Give Your Diet a Pick Me Up

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

18 Apr 2006 07:49 AM

When it comes to dieting, it's all the little moments that matter. When my husband went on Atkins the first time, it was very difficult to balance meals around his new diet. Especially when our daughter was not going to be eating the same things. We could have handled it two ways, made him prepare his own meals and eat alone or work it out together.

He has often said the biggest reason he was successful is that I worked with him. I learned how to prepare Atkins friendly meals that I could add one or two items to for our daughter. We could share those meals together and he never felt isolated. Because I could help him with his diet, he was able to maintain his diet with greater ease.

Another way to give your diet a pick me up is to educate yourself and your spouse to the requirements. You both need a cheerleader. You need to applaud the successes he or she makes and they need to be able to applaud yours.

How you react when something positive occurs to your spouse is as important as how you react when something negative does. It's important to not be taken for granted. Don't assume that your spouse knows you are proud of them. Tell them you are proud. Don't assume they understand how hard something is. Let them know about the difficulties you face.

For example, whenever someone is trying to give up a bad habit whether it's smoking, coffee or ice cream - having an understanding spouse is how you pave the way for success. You need to listen to the entire diatribe if they are complaining about what they are giving up or if they are describing a problem they are having.

Don't cut them short. Don't cut them off. It doesn't matter if you've heard it a dozen times. What matters is that you listen this time. That you hear them. That you praise them. That you support them.

That's one of the best diet pick-me-ups available to us.

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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