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OK... this may sound a bit superficial... BUT Before I brought Dad to live with me I did fitness competitions! I hiked, I lifted weights... I was in the gym at least 5 days a week. At first, I would try to prepare multiple meals but that got old very quickly. Once I put him in IL / AL I never really got back on track. Well, NO MORE. This leaves me in a slight pickle, however. Since Dad moved to my city, I started taking him to a local, greasy spoon diner. It just so happened to be my "cheat day" so I didn't think a pancake or two would hurt. Well, I don't know if it's dementia (routine) or Dad just likes the place, but I get up every Saturday morning and drag him to this diner. The thing is... it's a DINER. I have tried to find a healthy option or two on the menu, and no go (processed turkey sausage... egg white omelet drenched in butter...no oatmeal on the menu). Dad gets testy if I just have coffee (although I'd prefer my Starbucks to whatever weak concoction they are selling), and he eats better if I eat with him. The 25 pounds I've put on can't take the diner anymore, and honestly, I'm SICK of that food. I remember when I visited the diner when I did a cleanse last year, and the waitress rather rudely informed me that my green tea bag and green juice were NOT allowed, so I'm thinking it may not even be an option for me to bring my own food. I don't want to be rude to the staff, and I want Dad to be happy. Any suggestions on a happy medium?

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Whole wheat toast with the butter on the side? How about a poached egg? Most diners have cottage cheese and places that serve breakfast usually offer a fruit - like grapefruit. If you don't like the coffee is tea an option? However, I have to agree with JessieBelle - one high calorie and/or high fat meal a week is not responsible for weight gain.  In fact - a few years back I lost 60 pounds going the no carb route. I ate so many eggs cooked in butter, that I was practically growing feathers!
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Tinyblu, one time I lived a couple of years in New Jersey and just loved the diners. See if the diner has cold cereal, maybe a small box of corn flakes wouldn't add a lot of calories. Or a small bran muffin. Let Dad enjoy that one special morning eating at the diner, it's like going to Disneyworld for him.

I use to be a gym rat, too.... but once I had to concentrate on helping my parents, after 7 years of not going to the gym I had gained 20 pounds. Lot of it was stress, too, as I wasn't eating anything more.... it was the lack of exercise, as one doesn't get much sitting in doctor waiting rooms every other week :P
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I appreciate my contribution is going to be a bit late but then again a small lie won't kill you either. I would pop into this diner in advance and ask to speak to someone and explain that your 'doctor' has advised you against x y and z and that you need to eat a b and c and that you 'love' coming here because it settles your dad who has m n and o wrong with him. You appreciate they have a set menu but could they accommodate you for just one meal?

Honey rather than vinegar seems to work well when talking to people and it might just work. Failing that hunt out another diner that WILL accommodate you and take him there
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Tinyblu Your post is extremely well written. The most important thing here is to keep Your Dad happy. If You can't get porridge, try a cup of coffee and a pancake, and skip Your next meal, just drink lots of water instead. Don't worry too much about the weight gain as You will get back into shape again quick enough when You get back into training. That is the big killer of being a full time Carer since We never get time to go for a run or long walk. Enjoy the time You have with Your Dad Tinyblu, and make beautiful memories because it will all end much too soon. I did this when I was Caring for My Mom for three years and suddenly like a flash of lightening without warning Mother was gone to Heaven. Memories are all I am left with now, but It is soothing to My Soul and I feel fulfilled.
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Actually, I was thinking just what janerides was. It is just one meal out of a whole week. I guarantee that it will not make or break a person if they live healthy the other 6 2/3 days of the week. We do things like this for our parents because they enjoy it and it doesn't kill us.
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Eggs on toast sound good to me. And even if they do creep over the ideal calorie count, at least you're getting some real nutrition with it.
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To the folks who say one bad meal a week is not going to wreck a diet...well, here
is the math - 500 extra calories x 7 meals = 1 pound. And high fat high sugar foods give you a "taste" for more. And some of those places do not even have skim milk, or they maybe have 2%. I would hope that maybe a talk with the management at Dad's favorite diner would let you sneak some of your own stuff in. Henry used to bring his own turkey sausage to a couple places that did not stock it so he could get a better breakfast and they would put it in a sandwich for him.

They say that one of the best ways to lose weight is to get all the higher-calorie temptation foods out of your house - and if you have ever been unable to do that because someone else in the house needs them, you know they are totally right! This is not easy to watch others to eat "regular" food while you try to eat what you really need to eat, and I think there really are better solutions than asking our poster to just suck it up or calling her selfish just for wanting some better ideas too!
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Some of us really can't skip meals either as a solution. That happens to be my most consistent migraine trigger - either being late for lunch or just eating way less than I am hungry for. I have to pick filling foods and not high calorie low-fiber or I'm in trouble.
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Tell your father the "little white lie" story, e. g. "Dad, I can no longer afford the diner, so how about we go to McDonald's?" I know that they serve oatmeal and it's quite good. I always stop there when I have an early doctor appointment and don't have time at home to fix breakfast. I, too, would be angry if made me gain 25 pounds!
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Most of the diners we took dad too, and hubs still loves them,, offer some sort of fruit (as was said above).. I often get a scrambled egg and wheat toast. Or an english muffin?
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