Roadblocks and Support for Weight Management

You may remember me asking you to fill out a survey from the post Obesity: Shame & Blame Needs to Change in an effort to open up the discussion around obesity and weight management.

Turns out that over half of the respondents (more than 1,100 total!) have been concerned about being overweight and the health concerns around it for more than a decade. The good news is more than 60% have spoken to their healthcare provider about weight management, and of these respondents, 34% felt supported in their efforts for a healthy lifestyle and validated in their health concerns.

Okay, so what stops us from successful weight management?

Too much stress (57%)

No kidding. As a mother, I can speak from personal experience that this is how my self-care gets booted to the bottom of the to-do list. Between meals, laundry, bath time, bedtime, snack time, grocery shopping, cleaning, and general care for people other than me, I’m pooped. By the end of the day, I just want to sit in front of the t.v. with a salty sweet assortment with no one touching me.

Lack of time to exercise (56%)

See list above. I suppose I can fit in some exercise once I’m finished the laundry and preparing food for everyone. That’s ten past never.

Inadequate sleep (48%)

In the evenings when I’ve carved out 16 seconds of ‘me time’ when everyone is in bed, I plan to get up an hour earlier the next morning to have a brisk run. In the morning, I lie in bed and think that right after dinner is a better time for a walk. I was relieved to hear that I’m not the only one who is dead tired and doesn’t feel like a jaunt around the block.

So what do we do?

It looks like one key is the We need to stock up on certain people. I like to break it down this way:

Emotional people

These are the people who give you the pep talk when you think you can’t do it, the ones who back you up when a co-worker is trying to force feed you the sheet cake in the break room, the ones who cheer your progress without being threatened by it. The don’t have to be gym bunnies, they just have to ‘get it’.

Practical people

These are the ones who watch the kids while you exercise, the ones you hire to help you set goals, the ones who swap a load of laundry for the dog walk, the ones who deliver groceries. (I also need someone who guards my lunch until noon so I don’t eat it at 10 am.)

Inspiring people

These are the real or virtual people who you surround yourself with to keep your eye on the prize. The ones who you book the walk with so you know you’ll show up. They are the kick in the ass we all need to see that you can have a healthy lifestyle and be happy in it too.

Sure, this is one piece in a bigger puzzle, but it’s good to have this village in place when you start making real changes.

I’d love to know what your roadblocks and strategies are.

Is there anything that you do for successful weight management? While I have you here, you can also help by taking this survey – not only will it help the medical community understand the barriers around obesity, you’ll also receive further education on the topic and be entered for a chance to win 1 of 10 $50 VISA gift cards.

It takes less than 15 minutes to complete. Survey responses are anonymous and will be shared only in aggregate. Once you’ve completed the survey, you will be asked to provide your email address if you’d like to be entered into a drawing administered by SOMA Strategies to win 1 of 10 $50 VISA gift cards. If you choose to enter, your email address will not be sold, kept, or stored; email addresses are used only to randomly draw the winners and notify them of their prize.

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