Building Your Weight Loss Team

Let’s face it, it’s hard work to lose weight.  There are so many distractions in everyday life, it’s difficult to stay the course and reach your goal.  Have you noticed that like minded people tend to stick together?  Support from your circle of friends, family and sometimes coworkers can make a huge difference in any endeavor.  Weight loss is no exception.

Let’s start with the home life.  When one person makes a commitment of this magnitude, it can be nearly impossible without the support of their family at home.  I recently heard of a person starting their weight loss journey and was eating a healthy meat and vegetable dinner while the kids had pizza.  The temptation, especially at the beginning, can be overwhelming.  Try eating the same foods at dinner, even if it’s at a different time for some.  Same deal with exercising.  Make it a family affair; it can be as simple as family walks once a week, or backyard football games.  By demonstrating an active lifestyle, it will rub off on the younger ones and possibly become a habit for them into adulthood.

Friends can be a large influence in a weight loss endeavor.  Their activities, and those that they invite you to participate in, can shape your free time.  See if you can find a gym buddy, someone you can make an appointment with to work out, even if you do your own thing once you get there.  Just knowing someone is waiting for you might get you in the habit of going on a regular schedule.  This is good time to evaluate your friends and see which ones might be toxic, ie draining on your positive attitude and your current goals.  Surround yourself with people who support you, not ones that want to happy hour every night of the week.

The workplace is probably the one over which you have little control, and requires the most adaptation on your part (in my opinion). If your office goes out to lunch every day, try to steer them towards places with healthy options.  One of my favorites is Tokyo Joe’s.  Places that require a little walking are a great idea too, so you get in a little bit of exercise to and from the office.  If it’s a cocktail happy group, try limiting the happy hours you attend to once a week.

Your weight loss team, or the people you surround yourself with, are your cheerleaders.  They are the group you count on to help you make better decisions and help you when you slide off track.  Find these people in your circles and use them.  If someone else has similar goals, rely on each other for support.  It’s hard to do alone, but with a team who knows what you can achieve.  Ok, that was a little cheesy, even if it’s true.

See you at the gym!