by Judith Schnee (Judith Lynn Schnee)

Created on: May 24, 2009

Unless a person asks for advice, it would be like treading on ice to advise someone to lose weight. Although your motives could be admirable, such as the health of a person, advice can be miscontrued as pushing someone to lose weight before he or she is ready. Indeed, it is quite a challenge to lose weight, whether your trying to lose fifteen or fifty pounds. It can't be done by diet or exercise alone; they have to form a partnership of sorts. Another drawback is the chance that you could lose a friend. Although well-meaning, advice to lose weight would be like telling a friend he or she is fat.

A surefire way to lose weight would be setting up short-term and long-term goals. An example would be the wedding of a son or daughter. Speaking from experience, it can be done. It can take from six months to a year or two to get to your desired weight, but it is well worth the effort. Of course, once the short-term goal is reached, such as looking good in a mother-of-the bride/groom dress, you can not backtrack to the weight you were. I believe everyone, female or male, can keep the weight off by watching their nutrition and by almost daily exercise. Playing a sport, such as tennis, could also be helpful.

Losing weight is a mind/body experience. When a person sees himself or herself in the mirror, or tries on clothes that have "suddenly shrunk", it will be very obvious to the person that something needs to be done. No friend will have to offer advice, because it will be so obvious that the person will probably choose to lose (very punny!) If asked for advice on how you have lost weight, I believe it is okay to tell about your experience. Be there for a friend who says he or she needs help, but don't cross the line by being pushy. Only answer questions that are asked of you. Be gentle in your appoach. Instead of saying, I think you should, you can say "this is what I did".

Motivation is key! Devising one's own diet and exercise plan takes work, and following it isn't easy, but it can be done. Maintaining the plan needs to be a life-long experience. This new way of doing things will become easier after a period of time. After a while, it will become a natural part of his or her life to follow this plan. The underlying benefits will be better health, easier breathing and suddenly finding clothes that have "expanded mysteriously" in your closet.

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