Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Accountability

Posted by CheapRunnerMichelle

Kim wrote a post the other day, and I can definitely relate. There has been a lot going on behind the scenes in life this year, and I knew it was time for a change in my life. Structure in my life definitely helps, and as we are prepping for the school year to start here next week, it is always a time I look forward to, as it makes scheduling life a little easier (yes a lot busier…but structured, and not just fly by the seat of your pants).

That being said, I know that I am the type of person that needs to have accountability in my health/fitness area of my life. I feel like in so many other ways in my life, I am the “boss”, and the one to always be telling others what to do, and in this area, I don’t want to have to think, I want to be the one that is just told what to do (I am quite good at following instructions!). I like to put my head down and just not think and plough through it. I think this is a BIG reason that I like group classes at the gym…they tell what to do, when to do it, when to add weights, go faster, squat lower, etc. And also why – if I was just to “go” to the gym – I would be lost, and not have a clue what to do.

…so…this past week, I reached out to someone, asking if they would be willing to help me out, and more then anything keep me accountable…and I am happy to report, that they agreed!

We met for a walk early on Monday morning, and came up with a loose plan for the week.

First thing…I am to write down everything that I am eating. I am doing this 2 ways

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I am recording it my life planner, so that I can not only track the food I am eating, but so that they can also see what times I am eating etc. As an additional request, they asked me to record how I was “feeling” throughout the day….one step at a time here…I’ll start with the food tracking.

And I am also recording it an app called “Fat Secret

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…I haven’t had a chance to really use the app to it’s fullest potential, but I am learning, and just getting used to/in the habit of recording my food, exercise and weight. I am looking forward to next week, going through, and trying some of the recipes! On the app, it has the ability that I can choose a date range (ie. A week at a time), and export it to a PDF file, so that I can send it off to my accountability partner.

I was also asked to make appointments for my workouts, and set goals for the week…I know I can’t go out guns blazing, and go from little to no workouts lately to saying that I am going to do it 6 days a week. So I scheduled what I know I can do to start, and that I will be able to stick to! No point in disappointing myself right out of the gate.

At the end of our walk, they said someone that really struck me, and that quite honestly, I needed to hear

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…yes I already knew this – but sometimes you just need to be reminded. It was a good wake-up call for me, and I know I need this…and I am doing it for me! And I know having this accountability in my life is what I need right now, and I am determined to stick with it, and I am looking forward to them helping me tweak where I need it, and offering their guidance and advise.

Are you the type of person that needs to be told what to do?

Anyone else have an accountability partner?

2 comments:

  1. I love this Michelle - such a very honest and open post about issues that we all deal with in some way. Even if we workout every day, some of us (me) don't match our eating to the lifestyle and no amount of running will fix that!!!
    It looks like you and your accountability partner have a great plan and I know you can do this!!
    I have an accountability partner for other reasons - we meet weekly and go through a list of questions just to help us keep our overall lives on track!!

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  2. Love that you have someone to help you with accountability. I think we all need help with this in some way or another! I KNOW that I need accountability. I am not good about doing certain things on my own. The biggest thing that helped instantly when I hired my coach was the accountability. It reduced my stress level as he makes my plan, and increases my accountability because it's my job to report back to him that I am sticking to it.


    P.S. Love that planner

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