One important aspect of weight loss that many people fail to take into account is the impact your weight loss efforts will have on your family AND the impact your family will have on your weight loss efforts.  My last blog post, 5 Easy Ways to Sabotage Your Weight Loss Efforts, touched on the fact that you can’t rely on willpower alone.  You will need your family’s support and they will need your support in return.. 

Through my experience and the luxury of 20/20 hindsight,  I am hoping to shine the spotlight on some major areas where your chances of sustained weight loss success can be increased when it comes to your family’s impact on your progress.  Just as with anything else, your weight loss effort isn’t all about you.  You also need to be mindful of the impact your efforts will have on your family’s lifestyle. 

Family Factor 1:  Food Choice

One of your primary objectives of choosing a meal plan that will promote long term weight loss should be to insure that your family will be able to participate with you.  Don’t mistake that statement as meaning they would have to follow your plan exactly as you do but your food choices should be conducive to the overall family lifestyle.

For some, this is quite a challenge.  If your family is used to having junk food in the pantry, it is very likely that you’re going to meet with some resistance should you attempt to immediately banish the “bad stuff”.  After all, it is you that is trying to lose weight and it was your decision to do so…not theirs.  Your stuck in a quandary of sorts.  If you keep the junk food readily available, you are more likely to indulge.  If you get rid of it, you are likely to have to deal with the wrath of your family!  So, what are you to do?

Just as with yourself, shocking your family into submission by a sudden and drastic lifestyle change is, more than likely, not going to be successful.  A meal plan that involves changing everything about your eating habits all at once just isn’t as sustainable as one that works to break bad habits and form good habits over time.  If it isn’t sustainable for you, how sustainable do you think it will be for your family?  Not very.

Here is my suggestion:  have a plan to slowly introduce healthy alternatives to the junk.  The first week, it could be as simple as switching out pretzels for the high-calorie chips.  The next week, switch out the Rocky Road ice cream with a carb-sensitive brand or a sorbet.  Don’t make it all broccoli and Brussels sprouts from the start.

A diet isn’t a sprint…it is a marathon and should be treated as such.  The sooner you realize this, the better your chances of long term success.

Family Factor 2: Physical Activity

Just as with the food factor, the physical activity factor can prove to be a very big hill to climb.  I can’t assume that everyone that is dealing with weight issues has an inactive family but the odds are good that this is the case.  Just as I can’t make the aforementioned assumption, neither can you make the assumption that your family is willing to get off the couch and move.

Is it absolutely essential that your family become active to help you succeed?  Honestly, I’d have to say not really but it can help quite a bit.  What is important, however, is that should they wish to join you in physical activities, they need to be activities everyone is interested in. 

I made the mistake of trying to persuade my wife join me in lifting weights.  She was not at all interested in it.  I thought that the more I shared the benefits of weight lifting with her, she would eventually see the light.  My insistence was detrimental to my cause of promoting a more active family.  The more I pushed, the more she resisted.  In the end, it did more harm than good by causing hurt feelings and frustration.

If you need some ideas on how to get your family active in a fun way, you can read my post, 10 FUN Activities to Promote Family Fitness.

Family Factor 3:  Your Physical Changes

This factor is a bit tougher to approach than the other two factors.  This is primarily and issue between you and your spouse.  As you lose weight, the changes in your physical appearance will become more and more noticeable. 

Obviously these changes won’t only be noticed by your spouse and therein lies the issue.  We would all like to think that our spouses would be supportive of these changes.  After all, through sickness and in health, right?

I really wish it worked this way all of the time.  In reality, there is another possible reaction other than the supportive one.  Unfortunately, it isn’t all roses and rainbows.

There is the possibility that your spouse will see the physical changes and become jealous.  If you are becoming more attractive to the opposite sex, self-preservation can kick in and your spouse’s support for your continued success can wain.  In a worst case scenario, it could lead to your spouse intentionally sabotaging your efforts.  Yes, it sucks…but it does happen.

So the question is how do you combat this?  Unfortunately, I can’t tell you excactly how to do this.  The best advice I can give is in this article…get them involved in your efforts where your success is a family success.   Your spouse will be more likely to continue his or her support of your efforts if they feel they are part of the solution and you aren’t trying to do it without them.

Do you have any examples of the family factors you’d like to share?  Please leave them in the comments below!