Although my battle for weight loss and quest for healthy living is primarily a solo one, I believe that this journey would be impossible without support from family, friends and even strangers. Even though I am the only one who can alter my eating habits and keep my mind and body in check, I rely on the people around me to constantly energize and motivate me, to push me forward.

There’s the people who always have positive things to say, the endless words of encouragement, and I love them for it. They’re the sugar-coating, the stuff that gives you instant gratification, the sugar high that tastes delicious but may not always be good for you. Then, there’s the people who will criticize you, tell you you could be doing better, slap you in the face with a dose of reality. They’re the spinach, the stuff that doesn’t taste good at first but is actually quite good for you. In order to succeed, you need both sugar-coating and spinach.

Just like people, support comes in all different shapes and sizes. Sometimes, it’s that trainer at the gym who pats you on the back and tells you you’re looking good. Sometimes, it might be that close friend offering to run a 10K with you. Other times, it’s a Google Chat message telling you you’re inspirational. Hold on to those moments. Remember them. Cherish them. And let them fuel you. They’re your sugar. Feel the rush and enjoy the high.

Sometimes, support doesn’t come in the most acceptable or beautiful form. They’re hard to hear. It might even hurt and make you feel like crap. But sometimes, you really do need that crap, just like spinach. You need that additional shove in order to get your butt into gear. Sometimes, you need that person who is willing to remove the sugar coating and tell you that you really aren’t working as hard as you could be. Sometimes, you need somebody to be the unappealing spinach.

My parents are the brave souls who remove the sugar-coating from my world. They tell me the truth, and when need be, put me in my place. They are my spinach, the good for me stuff that I don’t love as much as I should.

My parents are the type who keep words of encouragement to a minimum. Maybe it’s the culture, the Chinese way. Maybe it’s because Chinese people eat a lot of bitter vegetables. Either way, I have learned to look beyond their words and see their true intentions. They use actions instead of words to support me. Even though I only cook for myself, my parents help me out with my dishes. They take hour-long walks with me even though there’s other things they could be doing. My dad reads my blog on Google Buzz (Hey Dad!), and my mom tells her friends about it. My dad tries running with me even though he can’t keep up. My mom helps me brainstorm possible recipe ideas even though she’d rather be watching some Chinese soap opera. They both try to do their best, but nobody is perfect.

However, when they are unintentionally putting me down, I tell them to stop, letting them know that they are pushing my limits. When I told my mom I wanted to run a marathon, she said that it would be impossible. “You can’t run 26 miles!” I told her that I can do it, that I will do it, and that it would mean a lot to me if she would start saying CAN and stop saying CAN’T. I tell her that I refuse to listen to her when she tells me what my body can or can not do, when she sets my limitations for me instead of realizing that I have no limitations (I am secretly a Superhero). It’s my body. I know its strength and what it is capable of. Since the marathon talk, my mom has been improving. She’s trying really hard to stop using the word CAN’T because she knows that I HATE that word.

Not even the people who love you unconditionally are perfect, even though we normally hold them to those standards. Sometimes, they might not support you in the way you want them to. Sometimes, it requires more effort on your part to see what their true intentions are. And sometimes, it requires you to stand up for yourself, to tell them what kind of support you need from them. Like spinach, you might not enjoy it at first. You might have to try it a few times in order to find a happy medium.

You can get all sugar-coating and then wonder what you’re doing wrong when you aren’t seeing results. You can get all spinach and then wonder why you even bother trying. So you have to have both, the good and the bad, the sweet and the bitter, in order to appreciate them for what they are.

In the end, you’ll need all the support you can get. You can’t walk this long journey alone. You’ll have to do most of it by yourself, that’s true, but you’ll fall. And when you fall, you’ll need somebody there to pick you up. You’ll need some sugar-coating. When you’re having a bad day, a bad week, a bad month, you’ll need somebody to whip you back into shape. You’ll need some spinach.

Maybe the support isn’t always positive, maybe it’s not always pleasant to hear, but you’ll need it. You’ll need a balance. Too much sugar-coating or too much spinach can be disastrous. You’ll need both to succeed, even if one is harder to swallow than the other.

Who is your sugar-coating? Who is your spinach?

 

Stir-fried Green Beans – Dinner: green beans stir-fried with lean ground beef, soy sauce, garlic and Sichuan pickled mustard greens.

Veggie Chow Mein – Dinner: egg noodles stir-fried with garlic, onions, mushrooms, cabbage, scallions and soy sauce.

 

Consumption: 1426 calories, 24.85g of fat. Total steps: 15,301

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Workout: Upper back. Shoulders. Triceps.

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Got to nine 17-ounce bottles of water today for the weekly challenge.

How’d you do on Thirsty Thursday?