07 Mar Get By With a Little Help From Your Friends

You try really hard to eat healthy, to exercise, and to get your sleep. But it’s so hard. You’re never as consistent as you want to be. It’s an uphill battle and you don’t have the results you want.

Maybe it’s a community that you need. You need people to support you in your health journey.

Everyone needs support, even health coaches like me. This week I hosted a meetup for functional medicine practitioners, as I am a functional medicine certified health coach. This is a relatively new field, and doctors, dietitians, and health coaches like me are vastly in the minority compared to conventional health practitioners. We all came to the meetup because we knew we could do our jobs better with each other’s support. We shared emails and we’ll meet again next month.

Living a healthy lifestyle is not easy. Modern times do not support healthy choices. When you go to the grocery store, so much of what’s for sale is not healthy and can barely be considered food. (Are soda and chips food if they don’t nourish you?) The commercials on TV show such happy people with dread diseases, not revamping their lifestyle choices, but asking their doctor which pill is right for them. And when you’re with your friends, they eat low fat and artificial sweeteners and look at you as crazy for not joining in. When you try to get a good night’s sleep, you might wonder if you’re considered lazy or just plain unimportant because you have time to sleep.

Don’t drop your old friends; gain new ones. You can better do your job of maintaining a healthy body and a healthy mind if you have people around you with similar goals. First of all, don’t look for support from people who won’t give it. If a friend or family member is convinced that advertisements are true and that the government guidelines were only motivated by your health and not unduly influenced by corporate payoffs, that person will not be in your support group. Let them learn the truth about healthy living through your example.

Actual research shows that social isolation is more likely to lead to sickness. And social support leads to health. Churches have started group health programs with success. They made it normal or even cool to eat real food and exercise. So let’s consider ways for you to get some social support for your health goals.

How to Find Support

Find a friend. This is the ideal. Keep your ears open in your conversations to clues that someone thinks like you do in the matters of health. At opportune moments get to know their ideas better. Then suggest that you can support each other. You can share ideas about obtaining and preparing real, nourishing food. You can encourage each other to exercise.

Find a workout buddy. This might be easier than the last tip, because there are more people who like to exercise than there are people who will eat fat and shun processed food, but it’s the same idea.

Get a dog. Ok, so it’s man’s best friend, not a person. But a dog must be walked or beware your rugs. End of story. You get your exercise, and sunshine’s benefits, like vitamin D. Plus, you get to better know your neighbors.

Find an internet group. My health coaching course was online. I made virtual friends, but I got to meet several when I attended our live graduation. I still keep in touch, both on Facebook and with personal conversations. This is a real positive from social media. Start following.

Go to an exercise class. Yoga is a good choice. Or join a gym. But be sure to chat with the people around you so maybe you can find an exercise buddy. Or talk a friend into going with you. Companionship makes it fun and keeps you going back.

Explore local health-conscious meetups. This is more of a big city thing. Smaller cities and rural areas don’t have as much. But sometimes big cities are very isolating and this can help.

Start your own group. Be the host of a meetup. I did it. I have a co-host and that’s been a real benefit for me too. Or go to your church or community center and start a healthy living group. Or form a lunch club with coworkers.

Get a health coach. Reaching out to others can be intimidating or difficult. But the effort pays off big time. Sometimes you need a knowledgeable person in your corner. I can be your source of encouragement. I am a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. I can be on your team and help you in creating your own social support. Contact me.

How do you find social support for your healthy lifestyle? Leave a Comment.

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