who chooses to eat differently to what the OP thinks is right.

Not everyone is the same. Some people go through life not really being interested in sex or exercise or food or politics or pottery or whatever.

IamAporcupine · 03/06/2020 01:40

My husband also has disordered eating and I can totally relate to your worries.
Those PP telling you to back off have no idea what they are talking about - they would never say this if you were worried because your DH was depressed!

OP, he may say that he'd prefer to be 70kg but that not necessarily be true, just a way of convincing you this is not a food avoidance behaviour. I know my DH makes all sort of excuses (to me and to himself). It is very upsetting, and I have not found a good way to help him either.

cockcrowfarm · 03/06/2020 01:42

@ QuoteArriettyJones @SuckingDieselFella I have mentioned that to him and he says he doesn't want to be so thin so it can't be true ... I had an eating disorder when I was young and I can see that a lot of the things he does do fit with this. He does like eating good food when he does it but there is definitely something wrong. I have been thinking recently since it hasn't improved at his parents house he does need professional help. Soon he will be back at work and it looks like I won't be living with him for a while and I am sure he is going to revert to not eating again.

OP posts:
IamAporcupine · 03/06/2020 01:46

@Disquieted1 - would you say the same if he was self-harming?

Sorry but I think you have no understanding of what disordered eating is. He is very likely not 'choosing' to eat differently just because he is not interested in food. Those of us with some experience of ED can spot the signs a mile away