Supporting A Loved One's Weight Loss Journey

Sup­port from loved ones can go a long way for those work­ing towards achiev­ing their long-term weight loss and well­ness goals. Nutri­tion, phys­i­cal activ­i­ty and behav­ior mod­i­fi­ca­tions are key com­po­nents to a suc­cess­ful weight loss pro­gram. Obe­si­ty Med­i­cine Physi­cian, Dr. Katie Rosen­feld, shares tips to help your loved one stay healthy and active all year long.

Encour­age Open Communication

Long-term weight loss is an ongo­ing process. Talk­ing to your loved one about ways you can pro­vide emo­tion­al sup­port empha­sizes that you want them to achieve their well­ness goals. Ask­ing ques­tions and lis­ten­ing can fos­ter a trust­ing and open rela­tion­ship dur­ing their weight loss journey.

A few con­ver­sa­tion starters include:

• What healthy goals are you work­ing towards?
• How can I be there for you?
• Do you pre­fer that I come to you with sug­ges­tions or would you pre­fer that I wait until you ask for help?

Be a Cheerleader 

Estab­lish­ing and main­tain­ing lifestyle changes is no small feat, so make sure to cel­e­brate your loved one’s health accom­plish­ments. Tak­ing the time to acknowl­edge their achieve­ments and remind­ing your loved one that you are proud of them can have a sig­nif­i­cant impact.

Things to Cel­e­brate:

• Stay­ing com­mit­ted to achiev­ing their health and well­ness goals
• Reach­ing a new weight or health milestone
• Stick­ing with a work­out routine

Focus on the Positive

The path to weight-loss is often filled with peaks, val­leys and plateaus. Through­out the year, your loved one may be faced with mak­ing dif­fi­cult deci­sions. Sup­port­ing them with­out judge­ment can fos­ter a sense of com­pas­sion and make it eas­i­er to regain their focus if they have fall­en off track. You can share pos­i­tiv­i­ty by:

• Giv­ing gen­uine com­pli­ments (both weight and non-weight com­pli­ments are important)
• Remind­ing your loved one of how far they have come
• Avoid dwelling on the mis­steps and con­tin­ue to applaud the successes

Be a Teammate

Giv­ing your loved one unwa­ver­ing sup­port and encour­age­ment shows them you are equal­ly as com­mit­ted to help­ing them achieve their goal. You can cre­ate a sup­port­ive envi­ron­ment and encour­age healthy choic­es by:

• Includ­ing new, healthy food options in your get-togeth­ers through­out the year (or swap­ping ingre­di­ents for health­i­er substitutions)
• Get­ting active together
• Being mind­ful of your own food choic­es when you are together

Whether your loved one is just begin­ning their weight loss jour­ney, or has been work­ing towards a health­i­er lifestyle for a while, your sup­port will help them achieve their goals and improve their qual­i­ty of life. For more infor­ma­tion on improv­ing your fam­i­ly’s health, or to sched­ule a vis­it with an obe­si­ty med­i­cine physi­cian, please call 1 – 888-MY-DMG-DR (1−888−693−6437) or sched­ule an appoint­ment online.