Your Support Group
 

The importance of a support group cannot go understated. On my first page, I recommended telling someone about your goals and enlisting their support. This is not only my recommendation, but the entire genesis behind many diet programs like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, et. al. With these groups, you go to meetings and discuss your progress with others that are dieting just like you. Though these may work for some people, a weekly get together to discuss how it's going seems archaic and mundane to me. Dieting for health reasons isn't a "religion" requiring a weekly visit to "church." Furthermore, a weekly check-in doesn't make sense to me as a way of staying on track. To best stay on track, I prefer a more frequent check-in - at least daily. To make a radical change in lifestyle through how you look at food, my recommendation is to build your support group closer to home - in fact, it starts in the home. I highly recommend getting support from those with whom you live first. Then enlist others who love you - family members, friends, etc. Tell them what you are up to and get their help in keeping you on track. With that in mind, here is my support group:

Kat, my wife:

Kat has been awesome throughout this whole diet thing. She is actually the one that bought the books and laid them out for me to see. She never told me I had to do the diet, only said she would help if I chose to try it. Once I had read the book and decided to run with it for health reasons, she was there for me every single day! She helped plan meals, shopped for "diet-friendly" foods and made most of my meals. She used the Good Carbs - Bad Carbs guide and adjusted family favorite foods to be diet friendly for me. She also created some new family favorites by looking for variety in good foods I could enjoy yet stay on plan. In her support of me, she has never nagged me, just encouraged as I made choices in my meals and snacks. She has been extremely proud of my progress and showed it by recommending this diet to others, using me as a poster-child. I cannot say enough about how thankful I am for everything she has done to help me with this diet plan. Yes, I am the one that stuck to the diet even when she wasn't with me, but she's the one that gave me the support on a daily basis that made my progress possible. Again, thanks Honey for all your help. I love you too.

Elizabeth, my daughter:

Elizabeth was the one who first recommended the South Beach Diet book to my wife. Beth is an avid dieter, has tried numerous diets and found this one to be the easiest. Elizabeth lives many miles away from us. Her support of my diet has been in email, phone, and most recently in my comments section of this site. She has watched my diet log and made recommendations along the way. She has also expressed her pride in what I've achieved - it's great when your adult children are proud of something you have worked hard on.

Tom, a friend I've never met:

Tom is a guy that lives in Canada. I've never met him in person, but have spoken on the phone and in email. He is actually a close internet friend of Kat's and through this diet journey, has joined my very short list of friends as well. Due to health reasons and Kat's encouragement, he started on South Beach a couple of weeks behind me. He religiously reads my diet site and often sends encouraging remarks. He is actually the reason I put my log online instead of having it in Excel spreadsheets on my computer. In support of his starting the diet, I put it online where he could read my menu for ideas of things to eat and to watch my progress. He has done very well on this plan and continues to encourage me while seeking encouragement from Kat and I in return. Friends helping friends. As Martha would say, "It's a good thing."

Friends, Co-workers, Clients:

Other friends, co-workers and clients have helped by noticing the weight loss and making positive comments. They weren't brought in on my goals and therefore didn't know what I was up to until the weight loss started to show. This is one of the side benefits of getting healthier in your daily diet. People around you that don't even know you are dieting will notice the weight loss and make positive comments. Find your own support group. Share your goals and your progress with them. Let them help if they are willing. It is very important as we go through life - whether it's a diet, a job, or any other type of life change, that you set goals and enlist help. We humans are a social creature. We require help and acceptance from each other. If you are dieting, use this to your advantage. Don't be afraid of failure to achieve goals. Set them realistically and share them with those that will help you achieve them. As you make progress toward your goals, share that progress. If you slip, let them know that too. I want to thank each and every member of my support group from the bottom of my heart. You guys have been there for me and I hope you feel as though I've been there for you as well.