After weight loss surgery, a support system that includes health professionals, other weight loss surgery patients, and other individuals who are sensitive to your situation is indispensable. Unfortunately, the family members and friends who are already in our lives aren’t always the most supportive.
Signs of Non-Support
If anyone in your support system exhibits the following signs, you should no longer consider them a source of support and should work to remove their influence.
1. The Tempter
This person pushes you to eat when and what you shouldn’t. These people are sometimes called “food pushers,” and you should firmly let them know that eating unhealthy foods or large quantities of food is not what you want to do. Be very clear, and make your seriousness come through in your voice, eyes, and body language.
2. The Critic
Someone who is critical of your weight or the weight of others is perhaps the last person you need to be around. At this point, it’s particularly important to be surrounded by positive, motivational people who understand that you’re going through a major transformation and who are already proud that you’ve made the decision to get healthier. Avoid people who try to make you feel ashamed or guilty about your weight.
3. The Reducer
It’s common for people who have never struggled with a major weight problem to oversimplify the solution. These people seem to think that obesity can be easily cured by eating less and working out. In theory, these things are simple, but they’re difficult in practice and don’t necessarily lead to success.
4. The Partner-in-Crime
This person doesn’t think you have a weight problem, or, in many cases, is struggling with his or her own weight and needs someone to eat unhealthily with. People like this may enjoy having someone to eat with them so that they’ll feel less alone or less like they’re doing something wrong. While it’s not your job to point out everyone else’s flaws, it is up to you to ensure your own weight loss success by avoiding their influence.
5. The Watchdog
While it’s important to have a solid support system, you don’t want to feel like your progress is being monitored by the people you’re counting on. Sometimes, when trying to help, people put undue pressure us, as if the struggle to lose weight wasn’t hard enough without the added pressure of pleasing other people. Remind these people that it’s your life and your health and that you are accountable for it.