My Support System

I've been thinking a lot about support and how important it is to a weight loss journey recently and I really want to get these thoughts out.


I'm no stranger to losing weight, in fact I'd say over the years I've gotten pretty good at it. Problem is, I'm even better at putting it on!
When I reflect on the most successful attempts I've had at losing weight there are two that spring to mind.


- When I was 18 I got to 84kg and saw a photo of myself with what looked like a tyre around my hips... It was just fat. I was so embarrassed about admitting I had a weight problem (like people couldn't guess or anything...) that I spent a month plucking up the courage to tell my mum that I wanted to join weight watchers (I lived at home in my first year of Uni to cut costs, so I knew it would affect the meals she prepared for me and wanted to run it by her first). To my surprise, she was 100% supportive and even promised not to tell anyone until I was ready for people to know (never!). I got down to my healthy weight range and hit 72kg before it stopped working I gave up and slowly put it all on again. But Mum was brilliant. She had done weight watchers before so she dug out her old cookbooks and every night would tell me how many points were in my dinner. She would try to keep the cupboard stocked with healthy snacks and I'm pretty sure she'd sneakily try to feed my brothers their high-fat dinners (how is it that my brothers have the opposite problem to me!?) while I was out walking the dog each night. I feel a little guilty now that I've written this that I never took the time to thank her and appreciate what she did for me.


- This time last year I got over my depression by realising I needed to look after myself better and create a life I wanted to live, rather than one I endured. A friend who had been through a similar situation really helped me. She texted me each day to ask how I was going and even came for walks with me and was always interested in my weight loss journey. 


These two successes, while short lived, both had common factors. I communicated my needs to another person who I trusted, and that person supported me through what is, at times, a difficult process.


Which brings me to this time around. Sometime in the week between Christmas and New Year I looked at Boyfriend and sort of whispered "I can't get married looking like this, I just can't. I'm so angry with myself". Then I cried. He cuddled me and said once all the visitors and celebrating is out of the way he is sure I can succeed at this and we will put things in place to make that happen. He made me make a list of fast food that fits into a low calorie diet so he doesn't suggest or go to any others with me, and we then came up with strategies for dealing with our high risk times - normally after work when we're really tired. So now we will always have a McCain's pizza in the freezer as a back up plan!


His support over the last 7 days has been nothing short of phenomenal. He's found me biggest loser episodes to watch even though he hates the show, he's walked with me without complaint even though he isn't a fan of that either, he's eaten every healthy meal I've cooked (including one particularly awful failure which tasted horrific) without complaint, and gotten out of bed early to hit the farmers market with me on Saturday morning (totally denying his love of sleeping in). I know that tomorrow when I see my first weigh in result he will be interested and happy for me.


That's how I know this will be a success. Not only am I in the right head space and finally ready to make the change, but I have the most amazing person supporting me and to give up when the going gets tough would just throw it back in his face. I owe it to him to tell him when things are getting hard, and I know he'll be there for me. This change affects his life a lot, and he's embraced the change with open arms. 


I have so much to be grateful for with that man!