DH’s poor eating habits and lifestyle

[Lookingbackatme]

DH can’t see that his lifestyle is not good for his health - please say you agree with me as he won’t listen to me:

• works 12-15 hours a day in very high-pressured job. Refuses to cut hours back or work from home
• when at work for the above time he rarely drinks anything at all, and will only eat if someone has leftover food or brings in birthday treats. Says he has no time to eat/drink, even if he took a stash of drinks and food to keep in his desk
• never drinks water, only drinks fizzy drinks and flavoured sugary milk drinks
• I’ve had the misfortune to see his wee in the toilet and it’s always orange
• eats few vegetables & for fruit he only eats grapes. Still a fussy eater.
• after dinner he will eat 3-4 bags of crisps every night
• after dinner will also eat ice creams (1-3 individual ones) or any chocolate
• snores badly most of the time - I suspect apnoea as he sometimes stops breathing and then makes choking noises when he starts breathing again
• he gets home around 8-10pm and then sits up watching tv until midnight to 2am before falling asleep and snoring. So little sleep and poor quality too
• constantly exhausted
• takes a multi-vitamin

He won’t listen to me that this is a very unhealthy way to live and he’s setting himself up for a heart attack or diabetes but I might as well talk to myself. He’s an extreme workaholic. He keeps buying junk food so stopping buying it at the supermarket won’t help.

It is a universal truth that you can't stop other people doing what they want to do.

You DH situation sounds like multiple addictions - workaholic, sugarholic, junk food holic, not wanting to change or listen to advice.

So there's not a lot you can do about any of it except to stop buying things you don't want him to eat. The rest of it is up to him.

If you've explained your concerns and asked him to re-think his lifestyle and he's chosen to ignore you, what else can you do? Not a lot.

You can't change other people. You can only change the way you respond to them.

Yes, all kinds of wrong with that.

And the irony is that if he ate healthily, kept hydrated and rested well he would be able to work better. So he isn’t supporting his potential optimum work performance.

Numerous health risks in lack of fibre, too much salt, sugar binging, too much fat, not enough exercise.

Can’t run a racing car on old chip oil, and he can’t run his body on a crap diet with no tuning and servicing.

Veg are better than fruit, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that.

Where do all these bags of crisps and ice creams come from?

Sorry, you said, he buys it.
Not raiding stuff you have in.

I think I would be more cross with the impact his lifestyle was having on me.

Not getting in until 8pm at the earliest then eating junk and falling asleep on the sofa until 2am. What exactly is he adding to your life, other than money?

Frankly it's a good job he doesn't eat at work because with the calories he's consuming he would be obese very quickly.

If he is someone of average intelligence then he will know that he is consuming a load of fatty processed crap so I wouldn't waste your time trying to get him to understand. He knows full well he just doesn't want to do anything about it.

@RainingBatsAndFrogs gosh, you were quite ready to jump on the OP there? Even if it was in the house he is responsible for what he shovels in his gob.

I know people like this, drives me mad. Agree with PP, he should aim to get home earlier a few nights a week and have early nights a few nights a week. Also take in a healthy lunch, can you buy things for lunches? Do some exercise a few times a week...if he does not get out at all in the day, a walk in the evening?

Being REALY blunt, that is an appalling diet.

How old is he? Is he overweight?

If he carries on like this till he's 40+ (if he's not there yet) I'd give him a few years at most before he has Type 2 diabetes and maybe heart disease.

He needs to see his GP to have his sleep apnoea checked- that in itself can cause heart attacks.

Have you actually spelled all of this out to him?

He's clearly in denial but for how long?

You can’t make him listen to you.
I bet he knows it’s not good but doesn’t want to make changes.

Yes, an atrocious diet and lifestyle. He’s heading for an early heart attack or stroke. If that doesn’t kill him, he’ll probably change his lifestyle, either because he ends up seriously disabled and brain damaged so has to, or because it scares him out of his idiocy. He clearly doesn’t feel the need to change his habits for your benefit.

If 40+ he should be eligible for the free health check on NHS for cholestrol, blood pressure. DB has slightly high cholestrol, mind he does nothing about it

I have a similar situation with P - he is 8 stone overweight but continues to eat junk. He isn't gaining because he works a physical job and goes for a kick about twice a week but that's cancelled now.
I say till I'm blue in the face he will have a heart attack but it falls on deaf ears.
I prepare healthy and tasty stuff which he enjoys, then orders a takeaway late at night. I have given up. Ultimately, I can't change him - he has to.
Good luck.