Environment‘s Role in Amanda & Ryan’s Dual Weight Loss Success

Amanda and Ryan have worked with us twice now, and both times they’ve experienced near-linear weight loss. Which is quite rare. Mike wanted to interview them to help others understand why they had been so successful. In particular, Mike wanted to speak about how your environment can play a big role in one’s ability to successfully and sustainably lose weight.

So what exactly does your environment mean? It’s a lot of things, but think of it as things in your physical surroundings that influence your behavior. Some of these have overlap, but here are most of them:

• Natural Environment: what exists around you that will either encourage or discourage exercise? This includes things like mountains, clean air, and weather.
• Built Environment: this includes things like do you have sidewalks and parks nearby?
• Food Environment: what is available nearby – to your house or place of work – are there grocery stores? Or, is it mainly fast food?
• Friends and Family: do your friends/family do anything together that’s active, or are you more likely to just meet up for a drink/food?
• Business Colleagues: what’s your work culture like? Does it encourage healthy habits? Does your boss champion an active lifestyle and work-life balance? Do you have a health spending account that can be used towards activewear or a gym membership?  Or, is it more likely that your coworkers will go to a pub after work?
• Role models: who are you exposed to, media or otherwise, that influencers your healthy – or unhealthy – behaviors?
• Atmosphere – this one is a little more specific to your exercise setting. Take for example a gym, what’s the atmosphere and attitude like there? How welcoming is staff, how is the lighting, how are fellow members like, and how is the equipment?

Below: Amanda’s results from Sep 15/20 to Nov 22/20

Noteable timepoints:

• 4:27 – influence from people around you, an encouraging and competitive environment that Amanda and Ryan helped support for each other.
• 6:55 – general food environment at home: who is making meals, cooking for more than one, what’s available to eat in the house
• 9:50 – having some flexibility with diet helped long-term adherence
• 13:36 – having a more realistic and less aggressive approach helped long-term adherence and enjoyment
• 15:00 – social influence of being around supportive or non-supportive diet environment
• 18:53 – atmosphere of the “gym” environment, not as encouraging/competitive or supporting with home-gym
• 25:07 – doing active things where being active wasn’t the reason for doing it, rather it was a social outlet that secondarily was active

Below: Ryan’s results from Sep 15/20 to Nov 22/20

Summary:

Losing weight is hard, and different aspects of your environment can serve as reinforers or barriers. For Amanda and Ryan their social support network played the biggest role. They also had the added accountability of paying for something, and being accountable to someone else – each other, and Mike.

If you’ve struggled with consistent or sustainable weight loss in the past, see what environmental factors you can change to be supportive of your current goal. These changes can help positively influence your discipline and motivation, both of which are finite resources that can run out over time.

If you need help, we can be one source of positive influence to help shape your “environment.” Fill out a personal training interest form to start that discussion.