If you’re tired of feeling like the only healthy person at family gatherings or happy hour, it may be time to try to motivate your friends and family to start living their own healthy lifestyles. The problem, of course, is finding the best way to tell your friends and family they need to get fitter or healthier.
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There are polite, friendly ways to suggest that your loved one join you for a healthier summer!
If you’ve been working out for awhile, you know that progress can seem slow when you’re just beginning to exercise. When your friend achieves even a small fitness or health related achievement, be sure to celebrate. The opportunity to celebrate even a small achievement may motivate your friend to work towards a larger goal.
Suggest a healthy dinner party instead of a dinner out. If you’re trying to eat healthier, you know that restaurants can quickly sabotage even the best of intentions. Instead of hitting your favorite pizza place with your family, suggest everyone pitch in to make a healthy meal to share. Adding fresh produce or unique spices will make the activity more fun and prove to your family members that healthy food doesn’t have to be bland and involves more than a standard lettuce salad.
Always mix it up. Maybe you already have a favorite fitness routine that you follow, but if your friend is just starting to get interested in exercise, be sure to keep adding new suggestions to keep his/her interest. The key to consistency is finding an activity that you enjoy and the best way to find that activity is through experimentation. Suggest a group exercise class or a friendly competition on the treadmill to liven things up.
Make it fun. If you’re accustomed to nights out with your friends, make it a healthy night out with a FitClub Zumba class. Zumba is a great cardio workout designed for all fitness levels, and guaranteed to make you smile if you don’t take yourself too seriously and allow yourself to have fun while you get fit. A class like Zumba may help change your friends’ mindsets about fitness. Exercise doesn’t have to be a chore to be effective.
Be persistent and patient. You may not want to nag your friends or family to start living a healthier lifestyle, but you may find that patiently continuing to suggest healthy activities will pay off in the long run. Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to get fit or healthy, and gentle, patient encouragement may be what your loved one needs to find their reason. Don’t get discouraged if your friends and family don’t jump right into a fitness routine, but do continue to be there with healthy ideas and motivation.
Perhaps the most important tip, though, is no matter what, continue to live your healthy lifestyle! Don’t let the unhealthy habits of those closest to you derail what you’ve worked so hard to achieve.
Have you motivated a friend or family member to join FitClub and get healthy? Leave your tips in the comment section!
