So you have decided to start your weight loss journey. You have thought long and hard about it, and you are probably feeling excited about your decision.
Prepare for some major planning ahead. Everyone living with you likely knows the deal. They know you are serious, and they are all on board (hopefully).
No ifs, ands or buts about it. Starting a weight loss journey is all about feeling better. This is it. You have a simple meal plan figured out and you have grocery shopped. Game on.
Now you might be thinking about how the rest of the world will react once you break the news, but I have one piece of advice…
Don’t tell anyone that you decided to start a weight loss plan.
It’s obviously a personal decision, but hear me out. I’m not saying that you won’t be successful letting friends and co-workers in on you decision to start a weight loss plan.
I just want you to stop, think, and honestly ask yourself a few questions.
How many times in the past, have you announced your plan to lose weight to anyone who would listen?
Did letting everyone know you plan to lose weight work out for you?
Was it more of a struggle to stick to your goals than you thought it would be?
Did you let other people influence your decision to eat or not eat certain foods?
In my humble opinion, letting everyone know that you have decided to start a weight loss journey can affect how successful you will be.
It’s never been something that worked for me. Here’s why.
People Misinterpret Why You Are
Sharing Your Decision
I have found that talking about my decision to start a weight loss plan with everyone was never a good idea.
For starters, talking about losing weight seemed to give the impression that I needed help staying on track.
I did have a lot of weight to lose.
The confidence in myself to stick to my weight loss plan
all the other times I tried to lose weight wasn’t always there. I was motivated, but looking at the task of losing a lot of weight was daunting. There’s no one to blame but myself for not being prepared for the journey. So, I can’t fault anyone for giving me advice (although unsolicited).
Looking back, there’s no doubt in my mind. The focus and discipline I needed to get started with my weight loss journey caused some people to feel uncomfortable.
When you finally get to that point where you have figured out the right plan for yourself, the last thing you’ll need is outside input.
If you are really serious about losing weight for good, and you have put in some major thought, you won’t need anyone’s two cents.
However, there are always some people who feel you need extra motivation from them to stay on point with your goals. So, they voluntarily help you out with unsolicited opinions, advice, monitoring, and judgement.
Yeah, opening your mouth about trying to lose weight invites all of that, and then some.
Think back to all the other times you made a grand announcement about trying to lose weight.
I’m willing to bet the experts in your life were front and center ready to give you input, am I right?
Let me save you from all that discomfort.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand how important and helpful that accountability can be.
But, I assume you want this weight loss journey to be different.
This weight loss plan is the start of a lifestyle change you are making.
And, hopefully, you want this to be a permanent lifestyle change – your personal lifestyle change. Based on your life.
You have put so much thought and planning into why you want to start a weight loss journey, what you want to do and how you want to do it.
Your plan is all based on your unique needs – your schedule, your tastes, and your strengths and weaknesses.
The reason why you are making this weight loss journey different from all the other times you tried to lose weight and failed, is because you will be accountable to yourself.
Friends and coworkers haven’t done any of the self-reflection you did when you decided once and for all to lose weight.
In fact, most people usually don’t do a lot of deep thinking when they feel like they want to lose weight.
Their motivation is usually for the purposes of fitting into a special outfit for a special occasion.
Your motivation isn’t for superficial reasons. You want a complete lifestyle change, and that makes it a very personal decision.
Why should it be a personal decision?
Because you are the only person who can assess what your lifestyle is currently, and what you want your lifestyle to look like in the future.
Sharing the decision to start a weight loss journey is opening yourself up to undo stress that you don’t need while you are making huge shifts in your life.
Changing your routine can bring it’s own form of stress even though it’s good stress.
Believe me, you’ll want to keep things light, and simple.
You do not want, nor need your decision to start a weight loss journey be everyone else’s focus.
It just needs to be your focus and yours alone.
Food Police And Food Pushers
We know who these people are. They are friends, family, co-workers, strangers.
Basically, anyone within earshot of your announcement that you are starting a weight loss plan.
The reason why it isn’t a good idea to put the news of your decision out into the open is because it’s your weight loss plan.
A plan that you designed for yourself.
Prepare Yourself
Spare yourself the comments and criticism that you will no doubt hear if you let the cat out of the bag.
When you pack your lunch for work, it’s no big deal. You are just bringing food to eat at work on your break.
However, if you made the mistake of announcing your plan to lose weight, get ready to deal with food pushers, and the food police.
Before you even put anything in your mouth, you will be answering questions about what it is you are eating.
Then you’ll have to hear about whether they feel you should be eating it at all.
For sure, you will be told what to eat, how much you should eat and how you need to prepare it.
Trust me on this. You can go through this entire experience without any scrutinizing eyes on you, or your food choices.
During my own weight loss journey, if someone insisted that I eat something that I had not planned to eat, I would say that it doesn’t look appetizing or, I’m full from dinner or lunch.
Learn Say “No” And Mean It
Saying “I’m not in the mood for eating xyx” or just a simple “no thanks” works too. Nine times out of 10 my responses were true.
It’s not so much what you say, but how you say it.
At first, you may feel obligated to accept if someone insists that you indulge in eating something you had not planned to eat.
Feeling obligated to do something you don’t want to do because of another person’s will being projected onto you is people-pleasing behavior.
You are not a people pleaser. This weight loss journey is all about YOU.
If you want to be successful, never lose sight of that.
So, I encourage you to stand your ground. Keep your goals top of mind at all times.
Saying no is like a muscle that gets stronger the more you use it.
Just don’t offer any excuses why you’re not saying yes to their offer to eat. No offering any “oh I wish I could” statements.
Above all, what ever you do, don’t apologize!
Every year during Nurses week there is usually something unhealthy in the break room for the nursing staff. (Figure that one out🙄).
I remember saying to someone that just because the food is free, doesn’t mean I should eat it. Garbage is free too.
It was if they had never thought of it that way. The blank stare I got was hilarious.
Any one the responses I mention completely changes the focus on the other person asking or pushing the food, instead of you.
Behind the Scenes
Eventually, someone will notice you have been making better choices. But, if I were you, I would just downplay it.
By the time my weight loss was noticeable, I was down 35 pounds. Then the questions began flooding in (along with some haterism, but that’s another story).
What are you doing? Me: Nothing ground breaking. Just eating food. Several times during my shifts that year, I would get that one and only question. It was like my answer wasn’t believable.
I even noticed these same people feeling self-conscious about what they were eating whenever I was around them. Some even felt the need to explain or apologize to me for eating something they though of as unhealthy, or not diet food.
Why I Believe I Had Success
The question asked of me most was “I can’t seem to lose xyz pounds, how are you doing it”?
My answer is the same today as it was in 2017. I believe that you get what you believe. It’s been my experience that if you find accomplishing your goal a struggle, (any goal for that matter) it’s most likely because on some level you don’t believe that you can achieve it.
I know it’s sound cliché, but if you want something different, do something different. This is what I knew I had to do when I started my weight loss journey.
If you are unhappy with your weight, my challenge to you is not to accept the status quo.
Change starts in your mind first. You don’t have to continue the way you are. Start small and be accountable to yourself.
Put Your Mind to Work!
What small activity can you start doing every day to help you start your weight loss journey? Let me hear from you in the comments!
