Husbands constant eating

[mummyp1310]

Long story cut short!
Hubby used to be 23st, took up running and diet 4 years ago, he lost 9 st in 8 months (which I am so proud of him for) But lately he is eating constantly, today I had a/l and actually witnessed what he is eating, Porridge and a banana for breakfast, then left over pasta from last night, followed by some cold meat, then a full packet of chicken satay, followed by a hot cross bun, then he worked for a while, then some more cold meat, run then some more cold meat, followed by his lunch (worked some more, going out for dinner tonight! Another 1/2 packet of chicken satay, then a massive bowl of pasta with garlic bread, all washed down with 6 pints then some cold meat and a hot cross bun when we got home!
I may be being a little jealous but does this sound like a massive amount of food for one person to consume even though he is running?
I am just a bit peed off as usually my daughter 10yold like something before bed but as it stands there's nothing more than chicken nuggets left as he is eating everything in gods name (correctly on my 10th packet of cold meat since Sunday)!

Is he putting on weight with all that food? Exercise burns a depressingly small amount of calories so no way he's burning much of that off, even with 12 miles of running walking/day. I've walked today, just over 12 miles and have burnt less than 2500 calories. Fitbit calculates my exercise calories at 510. I know it's not amazing accurate but a rough idea and enough ti say he's no chance of burning off all that food with exercise. I don't know how many calories in meat but 6 pints?! and the food is surely thousands of calories over the recommended amount per day?

Regardless of calories and exercise, his behaviour isn't normal and is a manifestation of his unhealthy relationship with food. 9 stone lost in less than a year is a huge amount and he must have been very restrictive to achieve that after years of overeating. It sounds very much like he has an eating disorder and needs professional help.

He’s obviously not over eating as he’s not putting the weight back on. I presume the beer isnt a daily thing? The rest wouldnt worry me genuinely. Lots of protein in there.

if you tell him not to eat eg some of the cold meat so it’s there for you and dd would he leave it?

I'd say get him to cook whole chicken and someone said, do a big boiled ham/roast. If he has one of those plus couple of chicken a week that should cover his protein snacking needs, if not the rest of the familys. It seems mean that he eats things destined for you and the kids so make sure you make it firm that certain things are shared else he just buys his own food for snacks. It's great he's kept his weight off though, that should be applauded.

12 miles, be it walk or run, is approx 1200 calories spent for an average size person btw. The person with 510 in their Fitbit may want to check its calibration, it’s not an exact science but that’s extremely low.

It is possible to address this positively.

Suggest a shelf in the fridge for family meals- not for snacks- and the rest is fair game. Ask him what snacks he particularly likes- meat etc. stock up on those, but keep the family shelf sacred. He mustn't gorge on that.

Can he not visit Tesco or order a shop in? Especially working from home. Easily pop out at lunch break to get a top up shop done.

Seems a bit odd you having to buy it all and him not leaving any food for you/DC. He can get his own food if he doesn't appreciate or respect you doing it surely.

Could he buy and roast a chicken and have that instead
It's really selfish not to consider you and DC. You need to tell him that

I don't see the problem, he needs to eat as he's exercising a lot. However, all that processed meat is really bad for his health. How about roasting some chicken or beef, slicing it, then he can snack on that? Would be much healthier and more filling too, plus it gives him the protein he needs.

Get him to do all the food shopping and putting away.

Switch the sexes and imagine a man watching every morsel his wife is putting in her mouth and complaining about it on the internet. MNers would go crazy.

He's not gaining weight so obviously he needs the calories. Buy more food or tell him to buy his own food.

Morsel?! I don't see any 'morsels' in that list!

Surky the easy solution is to have separate food shelves in the fridge? Family food shouldn't be touched by him and all food on his shelf is fair game, he then reorders at his own expense when needed. He obviously isn't gaining weight so the only issue is cost and eating the family food.

*surely

Label the food. Get some stickers.

Is he taking anti-depressants, OP? I know some can make you absolutely ravenous!

The amount he is eating to one side - I definitely think the shelf in the fridge idea is good as it is very selfish to eat everything and no -one else has anything.

I have been doing a slimming world diet and out of the list of foods you listed most of it would be free/low syn except the pints and hot cross bun.

My partner is active and very muscular and he eats what I do sticking to my diet plan but also snacks on nuts and drinks milkshakes and often has an evening meal then supper. He seems to be eating constantly but never gains weight and sometimes even loses it.

It sounds like the main issue you have is the expense and inconvenience when he’s doing his “very hungry caterpillar” impression.
Ask him to come food shopping with you and let him know when he’s eating food you had planned for other things. My partner asks for permission before he goes on a fridge rampage which is great because I give him anything going out of date. I understand we can’t all have our partners as well trained though 😂

Yes, or could he have an over-active thyroid?

Possible health issues aside, the only real issue seems to be that there isn't enough food - particularly high protein food - in the house for his needs. It's fairly easily fixed!

Have you got an air fryer? He can roast a chicken in 40 minutes, eat that all day. For variety get hams as suggested, supermarket beef joints when they're on offer, pork roasts. It's all high-quality protein and there's nothing easier than cooking joints of meat. They can all be air fried, actually (you'll need a meat thermometer) or slow/pressure cooked.

FWIW, I eat mountains of food and don't gain weight. I'm sedentary. Most of what I eat is lean meat, eggs and veg. Back when I exercised a lot, I was permanently hungry and a size eight, on three full meals a day plus grazing in between 😂 Exercising hard raises your metabolic rate all day, and muscle needs a lot of food.

So if DH runs hot, it could be his athletic metabolism or his thyroid! Or both, I guess 🤔

it sounds like he’s burning more then he’s eating if he’s not gaining weight - I’m just surprised at how much processed food he’s eating

Ingesting enormous amounts of sodium via processed meats every day will catch up with him eventually. So if he keeps eating like this, have him check his blood pressure frequently.

Many athletes eat eggs, yogurt, and nuts for protein snacks. Those would be much healthier, and probably also cheaper.

Can you encourage him to spend some time looking at proper nutrition for his level of physical activity? Maybe see some kind of sports dietician? My husband is also athletic and has high muscle mass, and his base metabolic rate is astonishing compared to mine (i.e. he eats a lot just to maintaining muscle mass). But, he spent quite a lot of time figuring out exactly how much protein, fat, and carbs that he needs and he supplements a lot with protein shakes (literally just unsweetened protein powder with water or diluted milk) so that he doesn’t need to do things like eat vast amounts of chicken. Your husband might be craving protein but there’s actually not enough in foods like ham compared to the amount of fat and water that they contain.

It sounds like he's taken one compulsive behaviour (binge eating) and added another (eating and running). Running every day isn't healthy, it's obsessive. Does he have an addictive personality and was previously someone who got a high from binge eating, and is now constantly chasing the endorphins that exercise gives him, or does he have more of an eating disorder? Compulsive, excessive exercise can be a symptom.

Does he ever not go for a run? What happens if say he's on holiday, or plans mean that he can't go for a run? Is he bothered or does he get moody and go anyway?

He’s hungry he need to plan he’s grabbing anything rather than stuff that will fill him

average man will need 2500 cals plus
12 miles run walking 1000 cals

so depending how tall he is he’ll need between 3500/4000 cals which is about twice as much as an average woman

He’s clearly very active, and managing his weight, so it’s not a lot for him. Either leave him to the shopping or make sure enough in.