Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Accountability

The number one way people have success with weight loss basically comes down to one word. Accountability.

When people are truthful with THEMSELVES about the foods they eat, the exercise they do, they will achieve their goals. There are a lot of websites and programs that boast success. Not to discredit, but they are not for everyone. Each person has their own way they can succeed, but it all comes down to the choices they make day by day.

If you can't afford an online program, get with your doctor, and figure out plan. A great FREE website to keep accountability that I personally like using is FitDay.com. You can sign up for a free account and from here, you can track your weight loss, your daily calorie count, and so much more. You can record your moods, your exercise and how many calories you burned, as well as keep track of your BMI and journal about whatever you like. Sure there is a premium version of this program, but honestly, the free service offers so much as it is. As a diabetic, I'm supposed to keep my calorie and carb counts daily, and I do have a small notepad I keep in my purse to scribble down throughtout the day what I eat and the insulin I took. When I get a chance on the computer, I take about 5-10 minutes to enter it onto FitDay. It has a very extensive food list, but what's great about it this site is you can add things you eat frequently to customize and save your own food lists. Do some label reading and enter the foods, frozen or prepared, that you find yourself eating a lot, so that it gets easier and faster each time you enter your daily food journal.

Again, being able to see on screen exactly what you are doing, or need to do helps with your own accountability. Why aren't you losing weight? What days aren't you feeling well, or sluggish? You can look back and see your lack of exercise, or the days you went significantly over your daily calorie count allowance. It's about seeing through your weekly or daily charts on this site, you can see the days you weren't true to yourself, and that's when reality is going to hit. I'm a true believer that there are mo magical pills for weight loss. Get back to basics.

Be accountable. Be active and most importantly, be healthy!! Have a great hump day!

2 comments:

  1. Right on! Accountability has to be there & you have to be honest with yourself & not play the excuse game. Yes, it comes down to the choices one makes & finding what works for you. We are all different so finding the right food & exercise plan that you can stick with for life is the way to go. Good post!

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  2. Good post! I need to be reminded of accountability on a regular basis.
    I have to confess I do this accountability stuff in spurts. I'll go a few months writing everything down, then I'll find it too much work and quit.
    Still helpful to do even this much: I've gotten to the point where I can estimate the portion size quite accurately. And when you're on a plateau, it's very helpful to write down everything you're eating and all the exercise you're doing, to see where the problem might be.

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