How can I motivate my sister to lose weight? She is around 100 kgs and has 2 young children. She really wants to lose weight but lacks the willpower. I try to encourage her to make healthier choices when we get together but she always goes for soft drink over water, fast food etc. It's getting me down because I know how much she wants and needs to lose weight but she is still making the wrong choices. I have recently lost 20kgs after having my first child and at 70kgs am still overweight so I am trying to get fit and healthy so I will live to see my child grow up! I know she has to make the decision for herself but is there anything I can say to motivate and encourage her? And how do I avoid eating bad food when I go to her house when temptation is right in front of me?
9 Replies
I am overweight too and she won't lose weight until she wants to. Maybe you could have catchups as a walk in the park, that way you are getting exercise while catching up. Also before you go for a visit make sure you eat before you go so you aren't hungry.
I agree, and people 'encouraging' me pushes me into wanting the bad food more. This is her journey let her lead it
Sorry but I agree you can't say or do anything that will help her loose weight. I have been trying for years to help my dad and sister loose weight but nothing worked. My sister has finally started eating better and exercising but that's because she finally decided she was ready to make the commitment. I also know when anyone said anything to me about my eating habits or laziness it just made me worse. I think you just need to support her journey and positively encourage her when she does make the right decisions. Stay strong with temptation that way you might continue to be a role model for her.
Until she makes the decision to lose weight, she never will no matter how much you encourage her. Willpower comes with ownership of your situation.
With how you avoid eating when you go to her house, make sure you eat beforehand. If she offers you food, just say sorry I ate before I came. Or take a healthy snack with you and offer her some.
Try suggesting taking the children for a walk with you and say I will.look after one and you can watch the other while out
Is there anything she enjoys or used to enjoy, like dancing, yoga, running, ridding etc? You guys could do that together. Its both fun and you keep each other company. Perhaps joining agym together to you can motivate each other. If moneys tight then put the kids in prams or on bikes, walk to the park let the kids play and walk back again, even if its once a week or fortnight. Suggest light and easy as an alternative if eating healthy is hard for her. As for going to her house, bake something healthy,or make a fruit platter nsay the fruit will go off soon if its not eaten soyou brought it to share
Keep doing what you're doing, make healthy choices and lead by example, look after yourself - when she's ready she will ask for help if she needs it. Don't push her.
My sister and I had both struggled with our weight through our 20's - both getting to a high point of about 90kg. She lost 30kg over the course of about 18 months. When my daughter was born she was back to about a size 10. It took me until my daughter was nearly 2 to get in mindset to lose weight, despite the fact that she bad done it and I was really jealous of her. I took some of her tips but did it on my own and over the following year I lost 22kg.
While the health risks are real and I know she would feel better if she lost weight, it is really hard to get started and you've got to really want it.
You could be my sister. ;) my sister is a pt and has been encouraging me for ages! It has only been recently that I have made the decision to do something about it, nobody could make me, but having her as my constant support and encouragement has helped me more than I can say :) All you can do is be there for when she I ready xox
It is hard to get motivated when the figure that you need to lose is overwhelming. I have lost 22kg and my motivation was that no clothes I owned fitted me anymore. I did it by cutting sugar out of my diet and stopped snacking, but years ago when I really needed to lose some weight and the amount was overwhelming I went to the doctors. They perscribed me Duramine, it worked really fast and gave me the motivation to keep going. Some people will say that it's not good to take pills to lose weight, but it really does give you the motivation once you start seeing results!!!! Tell her to speak to her doctor and they will tell her if this is something she can do.