Im trying to get my dad to lose weight but he won't listen.. any advice?

[Puppylove94]

My dad is now 53 and I really want him to start losing weight. It's not like he's so obese he can't walk but he does NO exercise what so ever. We basically have an entire gym at our house so there's no excuse.

Does anybody know how i could try and push him to get active? I make him his meals and buy the groceries so I know he eats healthy. I just need to get him moving more often.

Every morning, lunch and night he'll come home, put his feet up and watch the news. I even brought our bike up to the living room to try and keep the thought in his head lol

[mwin2030]

Realistically from my perspective, you can’t push someone to do something they aren’t ready to do themselves. You’ve heard the phrase you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink---or---you can show someone a door, but you can’t make them walk through it, you can only open it for them. The same concept applies here with your father.

You can try manipulating him into exercising, but at the end of the day if he’s not ready to take responsibility for his own health, nothing you do will really change his mind until he’s ready to change it for himself. The best you can do is continue to be assertive in the fact that if he doesn’t take his health more seriously and exercise he’s not going to be around much longer to enjoy life and share his life with you as his daughter.

You have to remind him of how much he has to live for and he should not waste his life by just sitting on the sofa with his feet up and ignore the very real fact that he’s not getting any younger and if he doesn’t accept that he needs to exercise now and do something to keep healthy then he’s not going to be around to share this life with you, and he shouldn’t just give up like it seems he’s doing. That’s my bottom line.

[DodgersGM]

See if you can get him to go to the doctor. Let them run a full panel, check his cholesterol, lipids, etc. If things comes back not-so-great, then perhaps he'll have an epiphany and make changes.

Have a heart-to-heart with him. Lay it all out on the table. Cry if you feel like crying. You're literally afraid for his life, after all. Sometimes that gives people a wake-up call.

Outside of that -- which is definitely not guaranteed to work -- there's not a damn thing you can do. At the end of the day, people do whatever it is that they want to do. I do believe that people around us can help inspire us to want new things, but unless he wants it bad enough for himself, it's just not gonna happen.

The very best thing you can do is heed your own advice. Take damn good care of your body and at a certain point cede and desire to control what other people do -- it's mostly a losing battle.

[Puppylove94]

He already has to do that and has done that. He'll come back and say I need to start working out but then never do it lol

[Paris13]

How considerate and so Thoughtful to Want to see Sad Dad... Start losing weight.
I think that with trying, for I have Tried to get my Room mate to Quit smoking, and he Wouldn't listen, they have to Learn for Themselves with Maybe a Sign Sometime down this Line that their Health is Now in Jeopardy. The more we push, the further they Drift away, letting it Go In one Ear and Out the Other.
It's Mind over Matter, @Pupplove94.
As for my Roomie, his P. A. D caught up with Him in One leg, due to his Smoking, and November 3, he Has to Go for Vascular surgery, telling Me... I will be Then Quitting those Cigarettes.
Good luck. xx

[Paris13]

Thank you for the like, @Puppylove94 xx

[Paris13]

Thank you for the MHO, GAG. xx

[Darkfairie17]

Honestly there isn't much else you can do. He has to want to exercise and to keep up with a routine. And if he already eats healthy, then he's not doing so bad. I know we ideally all should exercise. But eating right is half the battle already.

The only other thing you can do is ask him to go on walks with you. Or even work out with you. But he also has to be game for that.

[StoicMits]

There only 2 ways to persuade someone:
1) Persuading him/her about something that's on his mind already or during a time of crisis.
2) family or close group intervention. Try googling family intervention
About 1: When he starts to witness the downsides of being overweight it's possible he'll start giving it some (maybe too little) thought. That's your time to talk to him. Noone can be persuaded about something he doesn't want to be persuaded about. Practically this could mean purposely making him do tiring thinks like suggesting u go together for a long walk or something. That 'll require quite some improvisation
About 2: Never witnessed it happen but i think it's very effective albeit cruel method. The basic concept is that you overpower his defences and force him to think seriously about it. a specific person could be wrong or overreacting but what if everyone that cared about him believed the same thing. You can google it for more details but i m just sharing info not actually suggesting it.

[StoicMits]

*edit* persistence is a double edged sword when comes to speaking ur mind. Although it could actually have results in cases, it could also lead to raised defences and even ruined relationship. Time your efforts well if you don't won't to be an annoyance

[Levin]

What is the guy's will like in general? Is he vital. Is he happy? Is he depressed?

Dare I say, you can't push him into anything. People need and will follow their own path, as anyone who has dealt with destructive behaviour knows all too well. People receive greater and greater wake up calls, but some just won't listen.
All you can do, is have an honest conversation and tell him what is on your mind, and what you worry about. If that doesn't spur him, nothing will.

You know, there was an interesting BBC documentary on TV yesterday, about people with diabetes. Having gotten infections, being unable to fight them off, they even showed some surgery where they sawed the limbs off. More people need to watch those things, I think.

[Octavius]

Honestly you can't make someone do something if they don't want to. My dad's the same way. I used to try to get him to exercise all the time but he simply didn't want to. It took forever just to get him to eat healthy but that's because he wanted to eat healthier. If your dad starts exercising but is miserable because of it then what's the point?

[Puppylove94]

hell be miserable at first of course but its guna get worse before it gets better. His knees will stop hurting because they won't have to support as much weight anymore and hell be able to do more things.

[3336PS]

Tell him you need his help outside (make sure he has his walking shoes on)... start walking... then start talking to him and tell him your ideas.

Father/Daughter walk, ask him if he can start 2 times a week.

Too comfortable in the house. Has to get him out.

[stillagoodgirl]

Just get him to eat healthy first, maybe ask to bike together. I try to get my mom to be more fit and surprisingly she came with me to the gym a few times. She just went on the bike machine for a few minutes and that's it. Better than nothing I guess caz for sure she wouldn't have gone on her own

She said walking to the grocery store counts as exercise -_-

[Autumn-Bunny]

Well when my dad started gaining weight after he injured his back I used to workout with him and I'd keep him company. Maybe he just needs someone to push him.

[Puppylove94]

lol i push him a lot... he always says no though. i can't drag him on a walk with me. im just sort of hoping one of these days hell say yes

[Autumn-Bunny]

Just let him know you love him and you want him to be healthy.

[Anonymous]

Hey i hated getting into a routine. But guess what? I'm walking 30 minutes a day
and I'm 48 years old.. Your dad has only 5 years on me.. I have Arthritis in my feet , legs plus nerve damage in my feet and i manage to still get out there to get exercise. I wish your dad good luck in getting motivated cause i see myself when i see him , i don't want to walk or brisk walk but either that or live a life of being extremely overweight or developing more health issues.

[akadatank44]

Honestly there is nothing you can do. People have to be willing to change for themselves rather than havibg someone pushing him. Cuz all what your doing is pushing him away from working out when you try to suggest and encourage him to get on the bike. Bottom line it has to be his choice to do so.

[redeyemindtricks]

^^ Hate to say but this is exactly right.

"Willpower" basically doesn't exist, in the long term. His OWN values will have to actually change.

Of course, if you can inspire him to change in the SHORT term -- the way he feels may keep him going.

His wife's (yr mom's) encouragement and sexual attention will play a BIG role here, too. If she is all over his ass every time he works out... uh... he'll work out a lot. <3

[Jan1ssary_]

Thats hard if u aren't that dominant, just force him to do some exercises and make sure he avoids eating unhealthy foods he will be aight.

[Puppylove94]

He already eats pretty healthy tho

[LEIGHX]

Nice to see you caring of your dad like this. If I were your parents, I would be proud to have a child like you. :)

[archiz]

maybe sign him up in some activities with his friends or your mum
take them on hikes and swimming etc

[Intraluminal]

While I applaud your concern, its really his problem and responsibility, not yours. Is he single?

[MaLifeBeLikeOooAaah]

Ask him if he'd like to go for a run/talk with you?
Sit down and really talk to him about it, how it's concerning you, how it'd make you feel much happier if he exercised.
:)

[Anonymous]

guilt him into the possibility of him dying before he gets to see his grand kids?

[Puppylove94]

already done that lol

[Anonymous]

work out with him. guys respond well to positivity. if he sees it working on you, he'll do it.

[Anonymous]

Little rich girl gym at the house

[Puppylove94]

mmk. thanks for the advice.

[Opinion Owner]

Really you can't even say this is common cause it's. Not

[redeyemindtricks]

Lol dude... "Gym at the house" can mean a lot of different things.

My little brother lived in a COMPACT CAR for like 3 years, and he had practically a "full gym", too. He had pullup bars (that he could put in doorframes), resistance bands, and dumbbells like these that went from 0-150 lbs:
jet.com/.../527a88ae0d644d93acd4966244866f8b
(those only go up to 100, but same idea)

Such a hater. I bet you win at life.