by Heidi Hauptly

Created on: May 22, 2009   Last Updated: May 25, 2009

I have helped someone try and lose weight and with failed success it turned out to be a flop. When this happens you begin to wonder if it was you or if it was the person who was trying to lose weight. First ask yourself do they really want to loose weight and if so how hard are they willing to go to get where they need to be? You can't force them to lose weight. They have to want to. Just like you have to do with yourself. Starting with yourself is one of the biggest places to start. If you can't even help yourself to lose weight what business do you have trying to help someone else?

Just because you can lose weight does not mean someone else can do it. What you do as far as the exercise and diet may not work for someone else. If you did your cardio by aerobics an lost weight that way the person you are helping may not find any result in that. They may have to try something like water aerobics, running or walking. Once they find what works for them then you can offer to do the workout of their choice with them. Kind of be their personal trainer only on a much cheaper scale because you probably would not charge them anything because you know them.

Make sure that if they are doing cardio twenty to thirty minutes three times per week, you have them add in some light weight lifting. They will start to get stronger and build a less chance for bone loss. Once they have the exercise down then you need to encourage them to try new foods. They may have been eating somewhat healthy but we can all do better in that department. Take them to a farmer's market in the area or to the grocery store and show them the organic section and have them pick out a few things they might like to try. Picking leaner cuts of meat or a higher percentage of meat with less fat is a great way to start. Adding in some chicken and turkey is also a great way to help in their journey.

Now that you have the workout in place and the eating in place what do you have to worry about right? You cannot do the workout for them. You also can't put the healthy foods in their mouth for them. Remind them they need to eat three meals and two snacks. They need to be eating every three hours small snacks and small meals. Try and not to get discouraged if they fail and do not succeed in their weight loss and eating habits. If they really want to do this they will. You can just help them in their journey by offering to work out with them and cook or eat the healthy foods with them to get them started. It's much harder to do it on their own but they have to in the end.

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