CDCs .. how would you handle this?

This morning I went to see my CDC and the lady who joined at the same time as me wasn't there. I asked my CDC if she was still going (last week I changed the time, same week before) as I hadn't seen her for a few weeks, and she said no.

I was really quite surprised, and also disappointed, as it's her first time on a VLCD, so was really excited about losing weight - it was all a novelty to her, and she seemed to find encouragement from my experience having previously lost 10 stone on LL.

Anyways .. the reason she gave for giving up was that her daughter had asked her to stop. Apparently she said 'Mummy, please stop your diet as I don't want you to die'

Turns out the daughter (about 6 or 7) was concerned that her mummy wasn't eating. Last time I saw her she had lost about a stone, and was doing really well (as was her sister who also started on CD, and gave up at the same time).

Now my first reaction was disappointment, and then I thought if I were her CDC I would have said something like 'perhaps you could tell your daughter that the diet is very safe, and it will actually give her mum more life, as she will get more energy and feel a whole heap better' .. something like that, and try to encourage her to stick with it.

Would that have been the correct thing to do? What would you have said? I'm not saying my CDC was wrong - I don't know what she said to her as I wasn't there, but I would have tried to keep her on the plan.

Then again I'm not a Mum, so probably don't appreciate how a comment like that could really tug on the heart strings.

WWYD? (what would you do?)

Mandana x

kazz said:

TBH, maybe the lady had decided herself not to continue and her daughter was the catalyst she needed? .... A cdc can only keep someone on the plan that wants to be kept on it..

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You hit the nail on the head for me there. If someone makes the decision to stop, there is often little you can do to convince them otherwise.

I have had clients who had dropped off the programme for lots of reasons - their partners, their children, their family - and in the end all you can say is that you are there for them if they ever want to come back, and offer support.

It's so hard - especially when you can see the difference in people in such a short space of time - but you can't force someone to carry on if they have decided that to stop is for the best for them

I agree, the lady must have decided herself that she didn't want to continue. I have a 6 year old daughter and although she has never said that she is worried about my health, she has been unhappy that I am not eating with her.

Over the last 6 months of SS she has constantly asked me to eat dinner with her and she always wants to share her food with me. I know that it is only because she feels that she is missing out, not because she is worried about me starving!

As anyone who has done SS knows, you have to be totally
committed to it yourself, and sometimes people are just looking for an excuse to stop. As D_Q has said you can't force someone to carry on.