Muffin Top-Less

I am often asked how to deal with friends and family who don’t understand the desire to eat healthy and exercise. Honestly, it can be rough at first. What you need to keep in mind though is that it’s natural for people to be wary of things they don’t completely understand. When you decide to change your lifestyle to something of a healthier nature, be prepared for people to question and criticize you and perhaps even make fun of you. Some on the other hand will be there to encourage you along your journey.

Here are a few tips I have for those of you going through this:

• Lead by example - make healthy food, eat healthy food, exercise, be positive. By showing people that you enjoy your life and the things you do, they will be more likely to understand.
• Explain when asked - if people don’t get why you’re skipping dessert or choosing grilled over fried, be prepared to explain that you want to put only good things in your body. It’s the only one you have, so you’re treating it well.
• Be patient - it may take your friends and family some time to adjust to this “new you”.. but so long as you give them time and remain patient with them, it’s more likely as time wears on that they will come to accept, and perhaps even join your new, healthy way of living!

Be prepared for some people to never accept this. As hard as it is to hear… you may come to find that some people in your life truly weren’t your friends to begin with. I myself discovered this… When I stopped raging every day and didn’t want to grab Taco Bell and lounge around on the couch all day, there were people who not only made fun of me and criticized me, they virtually disappeared from my life. In the end though, I’m thankful for this. It made it much easier to weed out the ones who were genuinely happy for me and WANTED me to be happy and healthy… and those that just wanted me to keep them entertained and make them feel better about their OWN lives.

Be strong, stay positive <3