Being with Friends and Family

Communication is key!

We hope you enjoy developing lots of new helpful habits during this programme. Don’t forget what a support other people can be. Don’t feel you have to do all this on your own – we know from research that the support of other people is key, and we want to help you enjoy a happy relaxed social life.

It is therefore important to develop strategies to ensure that you enjoy your social events and meals out without them becoming stressful and negative experiences.

Make sure you still order food you like when you go out. Making healthy choices won’t feel like much fun if you are opting for foods that you genuinely don’t enjoy. For example, if there is something on the menu that you would really like but you know it’s not a balanced meal, see if there is a way it can be adapted by adding more vegetables or changing certain things. Restaurants are usually happy about replacing chips for example with a salad!

And if you are eating out talk to your friends first. It’s much easier to do that than have pressure put on you in the restaurant! Even with the best intentions, friends and family can sometimes sway you off track. Take the time to explain to those you go out with what you are doing. People are much more likely to be supportive of you when you explain this. They may even join you!

Encourage Using support from family and friends (social support)

An important part of successful behaviour change is ensuring that you are getting as much support as possible. This can come from friends, family, neighbours or even pets. We know from research that having support is really important for maintaining motivation and boosting morale. We also know that we are then better able to manage other long-term health conditions and health behaviour change.

Talk to your friends and family about the emotional or practical support that you might want or need from them sometimes. They can’t always guess what you need and if they guess wrong then that can lead to conflict and tension. Remember too that it is not a sign of weakness to ask for support from people. Although we often fear people will not be understanding, in practice it’s usually the opposite and people will help and support.

Think about how people can help you

For example, not everyone is good at the same thing, you may get help from unexpected people. Consider:

• Who is best to give you encouragement to keep going?
• Who is best to give you practical help, like going around a shop with you looking at new foods?
• Who is best at helping you think through a problem?
• Try to get your household involved, for example try finding different ways of enjoying any new vegetables you are eating.

And remember social support is not all one way – there might be lots of situations when you can give support back also.

Think about the following things as you start the programme:

Even if you are quite a private person, we all need to do things together sometimes. If you’re on your own think more widely about who you can use. It might be that the
community on our app would be good for you. And don’t forget pets. They are often really good listeners!