Accountability

Accountability

–noun

1.

the state of being accountable,  liable, or answerable.

I have found that one of the things that keeps me working toward my weight loss goal is accountability. I have an accountability partner, my daughter, Alicia. Together we have been working out and changing our eating habits for the past year. We often workout together and when we are not working out together, we are watching to make sure the other person is getting their daily workout in. Facebook is also another great source for accountability. I started posting over a year ago that I was working out and losing weight. If one day I stopped working out and started to gain back my weight, I would feel like I had failed in front of all of my family and friends.

Another thing that I do to stay accountable is to use my Bodybugg. I first heard of Bodybugg on The Biggest Loser show. All of the contestants wear them on  their upper left arm. Bodybugg is a calorie management system that uses specialized sensors to track calories burned. It also has a built in pedometer for tracking your steps. It keeps accurate daily records of calories consumed vs. burned. At least once a day I use an USB cord to upload the data to a web based program. It shows me how many calories I have burned minute by minute. I then have to input everything that I eat. The web based program already has information about many foods including restaurant foods. If you can't find it in the program you can input the information from food labels.  The trick is to be HONEST about food consumed. To lose weight you need to have a calorie deficit. The program allows you to set up weight loss goals. My first goal was to lose 20 pounds by my wedding. I told the program my target date, starting weight and goal weight. It then told me that I needed to have a 550 calorie deficit each day to reach my goal. This helped me to figure out how many calories I could eat in a day and how much physical activity I needed each day in order to create the deficit. It was funny when I first started to use the Bodybugg, I would upload the data and input my calorie intake, if I hadn't reached my 550 calorie deficit for the day, I would do another workout or go for a walk. With the help of my Bodybugg I was able to reach my goal weight for my wedding. Now I have set a new goal for bikini season!

If you do not have an accountability buddy, I would love to be one for you. Send me an email, sally@homefitness4u.com. Start your journey to better health and fitness today.