Congratulations! You fought the war against fat and won! You are now, healthier, happier and lighter than you’ve ever been and can’t wait to share it with everyone. But before you go off into the world spouting workoutisms to anyone that will listen, be sure to not overstep your newly slimmed bounds in a way that will discourage or put off others, and definitely not in a way that makes the new you look like a bad scary film. Check out these three personalities you don’t want to take on post weight loss, so your success story doesn’t become a nightmare.
The Food Police
So you learned to put down the double cheese burger and eat more veggies, that does not mean you have now earned a degree in nutritional science and keep tabs on everything the people around you put into their mouths. Not only is it an extremely annoying and obnoxious habit, but the diet restrictions that worked for you, may not work for those around you. We are all built differently and while you can suggest certain foods, policing someone’s meals can actually end up doing more harm than in many ways. They can start to resent you and eat bad foods out of spite or your well intentioned dietary menu could actually cause adverse side effects since their body may not work like yours. Instead of policing, be supportive. Encourage them to eat better and offer to workout with them, but other than that keep your flashlight cop antics to yourself.
The Mean Ex-Fat Person
You’ve beat the bulge and now play for the other team, but that doesn’t give you card blanche to go around poking fun at those still left in the struggle. Just because you lost weight doesn’t give you the right to go all Mean Ex Fatty on your friends and family (Remember Kelly Osbourne getting catty about Christina Aguilera’s newly expanded waistline?) and criticize they way they look or dress. Remember what it felt like when you were in their shoes and losing weight seemed like a fairytale. Stay humble and offer encouragement when you can and remember, just because you’re slim today, doesn’t mean you’ll be slim tomorrow.
The “I’m Skinny Now” Person
Being skinny doesn’t mean that you can throw out all that organic food and bring back all the junk. If you thought getting slim was hard, maintaining it (especially as you age) is even harder. You still need to eat right, workout and push for a healthy lifestyle everyday in order to keep the fat at bay and your health on track. So no your new size 4 jeans don’t mean it’s time for a greasy burger party, it means you’ve earned the right to indulge a bit, but always in conjunction with a workout routine and always in moderation. Can’t have that long lost weight finding you again!