Friends and Family Sabotaging your Weight Loss? Tips for Coping.

Gird your loins – because this is going to be a mini rant/helpful tips post.  I’m not quite sure yet what order they’re going to come from my fingers, so it will be a surprise for all of us.

First – lets set the scene.  I am about 80 pounds overweight.  That’s the long and the short of it.  My husband, not overweight – and tends to lose weight simply by adding a few more glasses of water to his daily routine.  My kids? Perfect in every way. Seriously – they’re just fine weight wise, and still growing – so my biggest goal with them is to NOT convey my issues and coping mechanisms when it comes to food upon their healthy little bodies.

But here’s the deal.  Trying to lose weight in a house with folks who do not have the same need, is miserable.  Lets be serious, if I had willpower, I wouldn’t be in the position I am now, needing to shed quite a few pounds.

So here are some tips for you who are trying to lose, and you who should be supporting those who are trying to lose – because doing it alone, with no support, sucks.

Family member losing weight? Pay attention to these tips!

1. DO NOT BRING HOME JUNKFOOD.  Yeah, I did use capital letters, because this is common sense – but you’d be surprised how many people DON’T think it’s a big deal.  It’s not that we want to deny those who can handle it in moderation, but we cannot handle it.  Meet for your donuts at the shop – or leave them in the car until work tomorrow.  It’s cruel to leave them spread across the counter when you know we’re doing all we can to resist temptation.
2. Support with the offer of a walk, or a yummy looking low fat recipe.  Comments about how you “could never cut such-and-such out of my day” or an offer of happy hour at the local greasy spoon do not help.  I want to hang out with you – but how about a picnic in the park or a hike? If overweight folks had enormous stores of will power, we wouldn’t be overweight.
3. Losing weight is not just a fight with food. Its a fight over emotions and depression.  It’s a war – to be honest. Sometimes a hug and a quiet “I’m proud of you.” is all it takes to shore up the walls, so to speak.
4. Don’t complain about the food put on the table.  I get it, you might not like it.  Pretend you do.  It’s hard enough to find recipes that sound like something EVERYONE in the house will like, we don’t really need your comments about not enough butter, salt or meat.  Learning to change HOW you cook is just as hard as learning how to change WHAT you cook.  If you’re still hungry, get something to eat later after the table is cleared.

Here are some tips for those of you trying to lose weight without a ton of support.

1. Not everyone understands your struggle.  I run up against this one constantly. Comments like “Just have a salad for dinner” or “drink some more water” are good advice. But if it were a cure, I’d be a friggin’ super model by now.
2. Be flexible – let family pick a meal 1 day a week and compensate by eating a smaller portion
3. Pack your own snacks – if you’re going on an outing, pack healthy snacks so you can go to lunch, dinner or a movie and not be hungry.
4. Don’t be a nag – it only brings down your mood.  To be honest – I’ve started just putting things people bring home out in the garage. They’re slowly getting the hint.
5. Don’t set yourself up to fail. Halloween candy is coming up – buy it ON Halloween – and buying something you DON’T like helps keep you from eating it!