Accountability

I know accountability is a major diet buzzword, but it is so vital to success. Sometimes it's the only thing that can keep you going when you have lost sight of your motivation, or if your motivation has disappeared completely.

It can be really tough asking people for help along this weight loss journey, but you would be surprised who will be willing to help if you simply talk to them about your desires. Friends helping friends looks different to everyone. Some people need a gym partner- someone they can set up weekly (or more) dates to meet at the gym, so they actually have someone to talk to while they're working out. Others need a walking group to keep them going when the weather is bad. Still others simply need someone to text them and ask how they are doing with their plan for the week.

Accountability will look different for you than it does for every one else, it's just important to make sure that you have someone holding your feet to the fire.

Think about it: Accountability is why companies like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig stay in business- they know that people are more successful if they are held accountable to weigh ins and meetings. In fact, if you join a company like Jenny Craig, they will often call you in the middle of the week to see how your diet is going, and the reason is twofold: One to be a cheerleader and help with any challenges that have arisen that you didn't know about in your last meeting, and two in order to hold you accountable and remind you of your meeting coming up.

I encourage you to learn what accountability will be most beneficial to you, and find a few people to help you. Why a few? In case the one person you ask forgets to hold you accountable, then you have a couple backups.

Accountability in my life looks like this:

• A co-worker joined my gym, so we text each other pretty much daily to say "Hey, I'll be at the gym at this time, you coming?" Sometimes it's a yes, but often times it's a no because we have such different schedules, but at least we are telling someone our intentions.
• I encouraged another co-worker to download a tracking app that lets you keep track of food, exercise, water, etc. For the last few weeks we've been liking each other's exercise updates, and last night she came to work and first words out of her mouth were "What's up with you, you haven't been exercising?" I explained that I had been, I just hadn't been very good about updating that app. I continued to tell her what I had been doing to which she encouraged me to keep up the good work.
• My trainer, Paul, keeps me accountable, not because he calls me when I don't show up (he doesn't, and I don't expect him to), but because setting up my classes with him gives me something to look forward to, and if he doesn't see me for a few days for any reason, when he does see me again he asks me what's been happening, where I've been, and how things are looking. He encourages me to push myself, and for the first time in my life I actually know what I'm doing in a gym by myself.
• Apps. Yes, I'm one of THOSE people that has an app (or three) on my phone to help with my weight loss. My favorites are "Myfitnesspal", "Map my walk", "Water your body" and the Planet Fitness app. Water your body is a reminder for how much water and how often you should be drinking it, so if you struggle with drinking water, I highly encourage this one. Myfitnesspal is great because you can keep track of your food, exercise, measurements, weight, and now water all in one spot. It also lets you know when you haven't logged in for a few days, plus there are challenges always going on to encourage you to keep logging in. Map my walk is fantastic for if you are an outside walker and like to keep track of your walks, how far and how long you walked, how many calories you burned, and what your times were so you can keep track of your improvement. The Planet Fitness app is just a nice add on for my gym membership because it lets me snap pictures of the cardio machines I work on and it keeps track of my work outs for me, plus it has my membership card in it so if I ever go and don't have my keys then I am still all set to go inside.
• Self Accountability: Yes, you can keep yourself accountable, but when you've lost your motivation it's hard to do. Self accountability can be keeping track of your weight each week, your food each day, your measurements each month, and more importantly how your clothes fit. A lot of traditional diets will call this "Self monitoring" and it is a secret to success for a lot of people when they get to their goal weight. The clothes part is really important because if I stop paying attention to my diet and exercise then I have a tendency to feel it in my clothes within a couple weeks- they get tighter and uncomfortable- just like when I'm paying attention I notice my clothes getting loose and baggy. It's always a good feeling when you realize you need to buy new pants that actually fit because you're too small for your usual pairs!
• I have a Facebook group that I can post that I need accountability and I know any one of the members on there will message me to keep me on track.
• Speaking of Facebook, a lot of my friends are watching my journey and cheering me on. I will also get messages from some asking me to message them to see how they're doing with water, exercise, etc, and they do the same for me.

You never realize how many people out there genuinely want to help you until you ask.