So now that you are a bit further along and settled into this WOL, what would you tell a beginner that comes in all stressed about "needing" to lose 60 pounds by the end of August? Would informing them that such expectations are unrealistic, almost certainly unobtainable, and unhealthy if they could be obtained count as "criticism"? Does being "supportive" mean cheering them on and encouraging them to try to lose at that rate?

Or is the difference between "criticism" and "support" more in the manner in which information is conveyed and not the nature of information itself? Is the key concept more an issue of tact and diplomacy?