The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Sides to Teaming Up for Weight Loss

The road to weight loss is difficult, and it can be lonely. Nobody wants to feel like an outcast at a gym, or even at a restaurant when you order your brown rice and vegetables. Teaming up with a friend, relative, or spouse to lose weight may be the answer to your problems, or it could just be the beginning of them. Here are the pros and cons to teaming up for weight loss.

Pro: Strength in numbers.
While some of us are trying to lose weight for health reasons, we would all like to look better. Going to the gym filled with people that have been working out for years can cause a huge blow to our self esteem. If you team up for weight loss with a friend or two, you are no longer in the minority.

Con: People are unpredictable.
Just when you feel as if you and your weight loss partner have developed a workout schedule that is right for both of you, they can back out for no reason, leaving you alone at the gym, once again. Hopefully, by this point you have met a few other people with workout partner potential.

Pro: Inspiration and Motivation.
With a weight loss partner, you both have someone to share the pain and pitfalls of dieting with. If one of the two of you feels like giving in to temptation, or skipping a workout,t he other weight loss partner can offer a pep talk or some words of motivation that can get you back on track.

Con:We all fall down.
If your weight loss partner cheats, you will feel compelled to cheat as well. If she starts slacking off at the gym and snacks between meals, you will not feel the same challenge to keep up. That is why it is very important to keep the lines of communication open, so that you can let your weight loss partner know that she is not holding up her end of the bargain.

Pro: I want to grow up to be just like you.
The rate at which everyone loses weight varies, so it is inevitable that either you or your weight loss partner will shed the pounds quicker than the other. This can make you realize that weight loss is possible, as well as give you something to aspire to.

Con: The green-eyed monster of jealousy.
You know in your heart that you have been working every bit as hard as your weight loss partner, but are losing weight at a much slower rate. In a fit of envy you may feel like you are never going to achieve your goals, and that life is just not fair. You have to remember that no, life is not fair, and everyone of us is different, so is the way that we lose pounds.

Pro: It's Celebration Time!!!
The best thing about teaming up for weight loss is having someone else know exactly how far that you have come. When someone has been by your side, sharing every success as well as minor failure, it makes achieving your weight loss goal that much sweeter.

Con: It's celebration time, again.
When you have a partner in weight loss that wants to celebrate every one pound weight loss victory with a large supreme pizza, this can wreak havoc on your willpower, and possibly cause the ultimate failure...weight gain. If you and your weight loss partner decide that a celebration is in order, do it with new shoes, or an item of clothing that will look great on the new, smaller you.

Pro: A positive attitude.
If you and your weight loss partner both maintain positive attitudes throughout the weight loss process, life will be great. It is so much easier to stay motivated and focused when you look at diet and exercise as a fun kind of challenge.

Con: The negative side.
If your weight loss partner is always complaining that the diet is too strict, or the exercises too hard, this can bring you down as well. It is really difficult to keep your goals in mind when all you hear are complaints.

As with everything in life, there are positives and negatives. If you and your weight loss partner do your best to keep one another motivated, avoid negativity, and praise each other often, your weight loss journey will be a success.