Environment – Key to Healthy Living

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Hey moms! Dustin here again. Last week I talked about mindset and creating a vision for your future and how you have to think the right thoughts and have a long term perspective in WHY it is important for you to be in shape and be healthy.

Environment – a key factor in a healthy lifestyle

Today I want to talk about your environment. Wherever you are right now in your health has been determined in part by the environment that you surround yourself in. I am talking about the people you hang out with, the places you go to eat, and the types of activities you do.

Biggest Loser interview

I got to interview a mother/daughter from the Biggest Loser. I asked them if it was hard for them to go back home after they had lost so much weight. They told me something interesting… They said that it wasn’t that bad, because they just had to change their environment up.

They had to change the places they went to eat, the friends they hung out with, the activities they use to do. If they tried to keep their environment the same and just engage in will-power, the results wouldn’t have been the same and they would have most likely gained the weight back.

How do you change your friends?

So how do you change the people you hang around? Here is my approach:

First talk with those you love and tell them that you are going to focusing on getting healthier and share with them the reasons why. Ask them for specific steps that they can take in order to help you along. Ask them if they are committed to helping you reach your goals. I have found most of the time they will say yes, but many won’t follow through once you start getting into it.

There will most likely be some who will try to sabotage your efforts and get you back into the old habits that got you to where you are today. One more time you should talk with them and say that you are concerned that they aren’t helping you reach your goals and that you might need to spend less time with them.

Most of the time you will probably lose a few friends that you had, so you must find things to do that will fill that void and friends. I have found the best thing to do is to join some club or group that shares a common interest. Hopefully this interest or hobby is healthy and active. For example, maybe you have wanted to try out rock climbing, join a climbing group and in no time you will be meeting new people and hopefully making some new friends that are looking to be fit and healthy.

You will find as your habits turn more healthy, you will gravitate towards others who are healthy and it becomes a cycle of health and fitness being part of your life. As a fitness professional, many of my friends are trainers, so for me to go against the healthy active lifestyle that my friends live, would be to go against the norm of my peers. We are all looking to fit in, and when we don’t fit in, we usually try to make our behaviors line up with those around us. That is why having a strong group of supporters around you is key to lasting success!

I would love for you to go checkout my Fit Moms For Life community and begin to receive our monthly workout DVD program. You can learn more at www.fitmomsforlife.com/thankyou

I am Dustin Maher, America’s Trainer to the Moms. I am a leading expert on getting moms in shape. I have appeared 88 times on local and national TV, appeared in many magazines and newspapers and been on over 25 radio shows. I have a blog (www.dustinmaherfitness.com) that receives over 1,000 visitors per day and an active mailing list of 6,000 people. I run 11 fitness bootcamp locations in Madison, Wisconsin, and have sold over 10,000 fitness DVDs. My mission is to reach one million moms by the end of 2015 with the support they need to change their mindset, eat better, exercise effectively, and be part of fit families and communities so they can transform their bodies and their lives.

PLEASE NOTE: We at 5 Minutes for Mom are NOT health professionals, nor do we make any health or medical claims or advice here. Please consult your doctor about all medical issues and make sure you follow your doctor and health professional’s instructions regarding your health and diet.