How to get fit and loose weight without being an *kitten*.

I think most friends/family want to be supportive - but you almost need to feed them the right opportunities - Just tell them when you reach your goal weight or target clothes size - they probably don't want to know each time you lost a couple of lb.

Having people who recognise the importance of the small victories you have along the way is important too. Celebrating the extra notch on your belt buckle, having to put your jeans on the hot cycle to shrink them down half a size, running your first km without stopping - these are great achievements... I just think that MFP is the right place to talk about them
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Said perfectly!

I try not to be a preachy *kitten*, but casually throwing in some positive ideas can pay dividends. I mentioned at work that I'd tracked down the local council pool and gym, and a colleague joined be for a swim the next day. Now she and others are looking at trying some of the classes! No-one's offered to join me on a lunchtime run from my shower-free office yet, though...

I have come to the realization that the people in my life who are not supportive of my new lifestyle, probbly don't need to be in it! Many don't get the "I can't go for dinner and drinks tonight, I'm going to the gym" but my husband and kids are supportive and doing everything they can to encourage me, so that is all that matters to me. In some cases, supportive friends are doing things to help me be successful. Such as letting me chose the restaurant when we do go out, or making sure there are healthier options available to me. THESE are the people that will be with me whether or not I am being an *kitten* in training. :huh:

I think that anyone who truly gets to losing weight or into a fitness regimine knows that it takes a complete focus. Therefore, it becomes all one talks about. Those that knew the old us can be disappointed in not being as much a part of our world. Some may also (deep-down inside) wish that they had the inner strength to do the same. I don't want to say that others are jealous. I would rather say that human nature is to critcize anything or anyone who is different rather than change or accept.

well said!

Cheers. I have found the hard way that attempting to share all of this with others IRL just tends to annoy them.

I don't talk exercise anymore on Facebook or with any of my family - even when they try to engage me in conversation ha

To be honest it's created a rift between myself and some family members because quite frankly they are just down right rude when I was getting close to my goal weight (long story, gained back weight...UGH)
If I'd avoid eating a 2nd helping or sweets the snide "oh she's on a diet" comments started
I avoid many functions now b/c I fear I'll be unable to bite my tongue and say something really awful back

I have my MFP friends I talk to and some of the ladies I've known for quite a while on here, I even text with back & forth.

A very helpful post which has just got me re-setting my Facebook notifications. Thanks for sharing these tips.

First time I lost weight I was an *kitten*. I was so evangelical about it, talking to friends, family and strangers about healthy eating, calories and what exercises I did that day. Payback is a witch though, I put the weight back on

This time around I don't talk about my eating or exercise much at all, unless someone asks. If a social occasion comes up that I want to go to I suck it up and do my workout earlier or later to fit it in, and don't mention it. Food is harder. I just try to quietly eat what I know I can and politely say no to the rest. I try to factor treats in occasionally.

Some people find health, diet and fitness talk boring. Some think you're looking down on them for not being the same way, or some people feel guilty because they think they should make different choices too. I've found the easiest thing to do is just live the way you want to live and let them see the benefits - but don't bang on about it.

Good for you with the marathon training by the way!! I could talk about that all day

And...you're not an *kitten*.

I've been quite concerned about appearing to be kind of obnoxious to people, lol.

I know when I get down to my goal weight, i'll probably want to show off my new bod. That might get annoying to people.

Maybe - but it's SO worth it lol! When I lost weight I went and bought clothes way too young and revealing for me...but loved every minute of it. I've settled down a bit now thank goodness!

Enjoy the bod - and show it off! You don't want to get to 80 and think "Why didn't I wear a bikini when I had the chance??".

Don't see the problem. This is the same whether you are doing a degree or buying a car or looking for a school place for your child or coding a game. Nobody apart from those in a similar situation will understand or give a **** beyond knowing things are going well or not for you. The only difference is that for some, it's simply their own guilt getting in the way of things. Some people whinge about others posting their gym visits on Facebook - I encourage my friends to post up their gym visits on Facebook! The whingers are just feeling guilty about their own laziness.

Oh, and if your friends don't like you talking about your passion(s), then what kind of friends are they?

Ditto to all your comments. When I started my weight loss, healthy eating and exercise, I sort of "lied" to people and told them I was on my "No More Hot Flashes" regimen. It works as I am 53!!! No more drinking every day, eating healthy, exercising. I don't want to go out and feel like crap the next day. At first, people were curious on if it was working. I just told them yes and I don't want to go back to not sleeping. The not sleeping was probably the drinking!!!! Now that I am at my goal, it is harder to stay disciplined but... I go back to the same old "excuse". I then tell people that I feel sooooo good eating like this, I will not go back to my old ways.

I know it is sort of a fib but... it works for me.

I remember a period of time when I had multiple exercise updates on FB each day. My friends teased me about it, but when I told them I was trying to have a log with a form of time-stamp that I could show my boss instead of a paper log that I could put together in 5 minutes, they understood. Plus, they knew I was still recovering from the effects of cancer and the treatments, so they also understood that being that active and making progress was a big deal to me.

Now, I usually don't post about my exercise unless there's something remarkable, such as a new personal best or something interesting I saw on my run.

But the understanding is definitely a two way street. We need to understand that fitness and exercise isn't a big deal for everyone we know, so we should be careful about going overboard and gushing about it. They need to understand that fitness and exercise can be a very big deal for us, so they should expect we might get excited about the subject. It also might help for them to understand we may have other friends who are equally excited, so we may have facebook friends genuinely interested in hearing about our progress in our status updates.