Dieting simply means that you are making the consorted effort to control the foods and content that you put into your body so that you can control the shape and composition of your body. Because dieting requires a behavioral change for so many people, it can be a difficult adjustment. Dieting with a buddy, however, can help you make the progress you seek.
Buddies help you lose the weight you desire in three main ways: 1. They offer emotional support during this often-turbulent period of adjustment; 2. They offer a meter for your success. By observing your buddy, you can learn insights into your own behavior towards your meals. 3. Buddies help to keep you on track by encouraging you to maintain the diet that you both agreed upon.
Here are some tips to help you and your partner work towards your diet goals together:
Chart Your Success
Making a dieting chart is important because it will help you to develop some quantifiable metrics for your weight loss. By glancing at the chart, you will be able to determine which areas you need to focus on in your diet and which areas are going well. You will be able to, thus, identify behavior that you may not have been previously aware of.
By creating a dieting chart, your buddy can offer you feedback and suggestions based on your behavior as well. You will both be transparent about your habits. By observing your partner’s behavior, in turn, you will be in a position to understand how others approach the dieting challenge. Often, you will gain encouragement and strategies by identifying how you both handle certain situations.
Finally, the chart is your sheet of accountability. If you slip up in your diet, you will have to admit to it. Surprisingly, because you know that you will have to add whatever food you eat to the chart, you will be keenly aware of each and every calorie that you put into your body. As such, you will be closely connected with your habits over time.
Cook for Each Other
Many busy dieting partners find that the most basic need, which is cooking healthy meals, is difficult when there are so many other obligations pulling them away from the kitchen. Dieting partners, if they live in the same town, can develop a calendar for food preparation. Several times a week, each partner can cook a healthy dinner for the other partner. If you cook on Monday and your partner cooks on Tuesday, then you know that you have to spend an extra hour in the kitchen on Monday in order to get two free on Tuesday.
Each meal can be prepared according to a certain diet, if you are both pursuing the same style. Make sure that there are plenty of portions so that it can be frozen and heated later in the week. By preparing meals, you are certain to make eating a healthy ritual rather than a rushed one not taken very seriously.
Dieting can be laborious and, for many people, create more stress than not dieting. Keep in mind that when you commit to a diet, however, you are making a commitment to enhancing the healthiness of your body and to paving the way for a more active lifestyle. In many cases, a healthy diet can save your life. Go ahead – find that buddy and share your dieting success!
