It was just a normal day. I woke up, rolled out of bed, and got ready for the day. My husband was already up and making our usual cup of tea when I got out of bed. As I dripped some caffeine into my system, I glanced over at my husband and noticed that he was already dressed and sitting at the dining table eating a bowl of cereal. Normally, I would’ve said “no can do” and gotten myself a cup of coffee instead, but seeing as this was a special day, I decided to be a little bit more accommodating. I walked towards the kitchen and said “Let’s go make some pancakes!” He looked at me with a blank stare. “What? You refuse to lose weight and I’m determined to make you happy.” He shrugged and said nothing. The only thing he responded with was a big spoonful of sugar. I sighed and went back to the bedroom to get dressed for the day. When I returned to the kitchen, he was still sitting there in his boxers. I scoffed and said “Hey, how come I always have to be the one to cook and you never have to help?” He looked at me and said “Cause I don’t like frying.” So there you have it. He doesn’t like to eat fried foods and won’t ever get fat. I’ve tried arguing with him that potatoes aren’t fried, but he still doesn’t believe it. Since he’s not interested in trying new things, we’ll never know if he’d enjoy gourmet cooking. In the meantime, I’ll just continue making his favorite foods and praying he’ll eventually join me in eating well.
The Weight Loss Journey
It had been a year since our wedding day and I’d already lost 30 pounds. My husband hadn’t lost any weight at all and still ate the same as he did before we got married. I’d tried explaining to him that being a husband is different from being a boyfriend, but he still didn’t see it my way. I was determined to make things right and started walking every day to try and lose some more weight. A few weeks later, I noticed a difference in my body and decided to research what was causing it. To my surprise, I learned that it was the hormone leptin that was making me feel better. When I was first diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome, my obstetrician told me that due to the constant estrogen stimulation, my body was trying to protect itself by storing fat. She prescribed a low dose birth control pill and told me to follow a restricted diet and exercise regimens to help my body return to its normal state. This is why I’d lost so much weight so quickly, I assumed. Even though I wasn’t overeating, I wasn’t getting the nutrients I needed either. After a few months, I started to gain some weight back and decided to take a break from the diet. A few weeks later, I was walking down the street when I saw my best friend and pointed her in the direction of her office. “You have to tell your husband what’s happening,” I said. “There’s no other choice.” She gave me a funny look and said “Heather, you’ve been married for a year. Don’t you think you should tell him yourself?” I rolled my eyes and continued walking. A few days later, I met my husband for lunch and told him that I wanted to get back on track. He raised an eyebrow at me and said “That’s interesting. So you want to be a wife that cooks for her husband instead of having him cook for you?” I nodded. “How long do you think it will take you to get back in shape?” He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never really been in this shape.” I raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, if you’re really set on this, I guess there’s no turning back. But I wouldn’t recommend it.” Before the end of the month, I was back on track and feeling great. My husband continued to eat the way he did before we were married, but I noticed the pounds were slowly melting away. A few months later, I was at my college graduation and had to decide what to do next. My husband asked me to move in with him in California and help him run his business. I loved working for my husband and decided to stay. A few months later, I found out I was pregnant. Even though I wasn’t actually expecting, I was over the moon. My husband and I decided to have a baby girl and named her Olivia. She was born with her daddy’s huge appetite and has never eaten healthy foods. She loves pasta and brownies and will never try new things. As she gets older, I realize more and more how important it is to expose her to new things. That’s why I started this blog. In the meantime, I’m still working hard to keep my figure, but it’s much harder now that I have a daughter to take care of. When she was younger, I could hide food in her room so she’d have something to eat while I cooked, but now that she’s older, I can’t always make myself available to hide snacks in the house. My husband is still the same. He doesn’t like to try new things and always wants the old standbys. Unfortunately, that’s what makes him so attractive to other women. It’s difficult to find a man who’s adventurous enough in the kitchen to try new things and interesting enough to talk to you about other things aside from your cooking. For now, I’ll just have to enjoy what little time I have left with Olivia and try not to stress about her future. If only she had taken after her dad instead of her mom, she would’ve had a much easier time in life. But that’s how things work out sometimes. You have to accept what you get and make the best of it.