Slimdown faster with support
Ask a friend to help you meet your fitness goals
Having a friend to work out with isn’t a new idea, but it’s a tried and true way to stay on track. Knowing that someone is waiting for you to show up to go for a walk, play tennis or go to the gym keeps you accountable and that is what it may take to get you out the door. Many people simply have more fun when exercising with a workout buddy — they enjoy a friendly visit while working up a good sweat.
But what if you prefer to work out alone or schedules make it difficult to meet up with a friend to take that walk or meet at the gym? Fortunately, there is no evidence that your support needs to be in person. Social support from people with similar goals has proven to help dieters and exercisers stay on track and reach their goals faster than those that don’t have this kind of support.
Research has shown that members of online weight-loss communities where users could record their weigh-in, add other members as “friends” and participate in forums, lost 3 times more weight when they added friends and received that extra support, than those who added none.
A few suggestions to try: