Do you remember at school the teachers would set everyone up with a buddy on school trips?
You would get on the bus and check that your buddy was there. When you went into the museum, you’d grab hold of your buddies hand and not let them out of your sight.
And then you’d sit with your buddy for lunch and then next to them on the way home.
The buddy system worked, as you were always looking out for someone and they were looking out for you.
And when you are trying to eat healthy food, exercise more, or lose weight – the buddy system really comes into its own.
Having support is one of the keys to achieving good results. Of course, you have Lose Baby Weight as a source of support in terms of recipes, articles, tips and products.
But there’s nothing like a real live person there to give you the (emotional) push that you sometimes need to make things happen.
So who makes a good buddy?
- Your partner. Pretty handy as you live together and spend plenty of time together anyway. If your partner is on board with healthy eating and exercising then he/she can be a great buddy.
- Your friend. It doesn’t have to be your best pal, but just someone that you have similar goals and philosophies too. Perhaps you met someone in your group fitness class that you clicked with – could they be your buddy?
- Your colleague. This can work well as you can schedule training sessions before and after work together. You can also keep an eye on each other’s lunches and snacks (and keep them strong when the office birthday cakes keep popping up).
- Your neighbour. Being physically close by is really handy for a buddy. If it’s easy to meet out the front and go for a walk, you are more likely to stick with it compared to having to travel far away to meet up.
- Your mother’s group friend. This social group can be an invaluable source of potential buddies. You are most likely going to have similar goals such as losing your baby weight, and she will also understand that you might need to reschedule due to babysitting issues or family responsibilities. Why not bring your bubs along to a training session in the park and work out together?
What sort of benefits can I expect from having a buddy?
- You can over share. Let’s be honest, most of your pals probably don’t want to know about every morsel of food that you ate today. But your buddy will care, because they are on the same journey and understand that this is where your head space is right now.
- Find out some tips. By sharing your time, goals and successes with your buddy you may teach each other a thing or too. Perhaps you are struggling to find some healthy and tasty snacks for morning tea. Well maybe your buddy has a great recipe that they can share with you.
- Get each other out of bed. There is nothing like knowing that your buddy will be waiting for you at 6am for a walk to get you up and out of bed. One of my friends had a system with her buddy where they were only allowed one ‘get out of jail free card’ every 3 months (meaning she could text her buddy at 5.45am and say she wasn’t going to make it). Otherwise you HAD to be there. When you are training on your own it can be easy to roll over and go back to sleep when the alarm goes off.
- Help each other out. Perhaps you can babysit for your buddy one afternoon so that she can go out with her partner. Maybe you can commit to doubling a recipe once a week and swapping a meal with your buddy. Or if your buddy has two sets of boxing gloves she might be able to loan them to you when you go to try out a class together. Maybe you’ve got a recipe that you just know she will love. You get the drift!
- Two heads are better than one. Do you know the saying ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’? Your buddy can help you with some of those questions that you aren’t sure about. Not sure what to do with the quinoa that you bought? Ask your buddy. Wondering how to motivate your partner to eat the healthy food you’re cooking? Maybe your buddy can help.
- A little bit of healthy competition. If you have a competitive drive, having a buddy can help to push you further than you could do on your own. If your buddy is kicking goals with her weight loss, it may just spur you on to make those extra little changes that can see you hitting the same heights. If your buddy can run the whole way where you normally alternate between running and jogging, having them there can help you to push yourself to keep up.
- Celebrate each other’s success. When you reach a goal it can feel much more like a big deal when you have someone else to celebrate it with you. And even more so, if you happen to have a bad week or a minor setback, it’s great to have your buddy there to pick you up and dust you off again.
- Get some honest feedback. Once you have been buddies for a while, it can be helpful to ask for some constructive feedback from them. You could ask them to tell you if there was anything they thought that you could work on in order to achieve even better results. For instance your buddy may notice things like your negative self talk when you are talking about your results; or they may notice that you tend to sway a little from your healthy eating plan whenever you head to a certain café. Just by taking note of their comments you could learn a lot about yourself – which could lead to better results for you down the track if you implement some changes.
- It’s fun! Lots of things are a bit more exciting with a friend than on your own, so at the simplest level the buddy system can make your exercise and healthy eating more fun.
Buddy up and enjoy the benefits!
Get Our Exercise DVD
And for the ULTIMATE SAFE, EFFECTIVE & TRUSTED Post Pregnancy Workout – see our EXPERT Post Pregnancy Exercise DVD below – you can purchase and see more information on it here
The DVD can be followed by all mums (for example new mums or mums with older children) and can be followed by someone with a basic or a more advanced level of fitness.
Lisa Westlake is our incredible fitness instructor and postnatal exercise specialist throughout the DVD. With her extensive physiotherapy experience and qualifications (Lisa is one of the most awarded fitness professionals in Australia), Lisa is the perfect fitness instructor to bring The Healthy Mummy Post Pregnancy Exercise DVD to life – you will love working out with her. (You can see our Q&A with Lisa with commonly asked questions on the DVD here)
The exercises in The Healthy Mummy Post Pregnancy Exercise DVD are effective and safe and Lisa will guide you through each of the workouts. As well as assisting in the improvement of your overall fitness levels, the workouts in the DVD will also help in the burning of calories, the improvement of your core strength and the strengthening of your pelvic floor.
The six workouts are broken down into 10 and 15 minute sections that you can do when it suits you – or if you have the time and energy you can do the DVD as one 70 minute continuous workout. The Healthy Mummy Post Pregnancy Exercise DVD also covers special considerations post-birth, such as caesarean sections, back strains, muscle separation, incontinence and pelvic floor issues.
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