I’m almost there. I’ve almost caught up on this blogging challenge set by another participant on my weight loss program. I’ve dreamt of a future me; I’ve identified my strengths; and today I’m acknowledging my supports.

Week 3 – My greatest support

• Time to give a shout out! Who or what is your greatest support? Share the love! Give your thanks!
• Let’s take the time to recognise those in our life that keep us going day by day!
• Be grateful! Write it down!
• And then get brave. Share it with them. Pass it on.
• Let them know how much they mean to you.

Surprisingly I’ve found it almost as difficult to identify my supporters, as it was to highlight my strengths. It’s certainly given me pause for thought.

Go Deborah!

The easiest option is for me to say that my mother is my greatest support. And it isn’t a lie. I should say my parents are both great (though my father has a myriad of health issues, including vascular dementia which means he isn’t able to focus for long). I know my mother worries about my health and tries to be encouraging when it comes to weight loss, as she has been with me through fat and thin. When I was anorexic she bought books and joined societies to try to learn more about the disease. I know that she must be disappointed sometimes at ‘what’ I’ve become, but I also know she only wants what’s best for me and wants me to live a long and healthy life. As I don’t (and probably won’t) have a family of my own, my parents will continue to be my only family.

But… they live about 300km away, so aren’t readily available. We talk on the phone most days, but if I want to sit and cry, they can’t be there.

I have a few very close friends (who I have known for over 20 years). Again, they are all supportive of my (many) attempts to lose weight. Over the years they’ve been happy to have our catch-ups over a walk, or at diet-friendly locations. Indeed, two of my three closest friends are serial dieters themselves and very conscious of food and exercise. Over the past few years they’ve all partnered off and so I see less of them than I used to. That’s okay and I understand that they have other priorities, but – while they are no less supportive – they are less available. It is the same with my many other friends. It’s not that they don’t care, but they are all busy with their own lives and we catch up when we can.

My work colleagues all know I’m on this program and have commented on my weight loss (to date) and are all very encouraging. Indeed, when I bought a vanilla diet coke (after a month of no VDCs at work) one of my friends here tried to take it off me, lest I become its bitch again. (I promised it was a one-off, required as an emergency pick me up because of extreme tiredness, so she handed it over! It didn’t taste as amazing as I’d remembered. Very vanilla-y!)

So, there you have it. I am surrounded by well-wishers. And I am SO lucky that I have no saboteurs which I read about on the Forums, Facebook, Twitter and the like. I’ve dealt with them before (when I was less fat and more of a threat). Perhaps I am (physically) so far gone now that people seriously worry about my health and want me to lose weight. Whatever…

But bizarrely, what’s occurred to me as I’ve had to write this is that the people I’ve identified above AREN’T actually with me on this journey. Day after day. They’re there for a, “How’s it going?” when I arrive at work, or in an email or status update. My folks like to know I’m staying on track when I speak to them and I felt some obligation to confess to them on the occasion I overdid the wine and skipped the exercise.

So, it comes down to this…. In all honestly, I have to say my greatest supporters are you. All. Those that read this, whether you comment or not. Just the act of writing this I find incredibly cathartic. I don’t think it’s fair on my elderly parents to complain to them incessantly. I don’t have a partner and live alone, so I tend to pour myself into this blog day after day. I’m finding incredibly camaraderie from those on the program that I’m linking with in person (at the two training sessions I’ve attended) or via FB and Twitter.

So, thank you everyone. YOU are my biggest supporters and I want you to know how much I really appreciate that.