Family and Your Weight Loss Plan

How to Incorporate Others into Your “Diet”

Don’t announce that you are going to lose weight. You want to have made some significant progress. I think around 10 pounds is a good starting point to feel confident that you can lose weight. At some point others are going to notice and begin asking if you have lost weight. I truly recommend down playing the situation and let your weight loss speak for itself.

 

Include Family in Menus

 

You do want to include your family in the menu planning. Learning actual nutrients and how to create well-balanced meals and mini-meals is education that should be shared with the entire family. Make sure that you are selecting foods that you and your family love! There is no sense in eating foods that you don’t like. Food is to be enjoyed! Make sure when you go grocery shopping that you have your menus’ figured out and you buy only foods that go together and for which you have a plan.

 

Eating More Often

 

When you are losing weight you will find that you are eating more often than you are used to.  Mini-meals are a great way to get you from one major meal to the other. Some people call them snacks, but I think of junk food when I hear the word snacks, so I prefer mini-meal. Your family and friends may be interested as to what is going on. If you can just let them know you are a little hungry and decided to eat a little something. You should never be full or hungry. Your goal is to always feel just right.

 

Exercise With Others

Feel free to do physical activity with others, including your kids, just don’t associate it with losing weight. Your physical activity should always be about your health and not your weight. Stress management is another advantage of daily exercise. Even a walk after dinner with your spouse can be a nice way to finish the day. I really cannot stress this enough…DO NOT WORKOUT TO LOSE WEIGHT!! Work out daily aerobically and be sure to include weights into your routine switching off between arms and legs daily.

 

Once You Have Lost Weight

 

After you have lost weight you will have changed the way that you and your entire family looks at food and exercise. Remember that losing weight is a solo-project. But, the education of the principles of nutrition and daily exercises are great gifts to share.

 

Sherri Sue Fisher author of TimerDiet and TimerOrganizer