When most people try to lose weight, they watch one number: the scale. But not all weight loss is...
When Friends Aren’t Helping
By: Scottsdale Weight Loss Center
Published: March 30, 2016
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As the Beatles sang years ago, we all get by with a little help from our friends. Except this isn’t always the case when it comes to sticking with a weight loss meal plan. We tend to make friends that we have things in common with. Often, those commonalities include liking the same sort of food, or enjoying the same atmosphere in a restaurant. Social eaters tend to find each other, as it is a way to get to know another person around a shared love for food. Even if you stop and think about the coworkers you tend to spend the most time with, you may realize that lunch choices have a lot to do with your office-based relationships.
So what happens when one friend wants to start eating healthier, and the other friend isn’t quite on board? All too often the result is sabotage, but unfortunately it is something that many of us turn a blind eye to. After all, you don’t want to think that your friends are holding you back from achieving a healthier lifestyle.
Identifying Negative Influences in your Life
The people you surround yourself with will be crucial in ensuring that you are able to stay motivated and succeed in your diet plans. Being around people who are constantly negative and who don’t encourage you in ways that are helpful will weigh down on your personal motivation to stay on track.
Negative people aren’t always easy to spot. They may seem happy and positive, but deep down they are a metaphorical undertow, pulling you down into an abyss of negativity and lost weight loss goals.
Here are a few factors that define a negative friend, someone who may not be a good influence during your weight loss program:
- They are not on board with your weight loss program, and may critique the program or not take it seriously.
- They show little interest in bettering themselves, and so lose interest in conversations about your plans to get healthier.
- They are not displaying any balance in their own life, and are unwilling to make any changes to their personal diet or exercise habits that may help them, too.
You don’t need to cut friends out of your life when they aren’t being supportive, but you don’t need to become trapped by their negativity, either. Try talking to your friend about how you feel when they are negative about your weight loss goals. Becoming a supportive friend yourself may help them want to make positive changes in their life. But if that isn’t the case, that is fine too. Try managing how often you spend time with that friend, and spend equal or greater amounts of time with other more positive influences.
If you don’t know where to turn for that positive influence, reach out to your medical weight loss doctor. Joining a weight loss support group might be the strategy you are looking for to stay positive despite negative surroundings.
Nick
Nick's Story
"I wish I would have come here first. We spend all our time reacting to the next great weight loss tip or program. It might work for a while, but does not last and we end up yo-yoing from one fad to the next – as we gain more weight." Read More
Gina
Lost 44.5 lbs
"I had no trouble adhering to the meals and they really helped catapult my progress! The classes were so beneficial to me because they helped change my thinking about how I viewed health, nutrition, and fitness.
I will always have my relationship with Scottsdale Weight Loss Center. They truly helped me change my life forever." Read More
Lauren
Lost 60 lbs
"Dr. Ziltzer and everyone who I have come in contact with at the Scottsdale Weight Loss office have been so encouraging and I look forward to seeing them each week. It is now a year and 2 months later since I started. I am down 60 lbs., which is the average amount a 9-year-old weighs, it is crazy to think I lost a whole person! I feel amazing, I hit my goal weight in November 2021 just before Thanksgiving. Nothing on my body hurts anymore..." Read More
Chuck
Lost 66 lbs
"The best thing I did was call the Scottsdale Weight Loss Center. I have a lot more energy, I'm not hungry, and it feels great.
You can take it from me that this is a program that produces results. The staff is always positive, supportive, and never judgmental.
Your visits always result in positive reinforcement, no matter if you had a good week or a bad week." Read More
Emily
Lost 101 lbs
"Here I am at the lowest I have been since high school weighing in at 155lbs. I have lost 101 lbs, BMI of 39 when I started, to 21.6, and of course at body fat % of 47.1 to 26.5%. I told myself by my 30th birthday I wanted to be confident in the way I look and I owe it all to SWLC. The entire staff is so welcoming and they are rooting for you just as much as you are rooting for yourself...." Read More
Reviews
Meet Our Team
Robert Ziltzer, MD, FACP, FAAP, FOMA
Obesity Medicine Certified Physician
Diana Bone, FNP-C
Specializing in Obesity Medicine
Craig Primack, MD, FACP, FAAP, MFOMA
Obesity Medicine Certified Physician
Kristen Ash, FNP-C, FNP-BC
Nurse Practitioner
Alicia Earley, FNP-C
Family Nurse Practitioner
