YES!! Health is contagious. Our health is constantly being influenced by friends, family, social media, advertising, and there is no way to block it out.
The important questions are:
- How are you being influenced?
- How are you influencing others?
A study in 2007 showed that within a social network, if one friend becomes obese, the chance of other friends within the group becoming obese increases by 171%. That’s a lot!!
The social pressure to indulge in unhealthy foods and drinks, especially alcoholic drinks, is strong. It is very hard for someone to enjoy their decadent dessert or finish off a bottle of wine if you are sitting across from them displaying excellent self control.
For many of my clients, social gatherings are their downfall. They maintain excellent health behaviors 4 out of seven days, but when Friday arrives, the wheels can fall off.
Feelings include:
- Feeling left out and deprived while watching others indulge
- Stress about having NO healthy options available
- Allowing themselves to have “just a little” but losing track and going way over
- Feeling like a failure and trying to make up for it on the next day
- Dealing with unwanted attention when sticking to their goals
Those feeling are not ideal whether you are sticking to your goals or if you are giving into temptation.
What if you took a hard look at your social circle and saw it through different eyes. How is this group affecting your health?
If your group is bringing you down rather than lifting you up, guess what? It is possible to change your health and bring change to your whole group.
Just as one obese friend can lead more buddies to become obese, one leader in health can help improve the whole unit through example. Why not have that person be you?
If you are launching your own health journey, here is what you can expect within your social circle:
First, recognize that every person has their own relationship with food and health. Yours will seldom align perfectly with your social circle. If you have made the decision to improve your health, you need to stay strong for your own personal reasons rather than counting on your friends to change with you.
Second, know that your good choices will affect the people around you. If your friend can usually count on you to finish off a pizza or a 6 pack of beer with them, your decision to stick to more nutritious foods will play on their emotions. Change is hard for everyone. You are making changes that work for you, but they may not be ready for right now or ever.
Third, acknowledge that true friends will support you. If you were recovering from a heart attack or stroke, no one would bother you about grabbing a big piece of cake or taking a shot with them. They would support your restriction because they want you to live a long and healthy life. Why wait for life threatening disease to strike before asking your social circle for support?
Fourth, prepare for push-back. Some friends might feel too uncomfortable by your positive changes when they are not yet ready to change. There may be social events you are left out of or where you feel uncomfortable by passive aggressive comments. I have had clients who have been quizzed extensively about their choice not to drink or made to feel guilty for bringing a healthy option to eat. It is your choice to decide how much you would like to share. With friends who are not as close, you can always stop the conversation by stating you are having some personal medical issues.
Fifth, know that in time the new you will be accepted. If you stick to your plan, your social circle will see that this is not just a passing fancy. You are serious about change and about caring for your health. They will see your increased energy, your slimmer body, your developing muscles, and your increased zest for life. The peer pressure will ease up.
Last, you will start to influence your social circle in the positive way. Friends will start pulling you aside to talk to you about their own health concerns and seek advice about how you got started on your journey.
Once you have hit this last step, you have arrived. Helping your friends will fuel your health journey in a whole new way and solidify your healthy habits so they last a lifetime.
Over and over I have watched this journey play out with my clients. Being the first one in your group to make a big change is not easy. Taking the right approach in improving your health is key.
As women, once we are over 40 and peri or post – menopausal, many of the traditional diets and exercise plans will only make us weaker and fatter. If you need help learning how to:
Move, Eat, and Rest in a way that will fortify your health in the most efficient and effective way long term, you may want to look into the course – How to Powerup Perimenopause: the Complete Guide. Or Powerup and Reset is a great way to get started changing your life!
