Friday, July 16, 2010

You've Got a Friend In Me!

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one!" ~C.S. Lewis

Just like the Toy Story theme song states..."You've got a friend in me!" Oh before I get to the crux of my post, allow me to share some highlights of a Toy Story 3 birthday party my sons and I attended. MY coworker Rose planned the best party EVER for her kids:
Here's the birthday girl dressed as Jessie... TOOOO CUUUUUTE!!!!!!
...And the birthday boy dressed as Woody...ADORABLE!

Check out the party swag!!!
 

Several  months ago I attended a Weight Watchers meetings that tops my list of favorite meetings. The topic, Let's Buddy Up, focused on finding a weight loss buddy. In short, the leader expressed the importance of sharing your weight loss endeavor with a buddy going through the same life changing experience. 

Buddy benefits include:
  • "friendly" competition between two buds helps to fuel workout motivation. When training for my first 5K I ran with my cousin one day, and the partnership helped to push me to run farther and faster.
  • Buddies provide comfort & encouragement during times of despair, as well they help you celebrate your weight loss accomplishments.  
  • According to Weight Watchers, members with support lead to greater weight loss success resulting in 3 times the weight loss than a member with no support. 
So, "Where do you go to find a weight loss buddy?"

Blogger
I immediately  thought about my Blogger buddies and how you encourage me through thick and thin (no pun intended). When I threaten to quit blogging or skip my Saturday weigh ins, your comments often talk me of the ledge, so to speak. And I thank you kindly for providing unconditional support.

Of course I piped up and told ALL WW meeting members about the fabulous support found in the blogosphere. Followers come and go, but a few of you remain loyal and return again and again to gratify my sometimes over weaning ego...don't judge.

Meetings 
Weight Watchers' meetings provide many opportunities to connect with a weight loss buddy.  Typically, I run in/out of meetings quickly and never make time to socialize. Surprisingly, a WW member, Jen (who by the way lost an amazing 100 lbs),  contacted me on Facebook (another great buddy source), and coincidentally she and I worked together back in the day (10+ years ago) at the YMCA. 

The best thing about a WW buddy, if either one of us misses a meeting, we can message each other with details of the week's meeting topic. 

Friends & Family
Another place to find a weight loss buddy...friends & family.  BUT BE CAREFUL with this option. Buddying up with friends and fam can be a catch 22. Sometimes jealously abounds when one person proves mores successful by losing more weight or losing faster than the other person. 

Despite the dark side of working together with friends or family, they can serve as a catalyst  to help keeping  the weight off by encouraging each other to stick to the plan.   Fellow bloggers and non-bloggers, I want to introduce you to some of my supportive friends & family buddies :

My biggest cheerleader...MY MOM! She helps by sometimes preparing my meals and helping out with healthy lifestyle change expenses (e.g. purchasing exercise equipment). 
God's Favorite Shoes, a fellow WW trooper...we attend different meetings but we cheer each other on (to the best of our ability).
The Kinder Team... especially Katie who made a waist line friendly cake for my birthday last year. And you too Brenda & Solmary for participating in the Weight Watchers 5K with me! Thanks ladies.
How bout a few other suggestions to find a weight loss buddy:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Gym
  • Park or where ever you work out
Now that I gave you some ideas of where to find a buddy...so

...What do you look for in a buddy?
In my case, I need to connect with someone who can share my pain. My buddy needs to know what it feels like to hit rock bottom...crash & burn, only to rise from the ashes like the Phoenix. I need a buddy who relates to the day to day struggle of fighting the good fight.


More specifically, Weight Watchers offers a few  tips for creating a successful partnership.  On your buddy search look for a partner who:
  • shares goals similar to yours (i.e. weight loss, fitness, etc.)
  •  exercises at a similar intensity 
  • provides support  and not jealously if they gain and you lose
  • resides in close proximity. An online buddy works, but studies show a face to face partnerships prove more successful.
Unfortunately, some people embarking on this weight loss adventure lack the support from friends, family, and the online community. To that I say..."YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME!"

So, do you already buddy up? If not, I challenge you to find a suitable weight loss partner! 

10 comments:

  1. Girl, I'm almost shame to say that I suck right now! I need major interventions...all day...and night! UGH!

    I gotta back on it! But you my friend I am sooooo proud of!

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  2. I am having problems finding a workout buddy or a diet buddy. I feel a little lost doing it by myself. My best friend is due in October, so I hope we can get together after her baby. Right now all I have is blog world!

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  3. My ww buddy lives a 15 hour drive away from me. We email eachother on weigh in days, share recipes, vent and support.
    I also have 6 workout buddies, we all work together and have memberships at the same gym. An email goes out once a day with a call out to everyone and we respond with "yes we are going", "i can't make it" or "please drag my sorry butt with you".
    Support is greatly needed for me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is a really good post. I used to have a group of friends who tried to encourage me to eat a bunch of junk when we went out. The lack of support led me to look for a new group of friends with similar goals/lifestyle. You are so right that having a buddy works. I'm not a member of WW, but my best friend is a fitness/wellness enthusiast. When we get together we always update each other on anything new we've heard on the diet/exercise front.

    BTW, I love Toy Story. My son was Woody for Halloween one year.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My WW meeting has a lot of older women in it- so I have not met up with anyone outside of the meeting or clicked with anyone but by far my biggest support system is the blogger peeps that I have met. YOU INCLUDED! :) Twitter is a huge help to me too- all of the people U follow are weight loss bloggers so I feel a lot of help through that too. :) Great post today...so important to get support along our journey! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. This has got to be one of my fav posts. I'm home tonight finally and 3 parties in 1 weekend SUCKS someone is gonna be dissapointed.
    Ok anyway. I find that my blog peeps keep me on my shit more than anyone. Sometimes it gets harder than ever and a swift kick in the ass or to see someone you were on track with excel really helps.....love this post and u most def have a get fit friend in me.
    Awwwwww.....mushy moment *gags*.lol

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  7. Me, my mom and sis are in it together. We all have lost over 20 pounds. It's so awesome to have help and support along the way.

    Love the Toy Story theme! So cute

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  8. Buddies are a great help. I have a diet buddy at my work place and we keep helping each other to stave off binges!

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  9. I can imagine things might get competitive when teaming up with a friend. Though I think those jealousies are only natural when your trying to reach a certain goal for yourself.

    I don't have too much information regarding weight loss, but I learned in my nutrition class that weight watchers is the only successful diet plan out there. All others are fad diets that won't maintain the weight loss in the long run so your definitely take the right steps!

    Good luck! Stopping by from SITS!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am so lucky to have my hubby as my buddy. We help keep each other motivated to make healthy choices and kick each other out of bed to get to the gym in the mornings. Thank you so much for linking up to Watch My Weight Wednesdays! New linky will be up tonight! I hope to see you tomorrow.
    Angie

    ReplyDelete

First off all, THANKS for stopping by and for those of you following...THANKS for following AND indulging my MADNESS. Please feel free to holla back or provide your 2¢. I WILL TRY to respond to ALL comments via email. AGAIN THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT!

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