Who causes you to gain more weight: your siblings, spouse, or friends?
Apr 15, 2016
Girls' Night Out or GNO to the cool kids. Beloved across the land by women of all ages.
If you have a GNO planned any time soon, this is a study you may find interesting.
When a person in the study became obese, there was a 40% increase in risk that their sibling would become obese too. And for the spouse, there was a 37% increased risk. But here is what really hurts.
When your friend becomes obese, you have a 57% increased risk yourself. And if your friend was of the same gender, that jumped to 71%!
That is crazy, but it does make sense. Think about the social events you go to or the things you do with your friends. How many of those events involve physical activity and healthy eating?
For the most part it is dinner and drinks with little regard for caloric intake. GNO's are awesome and really can help with stress, but can sabotage your weight loss program.
So what do you do? Be the leader, not the follower.
-Suggest a restaurant that you know has healthy options you enjoy
-Avoid eating 4 loaves of bread or 4 baskets of chips while you wait
-Volunteer to be the designated driver (or at least be the one who has the Uber app on their phone)
-Suggest a hike and a picnic (wear hiking boots so you don't slip and break the wine bottle)
Are you going out with friends this weekend? Why not be the one who takes the healthy lead?
Make healthier choices and help your friends do the same. You will find that you will still have a great time, but you will feel a whole lot better.
I also wanted to personally invite you and a friend to try our new Cardio Kickboxing pilot program. It is from 9-10am at Weatherly Elementary School for the next 3 Saturdays and does not require any experience or certain level of fitness. The class will be led by a black belt in karate and is only $39 for all 3 classes.
