The Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet: Activate Your Body's Natural Ability to Burn Fat and Lose Weight Fast (52 page)

Congratulations—you made it! After today you will have completed the 10-Day Detox. I hope you are feeling vibrant, healthy, and best of all, proud of what you’ve accomplished!

The short-term goals you’ve achieved over these ten days can be life-changing—if you take the steps to make sure they stick. Now more than ever, as you enter the transition phase, it’s crucial to harness the power of community for your continued success. Hopefully, you have found a buddy, or a partner, or even created or joined a group to support you on your journey to vibrant good health and weight loss. Or perhaps you joined the Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet Online Course and connected with the online community or a small group at www.10daydetox.com/resources.

If you have, that’s fabulous. I encourage you to stay connected, to meet weekly, to touch base and check in about how you feel and what you need to support long-term success. If not, consider making it a priority now. Remember that in our Daniel Plan study, those who did the program together lost twice as much weight as those who did it alone, even though they were all otherwise following the
same
program. Life
is full of challenges, and finding (or creating) your community is a powerful way to manage, process, and thrive through all the ups and downs. We need the support of others to make lasting shifts in how we eat, move, and live. We’re better together—it’s as simple as that.

You probably have loved ones in your life whose support you want in your continuing journey. Even though these people may care deeply for you, they may not know how to support you in your health and weight loss efforts. It’s your job to teach them. Here are some strategies to help your loved ones get on board as part of your continuing support team:

  
Share your plan.
Explain what your dream is and your plan for achieving that dream, and ask those near you for the specific help you need. For example, you may tell your best friends that your dream is to be living in a healthy and toned body by summertime, and your plan is to follow the Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Diet transition plan. You can then ask your friends to remember that this plan means no alcohol or sugary munchies when you eat out with them, and to remind you of your plan if you seem to be caving in to your cravings.

  
Deal with feedback.
If others are not on the same journey you are, they may not understand it. That is normal. Some people may question what you are doing, saying things like “But you seem perfectly healthy to me” or “That way of eating just isn’t normal.” Remember that comments like these are usually well-intentioned attempts to make you feel good about yourself as you are. See the care behind these comments, but don’t use them as an excuse to veer off your eating plan. Thank your friends for their concern, explain why you are on the plan, and ask them directly and specifically for the support you need. This may mean asking them kindly not to tell you that you are “fine as is,” because you are striving for a greater level of wellness, or telling them that their support would mean a lot to you, even if they don’t quite get why you are doing this.

  
Convey the attitude you want reflected back at you.
The world is a mirror. For your loved ones to celebrate your eating plan,
you
need to celebrate your eating plan. If you have the attitude of “Ugh, this diet is so hard. It’s killing me. Only two more days left of this torture!”, then the people around you will pick up on that and mirror it by saying things like “Take it easy, this program is nuts, I think you should stop it.” Whereas if you express the empowered and energetic attitude of “This detox program is amazing. Yes, it’s hard at times, but it’s so worth it and I am so proud of myself for doing it,” then the people in your life will mirror this back and be happy for you.

Not only is it important to gather the support of your loved ones as you embark on your journey to health, but it’s also important for you to build a network of community support that will accompany you on that journey. This community will help you stick to your new health habits and hold you accountable for following them. Below you’ll find some strategies for building a health-supporting community.