Tasha Lee shares her Top 5 Tips for motivating healthy changes in your partner.
Tasha is a fruit-loving raw food health coach who has been blogging about fruit, health and diabetes since 2010. Having recovered from a serious eating disorder and many health problems, Tasha is passionate about sharing hope and healing with others. She is the author of Healing Diabetes with Fruit: Ex-Type 2’s on a Fruit-Based Diet.
Tasha is also the founder of multiple health and wellness support groups, Facebook community pages (Healing Diabetes with Fruit), YouTube channels (Tasha Lee (Fruitful Healthy Living) and Type 1 Tasha) and her health and ministry website, TashaLee.org. Connect with Tasha on her Facebook pages TashaLee.org and Type 1 Tasha’s Diabetes page.
- Shut up. No unsolicited advice allowed. Nobody wants to be lectured or told how they should be living. Instead, prepare yummy, healthy dishes to share, stock the house with lots of enticing fruits and veggies, and be an example.
- Find outside support. It’s not easy to live a healthy lifestyle alone. Make use of the endless online resources to find community, relieve stress, work through issues with the support of like-minded individuals, get tips and find motivation and encouragement to stay strong and on course. Take care of yourself so you can be happy and healthy. In so doing, you will be a better partner (and your partner will find this very intriguing).
- Turn the pressure off. Be loving and accepting of your partner, no matter his health choices. Let him know that you are perfectly happy with him just the way he is. You may be surprised how an atmosphere of acceptance motivates healthy change. Be welcoming of any positive change in him, no matter how small. Join him in celebrating improvements. Be his biggest cheerleader, if he wants it.
- Let your own health changes be an inspiration. Let him see how happy and content you are. Be flexible with social outings. Take care of your needs, but don’t make a big deal of it. Invite him to share with you in celebrating benefits you are experiencing through your health changes. If you have increased sex drive, for instance, help him to make the connection between your green smoothies and your amorous desires. He may become very encouraging of your smoothie-drinking and may just try drinking one himself!
- Be respectful. No nagging, criticizing, guilt trips or manipulation. Your partner is an adult. Honor his right to make his own choices, whether or not they align with yours. Respect his “no.” Whether or not he ever changes, setting a tone of respect will leave both of you (and your relationship) much happier. Oh, and please, unless you want the whole plan to backfire, don’t throw out his food. (Yes, I share this from experience.) 🙂
Check out Tasha’s transformation profile!
Hungry for more? Check out Tasha’s Scrumptious Summer Salad recipe!
