Last year, I took a step back to evaluate my weekly routine as I was finding myself spending an increasingly large number of nights going out to dinner, stopping by a happy hour or grabbing lunch out while I was on the go. I also found that I was spending a lot of money and eating some pretty unhealthy food options. I was hearing a lot of the same from my group of girlfriends. We knew we had an opportunity to change the activities we were doing so we could start living a healthier lifestyle. A group of six of us decided then to commit to a year of health and well-being improvements. 

We swapped happy hours for walks and going out to eat to meal prepping. And what we found was that it not only helped our physical health, but it helped our friendships grow stronger!

Accountability buddies are key to healthy lifestyle changes—we know that we take on the characteristics of the five people we spend the most time with.[i] Having a buddy not only helps you show up—it provides you the opportunity to push a little harder in your workouts, try new recipes and celebrate the wins together.[ii]

As my girlfriends and I decided to make these changes, we knew that a year is a long commitment to make right out of the gate. Just look around any gym once March hits and you’ll see much smaller numbers than in January. But we knew that we could do it if everyone was committed! We also had a mid-way point trip to Greece scheduled, so it helped at first while we were building a routine to have a shorter-term goal to work towards: saving money for the trip and eating all of the delicious foods once we got there!

The unique piece of our walking group, and what really helped hold us accountable during the week when we were not together, was our weekly potluck style meal prep. If anyone has tried meal prep, you know that it’s very easy to fall into the routine of eating the exact same meal for many days, or even weeks, in a row. This is always where I fall back into old ways—I enjoy a variety of food options and don’t always have the time to research new healthy recipes that reheat well for the week.

We decided to divide the task of cooking to ensure long-term success! Each week, two of us were tasked with meal prepping enough for the entire group to have one to two meals throughout the week. This allowed us to try new recipes each week and the best part—we only had to cook once every three weeks! The night that we picked up our meals, we also committed to walking as a group. It was a new twist that combined the Blue Zones Project walking and potluck Moais!

As you can imagine, having accountability partners helps people stay on track and reach success. Healthy eating has always been one of the most challenging aspects of overall health and well-being—read that I love nachos and cheesecake! Having a set schedule of meal prep where you have other people counting on you making a healthy dish to share has been a huge game changer to healthy eating.

I’d encourage each of you to reach out to your friends and challenge yourselves to come up with new ways to reach your health and well-being goals!

P.S. One of the biggest hits was the Blue Zones inspired Creamy Thai Carrot Soup with Basil.

[i] https://www.businessinsider.com/jim-rohn-youre-the-average-of-the-five-people-you-spend-the-most-time-with-2012-7
[ii] https://www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/fitness/workouts/a26338056/accountability-weightwatchers/