Your Weight Loss Support Team

When you're ready to start a weight loss diet one of the most important things to include in the plan is your support team. A weight loss support team will help cheer you on during the good times and will help pull you through the rough spots. Having a good support team in place can mean the difference between reaching your weight loss goals and giving up. Here are some tips for putting together a great support team.


Choose your team now. The best time to get support is before you begin your weight loss program. Picking who you want to have support you now will help you avoid reaching out to the wrong people later on. Ask your team members if they will support you throughout your entire process.

Pick positive members only. Your support team needs to be made up of people who love and support you no matter what. There is no room for doubters or negative personalities. You definitely don't want any spoilers on your team. Only consider people who really believe in you and will give you the help you need when you call on them.

Pick dependable people. You want to have people on your team who you can call up at midnight when you're having a bad diet day. The purpose of the team is to help you with your weight loss – they need to believe in you even when you don't seem to believe in yourself anymore. They simply won't give up on you and they won't let you give up on yourself.

Lose the haters. You'll probably have people in your life who say they believe in you but really have their doubts. These people may ignore you, put you down or even try to sabotage you. There is no room for these people on your weight loss team. No matter who they are they can't be a part of it.

Give them the rules. Sit down with your support team members and explain exactly what you need from them. If you call them crying that you want to give up your diet you need them to be strong and give you a pep talk. If you are out to eat with them you need them to help you make good food choices. Whatever you need be clear so that they can prepare for their roles.

Vary your support personnel. Just like a football team doesn't use all the star players at once you want to reserve some of your team for specific roles. Know what roles each of your friends will be best at and then ask them to play that position.

Additional support. In addition to certain friends and family members you can also get outside support as well. Look for local or online weight loss support groups and forums where you can get and give the help that is needed through the various stages. Support groups can be very helpful since they are somewhat anonymous in nature.