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Of all your friends, pick the one you trust the most.
Choose to tell this
most trusted friend about your weight loss goals when you are not with
everyone else. For example, a good time may be when you two are walking
home from school together. A bad time to talk about it may be at the lunch
table.
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Write down on a piece of paper all the
reasons you want to lose weight.
List as many as you can think of. List
all the reasons that are important to you. This can help your friend
understand WHY you want to lose weight. You can even show your friend your
height and weight on the
weight
calculator.
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Tell your friend specific ways she can
support your weight loss. Maybe you find it
helpful for her to not eat certain foods around you. Or, maybe you may
find it easier to not hang out at the fast food place anymore. Maybe
you do not want her making comments
about your food choices. Think long and hard about what can help or hurt
your weight
loss. You can share these along the way too.
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Don't be shy! Share your success with your buddies.
When you hit a goal,
let them know it. Let them see how happy you are to be meeting your goals.
They will see how important this is to you and will be even more likely to
support you.
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Your friends may find it fun to do exercise
with you...whether or not they know you are doing it to help lose weight.
Start a walking club or a neighborhood basketball tournament.
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Are your friends at an unhealthy weight too? If they
are, do not pressure them to lose weight too...that is their choice. They
may want to change too just by
watching you get healthier and more active. If they say they are looking to lose weight
too, be weight loss buddies.
You can support each other!
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There is a chance that one or more of your friends
will not understand why you want to lose weight.
They may try to
tempt you with foods or otherwise try to get you to mess up. When this
happens, let them know right away how this does not help you. If this does not
work, stick to other topics around them. Just discuss your weight loss
with those you trust most.
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If your friends do not support you,
consider getting help through other people. Your parents may provide
support.
Click
here for ways to discuss weight loss with them. Also, come by the chat
room and bulletin boards on this site. There are thousands of people here
looking for the same support. Lastly, consider chatting with your school
counselor or religious leader. They may have ways to give your support and
guidance.
We all know weight
loss is tough. It takes support from many people to eat healthy and
exercise everyday. Many kids and teens say they are embarrassed to tell their friends
about their weight loss wishes. Here are some tips to help you get the
support you need from your friends:
