Social Support & Weight Loss

Getting the support of family and friends can be as important to a diet as calories and fat grams. Weight loss on the buddy system is more effective and more fun.

Why Support Works

• You're headed out to dinner with your family when the question of where to go comes up. Your husband wants a steak, while the kids want cheeseburgers and pizza. You just started a diet and the weight loss has been slow. You suggest a buffet with a salad bar. Your family looks at you and everyone makes a face. McBurgers it is.

  Getting the support of your friends, and especially your family, can be crucial when attempting any kind of weight loss program. It is important to feel as if you are not alone in the struggle. Your family can encourage you when they see you reaching for a cookie instead of an apple. Your wife can make sure there are lots of high-protein, low-fat snacks available for you to take to lunch. Compromise can be reached when deciding where to go for an evening out.

  Friends can offer other kinds of support. Dieting and exercising together can create a common bond, strengthening a friendship. Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom suggests on her Health Journal website that finding someone who can help you stay motivated is essential when you get discouraged. "Support from a diet buddy is key to long-term success," she says.

Benefits of Support

• Social support benefits the dieter on several levels. The first is a psychological level. John Sheridan, a professor of oral biology and molecular virology/immunology at Ohio State University, says that socially isolated people are hit harder by illness than people with an active social life, and that those who are alone more even get sick more often and have more trouble recovering. It's hard to stick with an exercise program when you're in bed.

  In addition to psychological benefits, in an article in the July 31, 1998, issue of Ohio State University's Research News, Sheridan points out that emotional support can actually affect us on a cellular level, increasing our body's ability to withstand stress. And everyone knows how stressful dieting can be!

Types of Diet Support

• If buddying up for an afternoon of "Sweatin' to the Oldies" isn't your cup of tea, perhaps you'd benefit from a more structured form of support. Weight loss programs such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig offer a more formal approach, while exercise classes allow you to increase your aerobic activity with others while maintaining more social distance.

  If all you need is a place to vent or get help, there are a number of free online support groups, such as www.SparkPeople.com and www.EverydayHealth.com. For a small membership fee, you can get additional support from sites such as www.TheBestLife.com or www.WeightWatchers.com.

  If you think your weight problem is caused by an addiction, get professional help from a therapist certified in eating disorders or go to www.OA.org.

Where to Find Support

• Start with your family, or the people you live with. Get their support in your efforts. Then, if you need it, enlist the help of at least one friend.

  Dr. Robert Kushner, a professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, found that people who dieted with their dog lost more weight than people who didn't have a canine buddy. The dogs lost weight too.

  Whether your weight loss buddy has flesh, fur or offers you her monitor to cry on, finding diet support will help shed those pounds faster.

What to Watch Out For

• Be leery of friends who offer support, but are actually envious of your results. Beware the friend who bemoans her own weight loss failure when you mention your success. These friends can bring you down.

  Another red flag is a "friend" who suggests you celebrate by breaking your diet, or who uses shame to try to motivate you. Feeling ashamed of slow progress is the surest way back to the cookie jar.