In December of 2018, I had made a decision to work towards a more active life with a cleaner diet. I was tired of being tired all the time, I was frustrated with how slow I had become and how heavy my body felt to carry. I was so over being bloated and uncomfortable all the time . I know, this may be too much information but I’m choosing to be vulnerable because so many of us know what this feels like.  

Exercising became an activity I loved. Initially, I could barely get through a cardio warm up, so in the face of being kind to myself and my journey I started with stretches and yoga. I loved the progress, but nothing quite felt like my sister joining me!!  We are at different levels of fitness but its awesome to have the company , connection and support. It has inspired us to keep working and we both look forward to the next workout.

Look at the results of this study on weight loss and social support.

“In those recruited alone and given Social Behavioral Treatment (SBT), 76% completed treatment and 24% maintained their weight loss in full from Months 4 to 10. Among those recruited with friends and given SBT plus social support, 95% completed treatment and 66% maintained their weight loss in full”.

How amazing are those numbers? So basically having friends and social support lead to a greater success of maintaining the weight loss over a couple of months. How many of you have started a program and not finished it but wished you had? Maybe the solution is to find a friend, a group, a community and get back in the arena!

Wing RR, Jeffery RW. J Consult Clin Psychol.  1999. Feb;67(1):132-8. Benefits of recruiting participants with friends and increasing social support for weight loss and maintenance.