By: Valerie Dei
Do you have someone in your life that is battling with weight loss? Or a partner that is overweight but you do not know how to help out with the weight loss journey for fear of hurting your partner’s feeling? Well, it is okay to feel this way but it is also very possible to go about this without hurting their feelings. If you have decided to take this bold step, It is very important to be gentle and non-judgmental.
Note that your spouse needs to make this decision of losing weight before you can help. When that decision has been made you can then support with the following guide:
- Be a major source of Encouragement: Always try to be appreciative of the little success you partner makes at a time. Research shows that people that successfully lose weight are those that had people encouraging them to keep moving. Send your spouse a text saying how proud you are or how great he looked before he left for work. Brag about him on social media etc.
- Be a healthy role model: Be that person your partner looks at and gets motivated to continue the weight loss journey. Do not say you look healthy and eat all the junk you can get your hands on in the presence of your partner who is probably on diet instead eat healthily. You can even volunteer to eat some of their diet foods with them, or at least taste the dishes they prepare or join him/her to the gym.
- Avoid using the word can’t: Rather than focusing on all the things he “shouldn’t” eat, think about how he can add healthy foods or healthy habits. For example, instead of saying you shouldn’t be taking chickens, you could say why don’t we eat salmon instead.
- Do not channel all your attention to your partner’s weight loss struggle: do not concentrate entirely on your partner’s weight and forget to pay attention to other aspects of their life. Let them see that you are as concerned about them as you are to the weight problem. Let them know you care about them regardless of their size.
- Recognize triggers: there are several things that can make a dieter go back to the habit of overeating. Some of which are; Stress, boredom, loneliness, conflict, fatigue etc. as you take out time to figure out possible triggers try not to be one yourself.
- Learn about your partner’s diet program: make effort to know your partner’s diet plan; this entails knowing the kinds of foods they’re eating, how the plan works, and what it involves, such as attending meetings or participating in online support groups. Then, respect the time they want to devote to these activities.
