I was walking through The Grove Hotel lobby recently after scheduling a shuttle pick-up for a flight to get my Tesla from the repair shop in Salt Lake City.

Some big conventions were going on at The Grove that night, so there were a lot of people.

As Hazel (my dog) and I walked through the lobby, a man who was clearly drunk, glass of whiskey in hand, stumbled up to me as I was walking out the door and said, “Hey, you were here last year at our convention!”

“Well, I live here at the hotel, so I have nothing to do with the convention,” I explained.

But he was already tuning me out because he’d spotted Hazel. “Hey, little guy,” he said, lunging toward her.

Immediately, I stepped between him and Hazel. “No, no no,” I said, putting my hand up.

“Oh, he’s not friendly?” slurred the man.

“SHE is very friendly. I just don’t want anybody petting her.”

“Oh, but I love dogs!” he objected, and spent the next sixty seconds trying to convince me of how much he loved dogs.

Then he lunged at Hazel a second time.

Again, I put my body between him and Hazel, with Hazel behind my legs, and told him, “No. You’re not going to touch her, okay?”

“But I really love dogs!” he said again.

“I can appreciate that, but no, you’re not going to touch her.”

Ignoring me, he lunged at her a THIRD freaking time!

I put my hand on his chest and pushed him back. “Hey, my guy, do NOT touch my dog,” I said more firmly.

“Oh, my bad, my bad, so sorry,” he said, finally getting the hint.

“Sir, is there a problem here?” asked the manager, who’d noticed the commotion.

“No no no, I just really like dogs,” he slurred.

I thanked the manager, and Hazel and I left.

In hindsight, I should have just kept walking.

By staying and putting up with his drunken antics, I was trying not to be rude (though I find it suspicious he was alert enough to recognize me from last year but not alert enough to listen when I told him not to touch Hazel).

Even so, I wasn’t gonna let some drunk stranger touch my dog. She counts on me to protect her and keep her safe from her own instincts as well as situations and people that might hurt her.

When you’re navigating your weight loss journey, you’ve gotta protect yourself the way I protected Hazel.

If some drunk party-goer tries to get you to have just one drink, and you tell them no thanks and they refuse to listen, walk away or leave the party.

If your “friends” insist it won’t kill you to have “just one bite,” don’t sacrifice your progress and cave in just to “not seem rude.” Stand up for your goals!

Even when you’re doing something as good for you as getting healthy, SOMEBODY is gonna have a problem with it. If you live your life for what other people think of every move you make, you will never be happy and you will never create the outcomes you want.

Surrounding yourself with people who support your goals helps a LOT, especially if you struggle not to care what other people think.

That’s why Code Red has lots of community options, like Code Red Ringside, Home Study coaching (for those who buy a customized program), VIP Connection, the 10 Pound Takedown, and even maintenance coaching. There’s connection and community for each stage of your weight loss journey, so you can be surrounded by people who support your healthy goals (instead of tear them down).

The bottom line here is that YOU have got to be your own advocate, because nobody has more at stake in your health than you do