10 Tips for Getting Support for Weight Loss

One of the best ways to help yourself when trying to lose weight is to establish a support system. A support system is something that people need whenever they take on a challenge in life. Dieting is definitely a challenge. Getting support, encouragement and a nudge now and then from the people in our support system can go a long way towards helping us to not only lose weight but also to keep that weight off.

Here are ten tips that can help you to gain the support that you need for losing weight:

1.     Create a group of friends who are already working on losing weight on their own. Friends can be a terrific source of support for helping you to meet your weight loss goals. However, they can also hinder you. If your friends aren’t motivated to lose weight then they can hold you back by sabotaging your weight loss efforts. Of course, they don’t mean to do this – but when they recommend getting pizza for lunch together or taking a cab instead of walking they’re failing in their support of you. That’s why you want to establish a network of support with people who are already trying to lose weight. They’re more likely to truly support you in your goals and you can effectively help one another out. Looking for help from friends who are already losing weight on their own is much more effective than trying to cajole other friends into losing weight with you.

2.     Don’t underestimate the power of an online weight loss group. The support of people online can be very valuable. In particular, online groups that require you to check in a certain number of times per week and to honestly discuss your successes and limitations of weight loss plans are groups that will be very useful to you when you’re trying to lose weight.

3.     Make a commitment to a single partner. Although big groups are great for providing you with support, you also need a single person that really is your weight loss buddy. This should be someone that you trust very much who genuinely wants to help you achieve your weight loss goals. This person may help get you to the gym when you aren’t feeling like it or may just be a good ear to listen when you’re feeling down about your progress. This person could be a spouse, a family member or a best friend. Trust your instincts regarding whether or not the individual is truly supportive so you can make the right choice here.

4.     Ask directly for support from other friends and family members. There will be people who are not your core support group but who you want to ask directly to support you anyway. Your husband may tell you that you don’t need to lose weight or your kids may complain about the home’s new meals. Encourage them to support you anyway. Sit down and tell them why you want to do this and ask that they help you out by being positive (or at least refraining from being negative).

5.     Start or join a weight loss reading group. A book club is such a sedentary thing that we don’t think of it as being useful to losing weight. However, reading about other people’s experiences with weight loss can be very motivating. It can provide you with useful information or just inspire you to stay on track. A book group discussion with other people will encourage you to do this type of reading and to think critically about it.

6.     Think about joining a diet club. This is a group of people who come together for the specific purpose of embarking together on a new diet. The drawback of this compared to other forms of support is that these people are strangers at the start of the group. On the other hand, so are people in many other support groups and they’re still effective. Try to find a diet club that is either based around the type of diet that you’re interested in or the amount of weight that you want to lose since having similar goals will make the group more effective.

7.     Get a teacher or mentor. Look for someone else who has already been successful at losing weight. Ask if they are willing to be your mentor in this process.

8.     Join supportive activities that help you lose weight without focusing on weight. There are many different activities that can help you to lose weight but aren’t about just weight loss. A weekly yoga class, a group that discusses raw food cooking options, a singles group that goes hiking together once a week and other things like this all promote weight loss. However, since you’re not specifically talking about your weight, you are encouraged to simply do things that you enjoy that will also lead to weight loss. This form of support can be a great supplement to the direct weight loss support that you get from other sources.

9.     Don’t undervalue the help of professional people. Your support system can benefit from including professionals who are truly there to help you in achieving your weight loss goals. These professionals might include a personal trainer, a doctor or even a psychologist. Figure out who can help you most and don’t hesitate to pay them for their efforts. It’s well worth it to get the support that you need.

10. Make a commitment not to let unsupportive people sabotage your efforts. Finally, you need to make sure that all of the effort that you put into establishing a support system doesn’t go to waste because some people don’t support you. If anyone in your life is unsupportive, deal with the problem directly. Don’t let them sabotage what you’re trying to do!