When you set out to lose weight, you need to do it for yourself. You are the one who will need to incorporate more activity into your schedule. You are the one who will need to follow the medical weight loss diet. You are the one who will be stopping in to see Dr. Liu at the weight loss clinic and receive feedback on your progress. To go the distance your inspiration needs to spring from a deep, internal desire to be healthier.
However, this doesn’t mean you are going to be on your own as you lose weight. On the contrary, your weight loss program in East Brunswick could turn out to be quite the social experience if you let it. Working out with friends, making new friends and reaching out to acquaintances with similar health and wellness goals can be the start of a strong support network that can help you stay accountable to your weight loss goals in the moments when you might otherwise let yourself down.
Here are a few ways to get social with your weight loss:
Make it interesting.
The Mayo Clinic conducted a study to find out how much of an influence financial incentives can have on the weight loss process. As it turns out, putting money on it helps, but it helps the most when it is done as a group. In their study, team contests in which small groups could win a sum for reaching their collective weight loss goal were found the most successful in helping people lose weight.
Make it fun.
Doing the same thing day after day grows boring, even if the activity is something that keeps you constantly moving like a workout. Alternate your days at the gym with social activities that get your heart pumping, like playing a team sport, walking with a friend or meeting for an aerobics class.
Make it mandatory.
After a long day at work it is pretty easy to convince yourself to skip your workout—especially if you are the only one being let down. You can rationalize your decision all you want, but when you are the only one that will hurt from it you are more likely to head home for the couch than you are to the gym.
Involving friends will encourage you to stick with your workout. Tell your friends you’ll pick them up for the gym after work, join a team that will rely on you to be there, pay a personal trainer for one-on-one sessions—any of these strategies can encourage you to stick to your fitness goals.
Working together with a group of people to achieve your wellness goals can boost your weight loss efforts. This is something that countless studies have looked into, and the results are often the same. Whether you have one workout buddy, engage online with social media, work closely with friends and family members or join an office weight loss program, having others by your side with similar goals can enhance the process for all involved.
