Everyone I know who has ever tried a weight loss program always starts with the best intentions and lots of motivation. I'll bet you know someone who is at this exact stage of their new weight loss program right now (it might even be you). So how do you maintain that motivation and keep it going after the initial excitement and motivation wears off? What will keep you going on those days when everything else goes wrong at home, and at work, and you find yourself wondering why you’re putting yourself through this miserable program in the first place?
The answer to effective and lasting weight loss isn’t a new pill, it’s not a special food, and it’s not about cutting out this fat or that carb. The answer is and always will be social support.
No matter what kind of diet weight loss program you are following, social support is the single biggest factor in sticking to it for any real length of time.
Anyone who has tried to stick to a diet knows exactly what I am talking about and how hard it is to get through a week without some major social pressures to break you down like:
Business lunches
Indulging with a friend who needs a jumbo cookie dough ice cream sundae to forget about a recent fight with their spouse (maybe you need to forget about something that day too)
A night out drinking with your friends – nuff said
The movies – honestly, who goes to the movies and doesn’t get at least popcorn and a drink. And now they make deals out of them with some other sort of candy thrown in.
Holidays – Take your pic, almost all of them involve excessive amounts of food.
There are plenty more, but you get the picture. How often are you faced with the decision at the end of a busy day to either go to the gym, or go for a cheese burger and fries and finish it off with a double fudge sundae!
The only way to get through all of this on a regular basis is with support, and the more the merrier. Think of it as your weight loss “team”. Get as many people on board with your goals as possible. Every time you feel yourself slipping off the wagon, call the team in for support and get yourself back on track. It helps if they are pursuing similar goals, but anyone can provide support. You just need one or two people who you can trust, that know you well, and will back you up when you’re faced with a choice between the Sunday all you can eat buffet brunch or a cardio and conditioning workout.
The more people you recruit to your “team” the better chance you have of sticking to your program. This how all the celebrities get it done (however they usually can afford to pay for their “team”), and how all of my clients who have been successful have managed to stick to it. It works for them and it will work for you too.
