How to Eat Healthy When Your Friends Don't
Written By: Heather Gerrish, MS, RDN
The age-old question.How do we manage life and all it has to throw at us (and offer!) while focusing on our own path to wellness? How do we manage eating healthy and staying active when friends or family members...don’t?
This blog will review some helpful tips to assist in navigating this conundrum - specifically how to stay motivated and focused when you are not feeling the same motivation from friends or family.
Let’s focus on an example.
You are focused and ready to go - meal prepped, activity plan set, training regimen solidified - but what is stopping you? The constant pull to navigate away from your path to indulge with those who might not be *as focused* as you are! What can you do?
Here are some simple steps and methods to communicate the importance of your health (and wellness/nutrition practice) to your loved ones:
Reiterate that you are doing this for YOU and because you care for ______ and your family, making these changes important to not only your own personal health and well-being, but for those you care for as well so you can be active and participate in all that life has to offer.
Eating “healthy” is not what you think - it is a sustainable practice that does include the occasional treat, but overall you are focusing on how to manage your diet with your desire to be the best version of yourself - inside and out! And with this comes some time and commitment, determination and of course - strength to push forward towards your goals. This might not be in-line with _______ nutrition’s practice right now, but I hope that by leading with healthy choices that I can promote good choices all around.
I would like to focus on ________ and need your support. This is not only a challenge for my body, but my mental health as well. I need all the support I can get to reach my goals and continue on to create a healthy, balanced routine. I would love if you supported me or did not ______*something that is a trigger/difficult for you____ while I figure out how to best manage my time and relationship with food as well as create a solid plan for my future self!
Not everyone will jump on board - even family members might have comments or critiques, or not be interested in your passion for health and wellness - know that this is OK and that your changes specifically relate to YOU and no one else (at the moment). Maybe later on, or by seeing your changes and relationship with food evolve to a sustainable practice, others will be interested in doing the same. Even though right now you might not have the support you need from your immediate friends or family, but know that this is when your strength and determination shine through and move you towards your goals - as an individual at first, and then hopefully as a group :)
You never know what challenges might arise when at home or with friends out to eat, or even during a conversation with a loved one. Keeping your goals personal and staying focused (meal prepping for YOU, scheduling time for YOU and making YOU a priority) is what you deserve - regardless of the external support you might have.
You can do this!
Cover photo from Unsplash.com