For those struggling with weight and desperately trying to shed pounds it is important to have the right attitude. As with most tasks the proper outlook makes a difficult task a little easier. As unfair as it may seem gaining weight is far easier than losing weight. In droves dieters don a sunny disposition, the latest headbands and sports gear, grab a sports drink and sweat to the oldies in an attempt to shed extra pounds. This works for some time until reality smacks them in the face like a burger hitting the grill when all the sweat accumulated into a loss of 0.6 pounds. At this point the dieter is ready to add cheese to that burger and send Richard Simmons on a long hike off a short pier. Now what? This is when concerned friends, skinny relatives and well meaning neighbors try to encourage the desperate dieter with the latest motivational advice from this year’s top guru. This is also the time that great Aunt Mabel decides to console with her best triple chocolate pie with peanut butter glaze and real whipped cream topping. The desperate dieter looks to her left shoulder and sees skinny Minnie shaking her finger while on the other Aunt Mabel tempts with a forkful of gooey chocolate pie with real whipped cream topping and peanut butter glaze. What is the desperate dieter to do?
Dieting is hard enough without outside influences like skinny Minnie and Aunt Mabel putting in their two cents. A dieter has to be made of steel in today’s world of biggie size fries juxtaposed pictures of swim suit models. On this battlefield your friends often take on the role of enemy. Aunt Mabel means well but she is undermining every ounce of determination a dieter can muster. Skinny Minnie may mean well but her shaking finger and narrow hips inspire feelings of defeat sprinkled with judgment. Every dieter has an Aunt Mabel and a Skinny Minnie to test their devotion to the latest fad diet and promises to use the treadmill. Yet, these influences are poison to any dieting plan. This is the time to limit phone calls to Skinny Minnie and visits to Aunt Mabel’s house of desserts. When strength is low the dieter should seek an Encouraging Ernie or Helpful Helen to get back on track before allowing the train to stop at the chocolate factory.
Who is poisoning your diet? Do you have a Tempting Tom showing you all the amazing food you are missing out on? What about a Critical Carl who makes you feel that you efforts are not good enough or will not yield results? Shielding yourself against influences like this is as important as hiding the Oreos. Your weight loss plan is your business. When you went on a diet you figured announcing it on Facebook would keep you accountable. First time you give an Oreo a second glance you get messages from well meaning Facebook friends asking you how your diet is going. This causes feelings of failure, shame, and pressure that you resent. Diets do not have to be announced publically. Make your mind up to lose weight and keep the pressure off by not telling world while keeping a small support group at bay for times of weakness. Let’s face it you only want to hear about your diet when someone asks, “Hey have you lost weight?”
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