I came across a study by Harvard university that confirms something I’ve been saying for years.
“When an individual gains weight, it dramatically increases the chances that their friends, siblings, and spouses will likewise gain weight. The closer two people are in a social network, the stronger the effect. Interestingly, geographical distance between persons in a social network appears to have no effect.”
I’ve seen this play out over and over again.
You are a fit person who starts hanging out with fat people.
For the first few times, you don’t eat like them. They act like you’re a “health freak” and they’re “normal” while in reality you’re normal and they’re gluttons.
Then, you start getting used to people eating garbage.
You go to a burger place and order a burger. You also have some fries and some coke.
It’s bad but it’s not as bad as your friends who had two burger, lots of fries and drinks and even dessert.
Soon you start noticing your own waistline increase as you make these little concessions and then eventually stop caring entirely. And become a fastso like your friends.
For no damn reason at all, you become like the people you hang out with.
It doesn’t just apply to obesity, but also fitness.
When you hang out with healthy people, they don’t order fast food.
If you order fast food, they look down upon you.
“Why are you eating all that oil.”
“Man, that thing is really unhealthy.”
“That ice tea is just lots of sugar.”
Fitness is also contagious.
Fit friends will shame you for doing things that make you unfit and will praise you for doing things that make you fit.
A very underrated way to lose fat is to stop hanging out with fat people.
Don’t go out with them.
Don’t spend time around them.
Don’t even talk to them if you can help it.
You will stop getting fatter.
Try and make some friends with fit people. The easiest way to meet fit people is to go to the gym or some sports place (like Tennis).
You will start eating healthier and your fatness will reduce.
You will even adopt better hobbies (hobbies that keep you fit and healthy instead of “bar hopping”).
Stop watching fat people online.
I mean things like YouTube videos made by fat people.
When you watch someone online, it’s pretty much the same as hanging around them. The brain doesn’t differentiate between screen and no-screen – it didn’t evolve to deal with modern tech.
For your brain and mindset, constantly watching fat people online is the same as being around fat people in real life.
You will start thinking “being fat is normal” because you’re seeing fat people all day.
At the end of the day, it comes down to standards.
When you hang out with people with low standards, your standards also reduce.
You see junk food and think it’s normal. Your fatso friends will even encourage you to eat it.
Being fat isn’t shameful because everyone around you is fat. How can you be ashamed of being in the situation everyone around you is also in?
When you hang out with people who have high standards, your standards go up as well.
You look at your fat self in the mirror and feel shame because all your friends are fit.
You work out more and you eat less.
You are more conscious about your health because the people around you are conscious about their health.
So stop hanging out around fatsos. Stop consuming their content. Don’t let them spread their obesity to you.
It’s that simple.
Hope this helps.
Your man,
Harsh Strongman
