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When you’re on a diet, having a strong weight loss support system can mean the difference between success and failure. We have a major league support team at Plan Z, but if you can add a personal support network to that and buddy up with a partner, the benefits are even greater.

A weight loss buddy (or an accountabilibuddy) can be a spouse or significant other, or a friend that lives nearby. Sometimes buddies are coworkers who support each other at work. In other cases, they live across the country from each other! What’s better with a buddy? Everything! I’ve listed seven of my favorite reasons below.

1. Picking Recipes Together

If you and your buddy live together, you can each be in charge of dinner 3 nights a week. Then, one day a week, order delivery and enjoy a Plan Z-style dinner that neither one of you had to cook.

Plan Z has over 1000 recipes now for everything from comfort food to gourmet dining so it’s fun deciding where you’re going to eat. And you don’t have to eat bland or boring food. Just make a meal plan. Having a plan will keep you from buzzing through the drive-thru at the last minute.

2. Shopping Together

We don’t require buddies to shop together, but when you live together, it happens. The great news is, our buddies tell us it’s a fun experience. I get notes from buddy-husbands who tell me before Plan Z they hadn’t been in a grocery store in years. Now, when they shop with their buddy-wives they are amazed. They have learned to read labels and are astonished at how many things in a grocery store have sugar or HFCS in them — it’s now more than 80%! They are even trying new foods!

3. Cooking Together

In my house, my husband is my buddy, and when we cook together, my husband is the sous chef while I am the master chef. In our case, that means my husband does the chopping. He’s become quite adept with a chef’s knife and has his dicing down pat. Dinner comes together faster that way.

One buddy-husband in Colorado told me that before Plan Z he had never even set foot in the kitchen until dinner was done. His wife did all the cooking. After being on Plan Z he got so into cooking that he proudly became the house chef. His kids surprised him at Christmas with a beautiful set of knives that he uses almost every day. Now, they can give him culinary gifts for birthdays, too.

Another way to split up kitchen duties is to have one buddy cook and have the other buddy clean up. My husband makes me sit and watch TV while he cleans up. Then he makes dessert. Most often he whips up a bowl of Plan Z raspberry ice cream. He loves that stuff. And I love him for loading the dishwasher.

4. Weigh-Ins

Buddy weigh-ins are a great way to hold each other accountable. Weigh yourself and report out to your buddy. I have heard of many a man doing the happy dance in his bathroom after a morning weigh-in. Just the vision of that makes me smile.

Buddies motivate each other, too. Everyone has bad days. You probably won’t lose the same amount of weight every day, so be there for each other and support each other.

5. Compare Water Intake

We did an informal study and found that those who drink 100 oz of water consistently lost 30% more weight than those who drank less than 70 ounces a day. That’s a big difference! For most, that level of water-guzzling takes some getting used to, so it’s a good idea to check in with each other in the middle of the day to see how it’s going. Your body gets used to the water, but the first week or so you’re in the potty a lot during the night. I try to finish drinking my 100 oz before dinner so I don’t have to drink too much too close to bedtime.

6. Cook Food in Batches

Many buddies take time a Sunday to cook up a couple of recipes that can be made in big batches. Things like chili or soup. Or fire up the grill and make enough for leftovers. That way you have a go-to lunch all ready to go. You want to mix things up, though. Don’t let your body get bored eating the same things over and over again. If you do, you risk losing less weight. It’s weird, but it can happen. Take advantage of your freezer too. Many a recipe freezes well in small containers that can fit in your lunch box.

7. Rate the Food

You can both go online and rate the recipes for Plan Z. Or you can just compare tasting notes. Buddies who live across the country from one another do this all the time. Two buddies in Canada chatted every day by email or text about what they were eating and the recipes they enjoyed.

No cheating, though. Cheating on a diet doesn’t hurt anyone except you. This is your time to make yourself a priority.

Be Public About It! Your buddy might be someone who cares about you but doesn’t live with you, so you can be pen pals of some sort. Or even consider posting about your progress in the Plan Z Facebook Group. Or Tweet your progress.

Share the love.
Share the success.
Share your delicious results.

Wanna do Plan Z with a Buddy?
Give us a call in the office at 800-255-9853.
Buddies get special pricing, so they share the savings, too!

Cheers,