Fitbug UK - Healthy Living on Your Terms

Fitbug UK - Healthy Living on Your Terms: "Find a fitness buddy and you'll both benefit!
Posted 02 February 2010
running partner

* Fitbug Front Room Workout
* Great Ways To Stay Motivated
* Eating for activity

When you're trying to make healthier lifestyle choices, having the support of friends and family behind you can make all the difference. Particularly if they're committed to getting in shape too.

Because there's strong evidence that finding a partner to exercise or slim along with you, could seriously improve your chances of success.

A recent study by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, published last autumn, found that African Americans who were assigned a 'diet buddy' to work out with lost more weight than those who tried to slim alone.

In fact, the more weight the diet buddy lost, the more weight the original dieter lost.

The research backs up numerous previous studies, which have shown that partners who team up to lose weight or get fit together are more successful than those who go it alone.

Even if you haven't got a health conscious friend on hand to pair up with, there’s still lots of support available, from walking groups to Fitbug's own online chat forum.

Read on to find out how best to stay in shape, with help from your friends....

First, beat diet saboteurs
Other people can provide valuable encouragement and support when we're trying to eat better, cut down on alcohol or spend more time being active.

Unfortunately though, those around us can also put obstacles in our way:

The friend who suggests that surely you can have a small slice / glass / bar, the spouse who complains that you're always at the gym these days, or who asks why you feel the need to change at all when they love you just as you are...

They may not even be conscious of what they're doing, but colleagues, friends and family can all act as diet saboteurs.

A friend might be feeling a little jealous, your weight loss might be making a workmate feel bad about their own size. Your partner may be worried that you'll get more attention from the opposite sex after you lose weight.

Others may genuinely not realise what they're doing when they try to convince you to stay home from the gym 'just this once' or offer up yet another unhealthy treat.

Explain to those close to you why its important for you to lose weight and become healthier, and ask for their help. It might be that they hadn't realised how important it was to you to change.

Best of all, see if they'd like to get on board too, even if its just coming next time you go for a walk.

It goes without saying that you'll find it easier to stick to a healthy eating plan if those around you aren't ordering fatty takeaways or filling the shopping trolley with sugary snacks.

Whilst you can't force people to change, it's not unreasonable to ask for support with your own choices. If your family still want to keep sugary or fatty snacks in the house, ask if you can at least move them out of sight.

The power of two...
Training with someone else will help you both stay motivated. If you've made a date to exercise with a friend, you'll feel bad about letting them down - as well as yourself.

What's more, they might just convince you to pull on your trainers on days when you feel more like staying on the settee.

Ideally your diet and fitness buddy will have similar goals to you and you'll both want to put in the same amount of time and effort.

And as well as inspiring one another, a bit of healthy competition might just develop! Why not set up a fantasy footfall league between you or a group of friends?

The more the merrier!
Love walking? Think about joining The Ramblers association - there are literally hundreds of organised walks which run every week up and down the country. Click here for more information.

Or how about starting a football or netball team with your work colleagues? You could also see if anyone is interested in going for a walk or run during your lunch hour.

Just watch that you and your friends don't goad each other into undoing all your hard work after a workout. For example, don't automatically head to the pub after that kick boxing class because: 'We've earnt a drink or two!'

Click here to learn about overcompensating for exercise with high calorie treats.

Your four legged fitness friend
According to one study, your four-legged friend might just be the perfect diet buddy!

The 12-month 'People and Pets Exercising Together' study, was presented at the 2006 National Prevention Summit held by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC.

The research, conducted by Northwestern Memorial Hospital in CITY and Hill's Pet Nutrition demonstrated that people and their pets are both more successful in staying with a weight loss programme when they exercise together.

The combined dog/owner group also reported a greater improvement in their quality of life and the quality of life of their pets compared with people and dogs who dieted separately.

Bug buddies
If you haven't got a friend, partner (or dog!) who's keen to join your for workouts, there's still support available.

Why not check out the Fitbug chat forum to make friends, swap recipes and tips and share your diet and fitness experiences, or why not join our new 8 week Shape Up Challenge for some extra support and encouragement?

We all need a shoulder to lean on and a listening ear and it helps to talk to people who are on the same journey."