Staying Motivated on your Jump Start to Your New Body! 

Navigating Weight Loss Obstacles: Part 4

Kris Reid   Body Makeover Expert

     We have reviewed several challenges so far in the Navigating Weight Loss Obstacles Inspirations. I hope that some are hitting home and provide good ideas for you.  I think it would be great if you chat together about some of the other ways to overcome these obstacles.  If you have some challenges that you face and would like some help, there may be someone in the community who has found a good alternative.  Don’t be too shy to share your thoughts, and ask for help. 

     The next challenge comes at us in a subtle way, very well camouflaged, and from where we least expects resistance:  Sabotage by people who are close to us.  These are big challenges but, they are things we can overcome. 

     I was already at the leanest I had been in many years when I started to notice some major problems with my health.  I cramped up all night, I was having trouble with my equilibrium and eventually, I went blind.  It was at a time when my business was growing rapidly and I was scrambling to keep up the demand placed on me.  I thought it was due to stress and so, the first chance I got, I left for vacation.  When I returned, my symptoms had worsened and I went to the doctor to find the bad news…I had become diabetic at age 28.  It ran in my family and I was expecting it sooner or later…maybe closer to 65 years old, not 28.  However! Within three months, I had my blood sugar under complete control and I was off all my medications. 

     During that time, everyone was concerned and tried to be as accommodating as possible, checking up on me, helping with the business, and so on. Except in one way--food.  Whenever I would go to dinner or to an event, people wanted me to eat the dessert.  They wanted me to have alcohol; they wanted me to have the bread and butter.  I would tell everyone it was bad for me to have these things because my body was not like theirs and could not regulate the sugar rush that would ensue.  Most of the people didn’t understand.  They would say, “Well, a little won’t hurt you.”  Or they would comment about me being “too healthy” and “too extreme.”  I started to joke about which foot they wanted to bet one amputated first; or who would pay for my Seeing Eye dog.  These were jokes but they were meant to communicate the severity and importance of the situation. 

     Little treats are nice to have--those indulgences, extravagant dinners, and such.  However, these things do not mark us as who we are.  We need to set our priorities straight and ask our friends for help.  Everyone wants and likes to feel helpful.  Ask your friends and family for their support; tell them a little about your new habits and why it is important for them to help you.  Reassure them that you aren’t “changing” who you are and that you’ll still be able to go out and hang out the same way. 

     Our friends and family have their own insecurities that will rear their ugly heads when they see us making progress towards our goals.  When I was losing weight my friends would sometimes say, “You’re a different Kris.” Or “You’re not big and cuddly any more.”  I didn’t understand what they were saying at the time, however, the comments had some impact on my thinking.  I asked myself, “Is that true?  Am I no longer the same person because I’m thinner?”  Of course not!  Keep your friends, ask for help, encourage them to be healthy when they are around you and, most of all, know you aren’t changing who you are, you are changing the choices you make. 

Yours in Good Health,