It Takes a Village to Raise Success Rates

Research has indicated that 50% or more of people who make a conscious effort to lose weight will end up regaining and possibly surpassing their starting weights. While there are a number of different factors that play into this, one that is often overlooked is how one’s social network influences behavior.

Your Network

They say that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, and this doesn’t just apply to personality or wealth. Those five people will also have a significant influence on your health and weight as well. This is easy to understand if we think about it. If your spouse, friends, and co-workers eat terribly, do not exercise, stay out late, and drink heavily, what do you think the likelihood is that you will eat right, go to the gym every day, get in bed early, and stay clear of alcohol? Not very likely.

Besides the influences these people have on our daily behavior, they also influence our perception of what is normal. If you think about Americans in general, we can see that our perception of “normal” when it comes to health has moved further and further away from what would be considered optimal. It is “normal” to have a belly. It is “normal” to become sick in the winter. It is “normal” to have someone in the family that is diabetic, or who has had a heart attack. These things would not be normal in many other countries, but for us, it is what we know. It is what we see every day from those closest to us.

Below is a video that goes more into how our social networks influence us. It is 18 minutes long, but if you have time, it is fascinating to watch.

 What is most interesting to me about this is just how important our networks are in everything we do. We like to think of ourselves as independent and in control, but we come to realize that everything from our emotions to our actions to our weight is highly influenced by those people with whom we choose to interact.

How to Overcome

Let’s bring this back around to the 50% failure rate in attempting to lose weight. One of the first rules of sustained weight loss is to make changes in your lifestyle. Weight loss means nothing if you have not set up the structure to support healthy living, and one of those structural supports is your social network. This, however, is the most frightening of all the lifestyle changes. What if the only way you could stay healthy was to cut ties with someone you are very close to? This is something that most of us would not be able to do, and I believe this has a significant influence on those that rebound.

Luckily, there are ways around cutting ties with everyone you know if you are to stay healthy. The most important of which is your willingness to ask for help. If you are going to try to lose weight and keep it off, start by telling those closest to you what your goals are. If they care about you, they will help. They may even join in your quest and make some lifestyle changes of their own! You have to be open though. You have to be willing to explain how important this is to you and that you cannot do it alone. These people should be your cheerleaders, your team. With their support, you can achieve anything, but without it, it will be almost impossible to sustain those changes you have made.

If you have a health or fitness goal, take some time to think about what exactly you want to achieve, why you want to achieve it, and what you will need from your friends and family if you are going to be able to sustain those achievements, e.g. no more bringing donuts into the office. Next, write down your goal and post it where you and your household can see. Finally, take action to tell those you interact with what your goal is, why it is important you, and that you would like their help. As I said, if they care about you, they will be there for you, and you will be on your way to sustainable results.