As we progress in our journeys to better health, we often find ourselves in situations where we want to start conversations with people that we know in some way, but are suffering from being obese, Type 2, or some other malady that is in our past.
I figured it would be nice to start a thread where we can perfect and wordsmith conversation starters that can be used via messaging, email or in person that can help get the conversation started, without being totally offensive or politically incorrect.
This would allow people to review this thread to get ideas, before they go into social situations with Family, Casual or Business Relationships where these encounters may take place.
Here is an example that I developed quickly in the Facebook Forum earlier today; in this case, I used a “Permission Based” strategy:
As an example, if I’m in a conversation where someone is discussing this diet or that diet, I could say: “Back when I weighed XXX pounds or kilos, people would always tell me that I needed to eat less and move more, count calories, or try some expensive diet or surgery. But, I found that I had to give up dieting in order too lose weight permanently. I had to make changes in my lifestyle, and what I chose to eat. Change can be difficult, but I found adopting my lifestyle changes were easy for me, and I love living this way. I’d be happy to share them with any of you individually or as a group, but I don’t want to sound pushy or dogmatic. So, if you would ever like to know what I’ve experienced, don’t hesitate to ask me.”