In 2014, my office hosted a weight loss competition. What wound up being a great friendly (but fierce) battle I went head to head with my best friend for 3 and a half months.

I had no idea what I was doing, but I quickly figured out that by running and restricting my diet to salads, fruits and veggies I would lose weight.

For the next 18 months, she and I continued to encourage each other in our weight loss journeys. We didn’t expect the competition to push us past those three months. However, we kept going, losing a total of 90 pounds combined.

I start with this story because it’s a story of accountability. There was absolutely some smack talk involved but ultimately we just wanted to see each other succeed… and we did.

Without that accountability, there’s a good chance it would’ve been a different story (at least for me).

Research suggests that by having accountability when working towards a goal you are 50% more likely to hit the goal.

Accountability is huge, let’s talk more about it on the podcast this week.

Why Do You Get From Having Accountability?

It could bring friendly competition.

Having friendly competition can push you to places you might not have gone on your own. You could say, it brings out the competitive side.

It’s someone to celebrate the wins with.

On those days, when you try on a pair of pants that fits a little bit better or you hit a point where you are sleeping better at night you need someone to celebrate those wins with. Personally, it’s my favorite part about being a nutrition coach.

I get so freakin excited to read a celebration text.

It’s also somebody to vent about the bad days.

Any form of health journey is going to bring ups and downs. Having that person to vent to is going to help you push through the bad days. They could be the reason you don’t give up.

It’s also somebody to share recipes with.

The queen Pinterest is full of recipes, but a lot of the time it’s helpful to know that somebody has made this recipe before and it doesn’t suck. A great way to do this is to make a weekly trade where you each try something new and share the results with each other. It’s even better if you share the same taste in food!

It’s somebody who understands.

When you are trying to change your health, you need someone who understands the journey you are on. If you are relying on support from someone who isn’t in it or who is not invested, it’s easy to be persuaded to “just give up.” Having that person who understands why you don’t want to eat the bread because it contains gluten or why you want to skip dessert takes a lot of the pressure of making hard decisions.

It’s somebody to check in with.

On social media, it looks like a health or nutrition journey is an easy one. If you are in one, you know it is not. Having someone check in on you regularly to see how you’re doing could add so many levels of support you don’t know you need until you’re in it.

Where Do You Find Accountability?

Accountability is everywhere, you just have to commit to working together on your goals.

Some examples are:

• Your partner
• A sibling
• Your best friend
• A coach
• A nutritionist
• A life coach

Who is your accountability?