The Love Of My Life and Your Weight Loss
A couple weeks ago Nancy and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary. Yes, she IS up for sainthood, in case you were wondering.
As I was reflecting on those 23 years, I could not think of one significant achievement over that time span in which she didn’t support my efforts.
And that got me thinking once again about the importance of having someone to support you in your fitness goals, and particularly if you are trying to lose weight.
I know some of you have heard parts of this before, but it’s worth repeating.
At one time in my life I weighed 270+ pounds, and was anything but “fat and happy”.
Fat Yes – Happy No!
Tired all the time, blood sugar out of control, unable to find clothes off the rack – not conducive to making one really satisfied with his life.
When I made the decision to lose the weight and seek to regain my health, Nancy was there every step of the way. Cleaned the cupboards of all the junk food (really – we threw it away), changed a lot of the food we were eating and tried a bunch of (what was then to us) crazy new stuff (you know, like vegetables and fish), supported the investment into exercise equipment, and tons of other stuff.
She also held me accountable. If popcorn wasn’t on the plan, she reminded me of that. Not nagging, but just asking me about it. She celebrated with me when I lost pounds, and encouraged me when I didn’t. You know stuff like – “Suck it up you big baby”. 🙂
You NEED to find someone like that. It’s part of our 6 Pack 6 to share your goals and progress with someone every week. Ideally that someone is on board with what you are accomplishing – if they are not, find somebody else.
I’m going to get a little personal here. If your significant other knows what you are trying to do, but tells you it’s okay when you “cheat” on your diet repeatedly, or miss training, you MUST talk to them about it. Sit down with them and ask them to hold you accountable; ask them to keep the junk out of the house – not forever, but just for now. Look I don’t care, get brutal – ask them if they love that stinking cookie more than they love you! There is a time for compromise and a time to stand your ground. If not now – when? And this passive aggressive “I love you just the way you are” bull – don’t even get me started! I’m sure they do love you, but that’s really not the point.
Personal confession time – Right now, to this day, if there is a box of cookies in the house, 90% of the time I am going to eat them. It’s just better if they are not in the house or if I don’t know they are. Guess what – either they aren’t or I don’t. Simple as that. Nancy knows that, she wants me around for at least a little while longer, and she helps me out.
A couple more points:
#1) I know that not everybody who reads this is married or otherwise co-habitating. If this is the case, you are way ahead of the game as far as what’s in your cupboards and fridge, cause you control it all. Your task is to find someone who will hold you accountable when you stumble.
#2) I am not trying to drive a wedge in any relationships. The fact is that non-support at home can be a huge challenge. It can be overcome, but it’s so much easier to be on the same page. Be transparent and have that conversation. We are here to support you and help you work through it.
Now get out there and….
Make It Happen!
Dean