For Best Weight Loss Success, Separate Diet from Work and Family
The reason why so many parents try to work from home is simple: to be home when the kids come home from school! Yet all that glitters is not gold, and for a parent who is struggling with weight loss problems, there comes a day in the life when the constant proximity of family members may actually adversely affect her or his ability to stick to the diet, be motivated to do so in the first place, and increase the overall sense of self esteem in the process.
The same holds true for employees, who find it difficult to reconcile their hope for losing weight with the potential for wagging tongues of co-workers and even bosses who may be overeager to consistently comment on the loss of weight – or lack thereof.
This has inspired many weight loss hopefuls to believe that for best weight loss success, it is crucial to separate diet from work and family. It starts out small: perhaps junior answers the phone and even though grandma usually just talks about a quick trip to the supermarket, she now begins grilling the child on the parent’s weight loss or gain. This is done in all innocence, but it turns a child into an informant who is now critically eyeing mom or dad. Worse yet, if the result is not pleasing to the person inquiring, they may begin to feel that mom or dad are unsuccessful, and the potential for a harmful loss of respect and resulting loss of family harmony is only a matter of time.
On the reverse of the equation, do not offer your work telephone number to a weight loss support contact. While the person with whom you are sweating to the oldies would love some last minute help to talk her away from a brownie she is eyeing, the fact that you allow your weight loss activities to intrude on your work time is going to negate the very aspect of having coworkers mind their own business. In fact, this very mix makes your weight loss an accepted topic of speculation, discussion, and maybe even less than sensitive inquiry in the lunch room when someone is critically eyeing your lunch.
This goes hand in hand with learning to say “no” and meaning it. You will be surprised to learn how many coworkers will literally come out of the woodwork to discuss weight loss horrors and problems, and even check up on your own success at making a diet work. Although accountability is good for the struggle with an expanding waist line, overdoing the accountability is detrimental to the motivational aspect of sticking to any kind of weight loss regimen, and before long the temptation to just give in and get it over with to get others off your back is going to grow on a daily basis.
Even the most dedicated dieter needs a separation of weight loss, work and family and when family time arrives, discussions about your weight loss goals and successes == or failures — need to be put on the backburner. Remember that weight loss should not be the center of your home life, but instead merely a tool to make the latter more enjoyable in the long run.