You started making some awesome changes in your life, and you feel great. And now you want your family and friends to feel great to.
But it doesn’t seem to be working.
Why?
Creating change isn’t a universally popular idea. No one wants to be told they need to or should do something. That’s why you may have found that telling to your partner, children or even friends that “From now on we’re going to create some new positive habits!” there may have been some resistance or back lash.
So how can we get others to share our enthusiasm?
be cool about it
Don’t wave your finger at a friend or your partner when you see them ordering a side of fries instead of a salad. Don’t email your sister, daughter or cousin the latest article you found online on how they can lose weight. No one has ever been inspired to change by way of guilt. Encourage and champion them when they take a step in the right direction.
make food they actually like
If your family is used to meat and potatoes, white bread and pasta, and the occasional salad, you can’t come home one day and say “Tonight we’re having broccoli, fish and brussels sprouts! All steamed”. Yeah, don’t think that will go over too well. Start off with remaking on of their favourite recipes. If they love pasta, switch to whole grain pasta, swap your regular potato at dinner for roasted sweet potatoes or healthify your regular muffin recipe, by using coconut sugar instead. This will make the transition much easier, and they won’t feed their food to the dog under the table.
make moving it fun
Exercise can be and should be something you look forward to. If you want to motivate your loved ones to move more, turn your social calendar into active + social. Have a regular Saturday morning coffee date with your girl friends? Why not a Spin class + coffee date. Signup for dance classes with your man, join a run club, learn to ski, or go hiking with our family. Making exercise fun can really change the way you look and health and fitness.
be sneaky
We all know that we need to eat more vegetables. They’re disease fighting, energy boosting, hot-bod creating super heroes. I love vegetables and think they are delicious and you probably do too. But if you’re met with resistance when serve you, them, just sneak them in. Yup. It works. Like really well. I recommend this trick with all my clients. Click here for foolproof ways to sneak’em in.
be an example
If you want your partner to make some changes, starting by doing it yourself first. Once they see how great you are feeling, they’ll be more inspired. And as for children, make it a family affair. Always. You can’t expect your kids to happily eat cauliflower and squash while you scarf down a plate full of fries and wash it down with a pop.
accept they may not be ready
You can’t help people who are not ready. Trust me! I’ve tried. Many-a-time. It led to arguments with people I cared about and sometimes they completely rebelled and did the opposite just to piss me off. Not everyone is ready to jump on the happy + healthy bus. Give them some space to come to their own realizations about what they need.
Now, I’d love to hear from you. Which one of these are you going to try? Or if you’ve had success helping a loved one create some positive changes, please share your story.
Thanks for reading and have a fabulous weekend.
Ana xo
