Does Tough Love Work?

Kristen

I had a tough love talk yesterday with a dear friend.  She has been struggling for almost 2 years now to lose over 100 pounds.  She does great for awhile, then a fun weekend here, a holiday there and the weight stops coming off.  

Anyhow, this talk is a long time coming and I'm hoping it was taken receptively, but I always second guess.  I've never had 100 lbs. to lose, though after each of my pregnancies I've had 50.  I don't see that as the same thing though but that is a story for another day.

The real question remains:  how much can a friend help another friend from the sidelines?  And how much hand holding is a good thing?

From the beginning of this friends journey we have worked out together at least 2x a week if not more.  It worked because we were at the Y where it's individual effort.  This summer, I stopped my membership to force myself to make all by workouts be outside.  At the end of the day, I am very lazy about running outside in 75 degree heat, if I could get on the elliptical for a quick hour in air conditioning.  So now the only time we can work out together is on the bike, which is fine, but neither one of us has a lot of time for that.  Let's face it-life happens.  

So how can we help friends from the sideline?  How do you stay motivated on a daily basis to keep at it no matter what the struggle?  How receptive are friends who have to hear the truth? And finally, does it matter-is the person really listening or is weight loss/exercise a personal journey?