Friends with benefits: relationships that can help your health

The people you surround yourself with significantly affect your health. If most of your friends like to eat out 5 nights a week, chances are you'll be joining them. If your significant other is a meat and potatoes guy/gal, then chances are you'll be eating along with them. But, the reverse remains true, too. Here I've chronicled the relationships that have positively affected my health.

My husband. I met my husband when I was 18. I had just graduated high school and had basically boycotted exercise for four months. Then, one day while I was lifeguarding, I saw a guy walk through the entrance. He was lean, fit, and muscular, and when he walked up to the lifeguard stand, smiled and said, "so...do you like to swim?" I was smitten (yes, I met my husband while lifeguarding...insert mouth-to-mouth joke here). One of our first dates we went out to dinner, I ordered first: chicken strips, Dr. Pepper, french fries. Then he ordered: water, grilled chicken, veggies on the side, but not cooked in oil. I was appalled. Not that he had ordered so healthfully, but that I looked like such a fried-food monster! I changed my habits that day. I dropped sodas, I started working out again, and I slowly changed my diet. It wasn't so much a change for him as a change for me. He just motivated me to see that my health was important. Don't get me wrong, I still order french fries if I want them, it's just rare that I do so.

Friends/Colleagues. I'm a competitive person. In high school my best friend and I played basketball together, and whenever we were in the weight room, I made sure I'd lift more and work harder than her. In college? I wanted to make sure I was more physically fit than my roommates. At work? Well, I made it a competition. Literally. When I started my job as a manager I initiated a monthly fitness competition, and while it was optional to participate, most of my staff ended up doing so. The great thing? I think it motivated some of my friends to be more active, too. Shortly after I left that job, I was going through some stressful stuff. My workouts died down, I ate more takeout, and I put on some weight. When I started my next job there was this gorgeous, fit woman who worked with me. Just seeing her workout motivated me to get back on the bandwagon and recommit myself to being fit.

Pets. I love my dogs. They are my babies. When I put on running shoes, they know I'm doing something fun. They run around in circles, jump on each other, grab the leash off the floor and run around the house with it. Seeing them so excited makes me excited to take them out. And just knowing that that's the reaction I'll get motivates me to put my shoes on. Plus, I know during the day they're cooped up in the house, and it's just not fair to them if I don't take them out for a jog. We don't always go far, but just knowing I'm doing something good for them helps to get me going.

So what do you do if your significant other/friends aren't all that healthy? Well, you can be the one to change that trend! Start making healthier choices, and see if you can motivate your friends to do so, too.