Surround yourself with Positive People: Ways to Stay Healthy with Friends
Hiking group tackling Mount Defiance - Back to front, Mairéad Beane Kelly, Jenni Bergemann, Celia Newton, Kassee Lynch, Erin Peters
By Erin Peters
Starting to exercise or beginning a healthy meal plan can be challenging. It’s easy to slip up and go back to your old ways if you don’t have people to hold you accountable. The best way to get started is to have someone, or a group of people, who are ready and excited to start on their health journey with you.
Even pets are getting in on FaceTime workouts!
Find Your People
If you want a friend or a few friends to keep you on track, you need to find people who have similar goals as you do, or at least people who respect your goals. Talking with your accountability partner or team about what your objectives are is a great start.
Figure out where you want to begin. Sharing recipes, going for hikes together, trying a new water sport, gardening, getting on Zoom and doing a workout video together, or committing to going to the gym at the same time are really great ways to incorporate something fun with a partner or a group. Being physically active, mentally present, or working on your nutrition is so much more fun when you are not doing it alone.
During COVID-19, I have found a group of amazing teacher friends who have similar fitness goals and love being outdoors. We have a group text message where we check in fairly regularly and see who wants to go hiking and where. Creating a group like this has been really helpful during this time of crisis because it brings not only accountability but also consistency. We try to hit new trails each time, and we also encourage each other to come out and enjoy a day of hiking and good conversation. Finding a group like this either with people you work with or know from other parts of your life can make exercising much more enjoyable.
If you are just beginning this process, try reaching out to a friend or two and seeing if they want to join you for an exercise class or a walk in town. You will be surprised at how quickly you enjoy that connection and want to make it a regular thing! Kat MacDonald, a local community member, says that having friends to FaceTime and do workout videos with, “is a great way to relieve stress and feel connected to others,” during the pandemic. Finding ways to check in with others is important, especially right now.
Stay Accountable
Part of having someone to help you stay accountable is making sure you are on the same page. If you’re going to be super-serious about your process, you probably want to find someone else who is equally dedicated. If this is just a fun way for you to get started making healthier decisions, make sure your partner or group compliments that. You don’t need a drill sergeant if you are looking to take leisurely walks once a week. Being on the same page is a good place to start.
Then you can create either a strict or loose schedule, but try to stick to it! You could dedicate 2 nights a week to going for a bike ride with a friend, or plan out your meals for the week and check in with your meal-prep buddy. Whatever your plans are, really try to stick to it in a way that works for you.
Grab a friend and take a walk up at Sorosis Park.
Be Ready to Make Mistakes
You might be ready to start this process and already be thinking about who you are going to recruit for your wellness partner. But remember that things will come up, plans will change, and it won’t be perfect. Life happens and that is okay. If something comes up, be ready to create a backup plan to make up for that lost time. If you have a dentist appointment in the morning when you would usually take a yoga class in town, suggest another time in the week that would work better for you with your friend. If your accountability partner has to cancel last minute, see if you can convince yourself to do it alone! That is how you will become more successful over time. Keep working, even when it feels challenging.
Things will always come up, and you can always use the excuse that you are too busy or don’t have enough time. Really, you are just not prioritizing your time for your health. We all have crazy busy lives with jobs, families, commitments, etc., but if you work on it, you can make time for your wellbeing. Don’t be too hard on yourself if plans fall through, but also actively work on how you will find another time for your wellness.
Old friends enjoying a weekly social hour, connecting online. Top, left to right, Vickie Zeller, Kat Zaremba, Emily Adams. Bottom, left to right, Alexa Kuo, Hannah Tacke.
Other Ways to Connect
If you have read this article and are thinking you don’t want to have someone constantly bugging you to exercise or eat healthy, consider accountability groups in other ways.
Starting a social hour via Zoom is a great way to connect with friends and also hold each other accountable for that social interaction during COVID-19. Staying in touch with friends and family is so helpful for our mental health. Emily Adams, Portland resident, started a social hour with some friends from high school at the beginning of the pandemic, and now it has become a weekly gathering. “Right away one of the things I missed the most during quarantine was hanging out with friends,” Adams explained, “having this weekly gathering is a great way to catch up with friends and incorporate some normalcy back into our lives!”
Another way to connect with others is holding virtual book clubs on Zoom. Having time to check in with other people and discuss literature is a great way to step away from the chaos of our lives and reflect. Whether you are getting together online to discuss books about important issues like systemic racism, or fantasy books that create a brief escape from reality, it is a great way to check in with others and take time for yourself.
No matter what you are doing right now, think about how you could adapt your lifestyle to be healthier by connecting with others and holding each other accountable. Now is the time to get creative and figure out how you can do that safely during a pandemic! As always, start small until you get into your rhythm and then figure out what works best for you.
