Something that can make the difference for you when youre trying to shed pounds is finding good weight loss support. This isnt always easy. Often the people closest to us are the least supportive; sometimes they can be downright discouraging. If losing weight is something youve tried to do many times in the past but never managed to succeed, or if you lost weight only to gain it back as so many of us have, then maybe theyve heard you say you were going to do it before. While its not fair that they wouldnt be supportive now, often thats the reason the people closest to us dont get excited about our new efforts.

If you feel the people closest to you might have that discouraging attitude, then consider not even mentioning your efforts to them. You wont get any weight loss support from them if they dont know, but if theyre not likely to be supportive anyway its better to keep it a secret than have to deal with someone discouraging.

Sometimes the people we love sabotage our efforts without meaning to. The husband will start bringing home candy bars when the wife announces her new diet, for instance. When people fear change or worry that a new, slimmer you might make you want them to lose weight or change something about themselves, this saboteur-like behavior can start just when you need weight loss support from them the most. Dont take this personallymost people dont even realize theyre doing it.

If you have friends or family who also need to lose weight but arent currently concerned about it (at least, they dont mention it to you) be careful how much you talk about your own efforts. At best, theyll be happy for you at first but then wonder why you keep bringing it up, at worst theyll feel like your success just points out their own failure in that area. Its one thing to need weight loss support from those we love, but we also have to take into account that everyones human and people will react differently to your efforts and your success.

If all this seems discouraging, take heart! There are two great ways to find weight loss support that pretty much guarantee you wont be unintentionally alienating any family or friends, and you also wont be giving them the opportunity to take the wind out of your sails by unintentionally (or intentionally) being hurtful and discouraging. Look in your local paper for weight loss groups that meet once a week for the purpose of supporting each other. Several that cost a certain amount per week like Weight Watchers exist, as well as meetings that only require a donation like OA or TOPS.

Another great way to meet people on the same journey is through online support groups. This also has the benefit of anonymity, and convenience. An Internet search will lead you to dozens of places where you can find great weight loss support online.

Let’s be honest, losing weight isn’t easy. If you are like most people then you have tried to lose weight more than once; probably several times. You meant well, you were motivated, and you found the perfect plan for you, but even if you were able to drop a few pounds you put them all back on. So, why does this happen, and how can you prevent it from happening again? The answer is to have weight loss support to help you.

How you get that support can vary, but it’s important to being able to lose weight and to keep it off. As you know, there are tons of diet programs out there, and more are being released all the time. But that shouldn’t make any sense when you think about it. After all, if a diet really worked, then there wouldn’t be much of a need for any other diet to take its place.

The reason new diets are coming out is that people have a hard time sticking to the old diets. In reality, they will have just as difficult of a time sticking to the new diets too, unless they can find some weight loss support.

Family and friends are usually the first people we think of to give us some help. But be careful! Not all family and friends will be willing to support you. Sure, they care for you, but they may not understand how important losing weight is to you. So, instead of encouraging you, they will tell you that you’re just fine the way you are, and that you don’t really need to lose any weight. Even worse, some of them may tease you and intentionally try to get you to go back to your old habits. That’s not to say everybody will do that, but you should be aware of it if it happens.

Diet and exercise are the two main ways of losing weight. Therefore, if you can work with a professional dietician or nutritionist then that would make an excellent addition to your weight loss support team. The same is true if you have a personal trainer to help you exercise.

One if the most effective ways to get support is to join a group of people who are also trying to lose weight. Overeaters Anonymous (OA), Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) and Weight Watchers are some of the more popular choices. These groups help because they let you be open about your troubles, failures and successes. In other words, you can feel free to share your journey to healthier weight with people who understand.

Don’t underestimate the power of weight loss support, especially if you have tried diet after diet without any lasting success. The more support you get, the better. Almost any diet has the potential to work, but if none of them have worked for you, then it’s not your fault. Perhaps you didn’t realize how much of a difference having a support team could make.