No one gets in the way of your goals!

There's nothing more frustrating than someone telling you "You're not good enough." What's more frustrating is when people don't acknowledge your achievements when you have been working so hard towards your goals. We all need a little affirmation while we're achieving our goals, even the small steps are important to be acknowledged -- whether that's stepping on a scale and watching the number drop three pounds from last week, making the choice to go for a walk instead of eating that cookie, or going to a movie and choosing not to have butter on your popcorn. Not everybody recognizes how important those things are to us. What's worse, sometimes people sabotage you and the self esteem that you've been working so hard to create for yourself by doing things like taunting you with treats at work because they think it's funny to watch you squirm.  

Discovering ways to deal with those situations head-on, instead of letting them sabotage your hard work is key! People have no idea how effective encouragement and discouragement are. Here are ways I deal with those discouraging comments:

1. Cry hysterically right in front of them to induce remorse for their actions. (Joking!)
2. Every time they say something to sabotage you or ask you "why" you are doing this, tell them "My success tastes better than any food you can put in front of me!"
3. Tell them "I'm proud of my success and I hope you can be proud of me too. Regardless, my success is my own and not something you can take for me." (Repeat that last part to yourself over and over again.)  As silly as it sounds, people are caught off guard by honesty, something they aren't expecting when they are just "joking around."
4. Stay focused on why you are working towards health, not why they are saying those things to you.

Feel free to add your own ways to deal with nay-sayers in the comments below. We can all benefit from the experiences of others...

If you know someone that struggles with weight loss, cholesterol, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes or sleep apnea, I can help!  Please contact me at HealthyandFitLife@gmail.com