In a perfect world, the moment you told your friends, family and coworkers about your new diet plans, they’d all be 100% supportive and do whatever you needed to help you out. The donuts would disappear from the break room, fast food trips in the evening would come to an end, and no one would suggest that you head out to eat somewhere that you know you won’t find a healthy meal. In a perfect world, when you decide that you are going to try losing weight, everyone surrounding you would also try to follow that same weight loss program so that there would be no reason as to why you’d be tempted to break from your plan.
We do not live in a perfect world, and rather than being confronted with a plethora of support from every direction you can look, you are likely instead to be confronted by negative comments an well-intentioned friends who say things that can totally derail your day.
Difficult Conversations
Interacting with friends and family members who don’t understand why you are trying to make such big changes in your life can be incredibly frustrating. In fact, this can be one of the most complicated aspects of your weight loss program. Once you have convinced yourself that you can keep up with your weight loss goals by making the right choices regarding your diet and exercise habits, having to defend those choices to friends and family over and over again can grow tiring.
You can prepare yourself for some of these conversations by being ready for comments like these:
- “It’s okay to cheat just this once!” There are a lot of reasons a friend or coworker may say this, and they usually mean well. Typically, they are trying to include you in the enjoyment of a social activity. You know just how easy it is to let yourself cheat all the time as soon as you cheat once, so remind them that you are committed to your weight loss program and politely say “no thank you!”
- “Oh, I’ve tried that before.” With two-thirds of the US adult population being obese or overweight, you are going to continuously come across people who have tried to lose weight, and some may have tried the same weight loss plan you are trying now—or will know someone who has. They may have negative things to say, especially if they haven’t been successful in the past. These comments could come from a place of jealousy or misunderstanding, so be careful not to fall into their trap.
Remember that most of your friends and family will mean well, even if they are saying something that may not feel like it is helpful. Don’t let anyone else get in the way of your weight loss success. Try surrounding yourself with more positive people. Ask your weight loss surgeon for help finding a weight loss support group to connect with others who are also trying to lose weight with weight loss surgery.