Mom starts cooking nutritious meals to better her daughter's health, but her husband and son insist they get separate meals: ‘I'm not cooking two separate meals every day’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Jan 25, 2026 8:00 PM EST

When a mother decides to put her daughter's health first and cook holistic meals, the men in the house throw a fit over the healthy diet.

You're probably thinking, "Why don't they cook themselves?"

Well, we're thinking that, too. Too often, a matriarch has to bend a knee to her household because the powers that be tell her to. The story is usually the same no matter which way you tell it, but the mother in this next story decides to rewrite that page in her story.

Our health, contrary to what processed foods and Red 40 will tell you, is important. Our bodies are vessels, and we only have so much time to use them to their highest potential. The best way to nourish our bodies is to eat whole foods, get to the doctor every so often, and keep an eye out on our general health and weight.

If you've dealt with weight and health problems in life, you know how difficult it is to make such a drastic lifestyle change to get your health back on track. Processed foods scream your name, you dream about kettle cooked potato chips (guilty), and you make sure to tell everyone how hungry you are at all times. It's a pretty rough period. But once you make it through the initial transition period, you feel brand new. Your legs don't hurt as much, your stomach isn't constantly bloated, and you get to say "No, I'm not hungry" when Janet from marketing brings around her birthday cupcakes because you actually had a meal with protein that day. That isn't to say you should keep yourself from having cupcakes, because we ALL need to have a cupcake sometimes…

When you have parents who are insistent on holding your hand through your health journey, you accept their aid. All they want is for you to be your best self, and if other people in the household reach their healthiest potential, that's just more wins for everyone! Not everyone wants the help, though…

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  • woman in an apron cooking healthy vegetables in her kitchen
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • "AITA for making my whole family go on a diet because my daughter is dieting?"

    I (F52) live with my husband (M55) and our two kids: daughter (F15) and son (M17).
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • My daughter has always been on the chubbier side, and honestly, our whole family is overweight.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • However, since she started high school, her weight gain became extreme. In the span of just a few months, she went from being somewhat chubby to weighing over 300 pounds at only 15 years old.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • Obviously, this worried us a lot. We later realized the weight gain was a symptom of deeper issues.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • High school has been very hard for her, and she was being bullied. She started stress eating, and since we all gain weight easily, things escalated quickly.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • We are addressing the emotional side of this with a therapist and working with the school, but we also can't ignore the physical weight gain.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • I took her to a nutritionist, who gave her a structured meal plan to help her lose weight in a healthy way.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • She started the plan last week. I decided that our entire family would follow the same meal plan.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • Here's why: 1. I'm not cooking two separate meals every day. It's much easier and more realistic for me to cook one meal for everyone.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • 2. We are all overweight. None of us are in as alarming a situation as my daughter, but losing some weight would benefit everyone.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • 3. I think it will be much easier for my daughter to stick to the plan if she's not watching the rest of us eat differently or keep junk food in the house.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • 4. I honestly don't see a downside to our family learning how to eat healthier together.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • To be clear, I'm not starving anyone. I adjust portion sizes based on each person's needs.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • My husband and son are upset. They feel it's unfair that just because my daughter gained a lot of weight, everyone has to "go on a diet." They say I'm punishing them for her problem and that I should just cook separate meals, one for my daughter (and me, if I want) and one for them.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • man looking sullen while staring out a window
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • I don't think I'm being unreasonable, but they're acting like I am. So, AITA? EDIT: Okay, I get it, point taken about the word "diet." I'm on the older side, and that's just what we've always called intentional changes in eating.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • I genuinely appreciate the feedback, and if changing my language helps my family accept this better, I'm happy to do that.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • That said, I'd appreciate judgments focusing on my actions rather than getting stuck on word choice.
    via Electronic_Fun_4045
  • Ma-Hu NTA. Your list of reasons can stop at Number 1. If they want a separate meal, they can cook it themselves.
    via Ma-Hu
  • NTA tacorao Both your husband and your son can cook for themselves if they are unhappy with what you are doing. At 17, your son is old enough to learn how to cook for himself. Additionally, your husband is a fully functional adult, if he wants snacks in the house he can go to the grocery store and buy it himself.
    via tacorao
  • Standard_Elephant415 Are you, by chance, actively preventing your husband and son from cooking separate meals for themselves? If not, NTA.
    via Standard_Elephant415
  • Sins OfKnowing NTA. How kind of your husband to declare it's no big deal for you to make him a whole separate meal every night. Stick to your plan, help your daughter. If your husband and nearly grown-ass son don't like it, they can figure out their own food.
    via SinsOfKnowing
  • Illustrious-Shirt569 NTA. Eating appropriately moderate amounts of decent- quality food isn't a "diet," is a wise choice for health, energy, and life. Stop calling it a "diet," and start doing your part in changing the way your family eats if it's not serving anyone well beyond tasting/feeling good in that exact moment. And sure, if they don't like it, they can source their own food, at their own effort.
    via Illustrious-Shirt569
  • cressidacole It must be quite a burden being the only person in your home capable of putting a meal on the table.
    via cressidacole
  • Ericameria A diet literally means the food and drink you regularly consume. People are getting hung up on the word, but it's a generic word. If you mean a calorie restricted diet, that's a specific type of diet. But the bottom line is your husband and son can eat what they want. They just can't expect you to cook it for them.
    via Ericameria

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diet entitled family motherhood husband family food
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