Losing body fat is a tough job. So having a cheering section helps a lot when the going gets tough. However many people complain of a lack of support. The Journal of Nutrition, Education and Behavior studied spousal support in relation to diet and found that people who were changing their eating habits had partners whose emotional reactions included skepticism, guilt, and anger. When you are working to lose weight you need to keep in mind that you are not just changing eating habits but you are also affecting your self perception and the perceptions he or she has of themselves. Remember too that change is easy…living with change, especially if you are an affected spouse, is challenging. Here are some tips for enlisting that special someone's support.

No Surprises: Suddenly announcing you're going to make changes in the quality and volume of your nutrition is going to be about as welcome as an OSU fan at a Michigan party. Plan ahead so that your change day is a few days in advance. Make the specific reasons for your adjustments clear and factual.

Talk about them in a positive way: Emotionally negative spouses may feel that the changes are really about them not you. You may be ready for something different but your spouse may not be. Stay firm in your desire to lead a healthful and happier life and seek your spouses support and involvement. Find things, like massages (see the last blog entry) that they can help you with so they feel they are part of your achievement.

Identify potential areas of conflict and propose fixes: You both have to be realistic. Your partner may lose their ice cream but if you get near a refrigerator with ice cream in it you gain 10 lbs. My husband and I have run into this problem. I have pretty good self control…but I really like ice cream. He's cut back on ice cream and if he gets it he picks flavors he likes but I don't much care for like chocolate (Yuck!) Some new meal choices may get introduced when you adopt a more nutritious diet. That's good anyway as its easy to get into a food rut. Nutritional variety is essential to good nutrition and keeping your diet interesting. You may enlist your spouse's support by asking them to find a healthy, delicious new recipe that's easy to fix. You may even talk them into fixing it! The important thing is to anticipate any rubs and talk about how you want to handle them…in advance.