Show Me Your Friends

"Show me your friends and I will show you your future." -J.R. Briggs

Last night I had the joy of spending some quality time with one of my dearest friends, Amanda Rose. We have known each other since infancy and our mothers are best friends. Even so, Amanda and I haven't always been best of friends--we now laugh about the stupid squabbles that kept us from being friends for so many years. I am sad to say, Amanda is heading down south very soon so our time together is short. This morning after she left my house (yes, we had a sleepover :)), I had some time to reflect on our friendship. I am happy to say, I would be proud to present Amanda to Mr. Briggs and see what he says about my future.

Amanda & I after a hard workout

Over the past five months we've spent our time together mainly working out, geeking out over different workouts, sharing healthy recipes we've found, or talking nutrition. Amanda not only encourages me to live healthier but she inspires me to. Five months ago Amanda decided she was going to get into the best shape of her life--and so she has! Despite being extremely busy commuting to school full-time, doing an internship, among a plethora of other things--she has dedicated herself to making healthy choices and exercise and has lost 20 pounds! If that doesn't inspire you, I don't know what will.

Going on 22+ years of friendship. So Thankful. 

Brigg's quote is applicable to every area of life--physically, financially, emotionally, and spiritually. I have been blessed with family and friends who continually spur me on to be the best version of myself in all of these areas. They continually challenge me and I believe much of my success can be attributed to these relationships.

"Birds of a feather flock together"

Obesity, a social disease

There have been recent studies that show your health IS effected by those you hang around. I have found this to be true in my own life.  As I've chosen to make healthy choices, I have come to realize how much of our culture and social lives revolve around food. All sedentary activities that included eating foods that are only going to push me further from my health goals.

I'm not saying it's wrong to go out with friends and get ice cream once in awhile, I've definitely done it. The point I am trying to make is that if you are always hanging around people who are not encouraging or inspiring you to meet your goals (health or otherwise)--watch out. This is a slippery slope.

I know that I would not be where I am today without the friends and family that support me and spur me on to meet ALL my goals. Choose wisely who you give your time to. Time is a precious commodity and when gone, you can never get it back. Take a closer look at who your friends are--I'm not saying leave friends in the dust if they aren't perfect--but think of your time as an investment, and give it to those who will give you the biggest return. If you spend time with people who have all the same problems/weaknesses as you... you probably wont get anywhere. 

Also, take a look at yourself. Are you a friend that encourages people to meet their goals? If you know your friend is trying to get healthy, are you pushing a cookie on them? The best way to get friends that encourage and inspire you is by being one.

If you are interested in looking at a great study about obesity being a social disease, click the link below. 

Here is a quote from it--

"We find that the current rate of becoming obese is 2% per year and increases by 0.5 percentage points for each obese social contact."

http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1000968

Here are my concluding thoughts. Everyone can reach their goals--it's a matter of surrounding yourself with people who will help you get there and being someone who will help others get there.

Hope

xoxo