If you were in my kitchen right now, you would see a very large and un-decorative easel sized flip chart hanging on my wall. My husband and I are both tracking our daily calories, water consumption, and exercise on it. It was his idea.
The whole family has been taking walks every day. My husband sets the stopwatch on his phone, puts the 6 month old in the baby pouch while I remind the seven year old to watch where he is swinging his Gandalf walking staff (aka - a big stick he found in the woods) and then we take off for thirty minutes through the neighborhood. This was also my husband’s idea.
Yesterday was a day full of opportunity. Opportunity to not eat well. After church in the morning we went out to eat with my parents and all of my brothers and sisters. Left there and went to a graduation party, went to a church service inside a local prison in the evening and followed it up with a group of people going to get burritos that night. Through all of that, I managed to stay at my daily calorie goal (well, about 20 over, but still good in my book). All day I was around people who knew I was trying to lose weight…otherwise it would have been easy for me to cheat and sneak an extra cupcake or three.
Surrounding myself with people who are aware of what I’m trying to accomplish makes it much more difficult to cheat.
This is true with everything though. Accountability and support are two of the biggest factors in determining success when it comes to addictions of any sort. When we hide what it is that we are struggling with, it is so much easier to give in when faced with temptation. And the odds of you falling off the wagon are going to increase even more if you surround yourself with people who are actively involved in the behavior you are trying to stop.
I know who to call if I want to go out for pizza. They aren’t going to remind me of the fact that one slice of pizza has 350 calories. Honestly, I know people who cold support all sorts of bad habits. I know who I’d call if I wanted to gossip, if wanted to get drunk, if I wanted to buy some drugs, and while it’s scary to think about, I think I even know who I could call if I wanted to cheat on my husband. God forbid that I fall into these temptations anytime soon - but I would be foolish to think that I could surround myself with these people and stay strong indefinitely, wouldn’t I?
My husband works in a prison. When people get out and go back to the same friends that they had before, the chances of them returning to prison again or falling into addiction again is over 70%. When they start new and get friends around them who hold them accountable, it is less than 40%.
It’s not just common sense - it’s Biblical. “Evil companions corrupt good morals” is a Bible verse that we learn when we are children.
I’m not saying that someone who wants to have pizza with me is evil…but the principle is true. If I am looking to stay away from a certain type of behavior - no matter what it may be, I shouldn’t be surprised over my failures when I have been surrounding myself with people who aren’t helping me succeed.
“Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” 1 Corinthians 15:33
The whole family has been taking walks every day. My husband sets the stopwatch on his phone, puts the 6 month old in the baby pouch while I remind the seven year old to watch where he is swinging his Gandalf walking staff (aka - a big stick he found in the woods) and then we take off for thirty minutes through the neighborhood. This was also my husband’s idea.
Yesterday was a day full of opportunity. Opportunity to not eat well. After church in the morning we went out to eat with my parents and all of my brothers and sisters. Left there and went to a graduation party, went to a church service inside a local prison in the evening and followed it up with a group of people going to get burritos that night. Through all of that, I managed to stay at my daily calorie goal (well, about 20 over, but still good in my book). All day I was around people who knew I was trying to lose weight…otherwise it would have been easy for me to cheat and sneak an extra cupcake or three.
Surrounding myself with people who are aware of what I’m trying to accomplish makes it much more difficult to cheat.
This is true with everything though. Accountability and support are two of the biggest factors in determining success when it comes to addictions of any sort. When we hide what it is that we are struggling with, it is so much easier to give in when faced with temptation. And the odds of you falling off the wagon are going to increase even more if you surround yourself with people who are actively involved in the behavior you are trying to stop.
I know who to call if I want to go out for pizza. They aren’t going to remind me of the fact that one slice of pizza has 350 calories. Honestly, I know people who cold support all sorts of bad habits. I know who I’d call if I wanted to gossip, if wanted to get drunk, if I wanted to buy some drugs, and while it’s scary to think about, I think I even know who I could call if I wanted to cheat on my husband. God forbid that I fall into these temptations anytime soon - but I would be foolish to think that I could surround myself with these people and stay strong indefinitely, wouldn’t I?
My husband works in a prison. When people get out and go back to the same friends that they had before, the chances of them returning to prison again or falling into addiction again is over 70%. When they start new and get friends around them who hold them accountable, it is less than 40%.
It’s not just common sense - it’s Biblical. “Evil companions corrupt good morals” is a Bible verse that we learn when we are children.
I’m not saying that someone who wants to have pizza with me is evil…but the principle is true. If I am looking to stay away from a certain type of behavior - no matter what it may be, I shouldn’t be surprised over my failures when I have been surrounding myself with people who aren’t helping me succeed.
“Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” 1 Corinthians 15:33
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