By Shannon Dey, M.S. Health Education & CEO-Founder Bombshell Fitness
Whether you have recently decided to embark on your fitness journey, or you are a long time casual exerciser who has now decided to take your fitness to the next level, your daily life and schedule are about to change. Instead of indulging in salty snacks with your hubby while cuddling on the couch, you may be having a healthy snack or no snack at all. Or perhaps instead of hitting happy hour after work, you will be taking a run outside. As you begin this journey, change your schedule and clean out your pantry, you expect everyone in your life to support you and cheer you on as you make a positive change. Woah! Hold on here! What if your friends and family aren’t cheering? What if everyone in your life LIKES your current habits and lifestyle? What if they are comfortable with you just the way you are and don’t WANT you to change? Quite often, one of the most difficult roadblocks to those changing their lifestyle is not their own resistance, but the resistance of everyone else in their lives.
Your first reaction may be bewilderment, anger and frustration. “Don’t the people who love me want me to be healthy?” “Don’t my friends want to see me succeed and feel great about myself?” Once the anger subsides, a feeling of despair and sadness may take over which can cause you to give up on your goals all together. Don’t be angry, don’t despair and don’t give up! The answer is not to abandon your fitness goals, rather it is to approach them correctly when it comes to everyone else in your life. Here are a few tips to embark on your fitness journey while maintaining your relationships.
1. Have a Sit Down
When you decide to begin your fitness journey, sit down with friends and family, and tell them why you are doing so. Tell them how you want to be healthier, feel great in your own skin and be there for them for many years to come. Let them know that you aren’t changing who you are as a person, rather you are simply changing your health and fitness levels. Many times husbands and significant others fear that you are making a change in order to leave them for someone else. Let that person know that you are not changing in order to remove them from your life, rather to enhance your life with them.
2. Let Them Be!
You may be so excited about the changes that you are making, that you want everyone around you to do the same. You may be tempted to throw away every last cookie in your house or insist that your husband get up at 5am to go to the gym. STOP! Just because you are ready to make a change, doesn’t mean everyone else is! If you attempt to change everyone around you to live your lifestyle, you are going to get resistance! Make a change for YOU, let them be themselves and if you inspire them to change, GREAT, if not, accept them for who they are!
3. Keep a Lid on It!
The changes in your lifestyle are exciting to you. However, to someone NOT on the same path, hearing about it on a constant basis can not only make them feel uncomfortable in their own skin, but it can be annoying as well. When with your friends and family, make a conscious effort to talk about things other than fitness! Talk about fitness with a new friend from the gym, your Bombshell Coach or with other Bombshell on our Social Network. You will find that these people are excited about your endeavors, while allowing your friends and family enjoy talking with you about other aspects of your life.
4. Compromise
Yes you are changing your life and this means schedule and habit changes. However, you must be conscious of the needs of those around you. If you have a standing date to go to coffee with your Mother on Monday’s, don’t ditch her to go to the gym! Go to the gym before meeting her, or later in the day. If your husband loves going to the sports bar with you on game day, by all means go! Let him enjoy whatever he decides to eat and you can simply have a salad or other lower calorie option.
As you embark on your fitness journey, don’t let your excitement overtake you and cause you to forget about those around you. A well thought out plan, and a bit of effort and compromise, you CAN live a healthy lifestyle and have harmony at home!
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