How to Help a Loved One Improve Their Health

It can be hard to watch a loved one’s health decline, especially if you know the strategies to help them embrace a better lifestyle. However, the last thing you will want is to make them feel upset or annoyed.

Unfortunately, there might be times when you feel so concerned about a loved one’s wellbeing that you feel compelled to help them transform their life. If your friend or a family member needs to get off the sofa, enjoy a healthier diet, or give up a bad habit, find out how to help a loved one improve their health. This also goes for those suffering from drastic weight loss, including but not limited to anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. However, the treatment program for these is much more serious and needs professional help, as these are mental illnesses. You can access many recovery programs if suffering with an eating disorder, such as day treatment at Monte Nido.

Confront a Problem Head-On When Needed

Of course, there are some problems you must confront head-on if you want to care for a loved one’s health and wellbeing effectively. For example, you might have no choice but to calmly host an intervention for someone regarding their addiction to alcohol or drugs. You also should learn more about a mental health and addiction program at Forwardrecovery.com. Turning to professionals can help a person give up their dependency on drugs or alcohol much more easily.

Team Up with Your Friend

If you want to give your friend, relative or partner a gentle nudge to improve their health, ask them to join you in a diet or fitness regime. For example, you could ask if they would like to attend a boxing or dance class with you, or if they want to start a diet together to share tips and recipes.

If they have a buddy by their side, they might be more likely to stick to the plan and enjoy the experience. Plus, they might feel more confident to attend a diet or fitness class with you by their side.

Take Shame Off the Table to Boost Motivation

It can be tempting to chastise your partner or relative for failing in their efforts to improve their health, such as quitting smoking, giving up alcohol, or avoiding foods laden in sugar and saturated fat. However, nagging a loved one can often be the opposite of helpful.

In fact, fat shaming can reportedly lead to people gaining more pounds instead of less, as it could force them to skip exercise and reach for comfort food. While criticism can cause a smoker to experience stress, which can result in him or her smoking more cigarettes than usual. Stop nagging and give a gentle, subtle nudge instead.

Give Compliments (But Not Too Many)

Help a loved one to stay on track with their health goals by giving out genuine compliments. For example, you could mention they look as if they have lost a little weight, that their skin looks healthier, or they appear more confident or happier in their own skin.

However, try not to focus too much on a person’s appearance. While a compliment can make him or her feel great at first, it could potentially increase their self-conscious feelings over time, so they might feel pressure to reach their goals at a faster rate. Your kind words could potentially make them feel worse, which could reduce their commitment.