Who holds you accountable?

Yesterday morning I woke up to text messages from a friend, who has been close to me throughout my weight loss over the past year, saying,

"I just watched a documentary on the New York Times.  At the end there was an info pop up that said one of the guys lost 90 lbs in some amount of time because he was broadcasting everything he ate on Twitter to his thousands of followers.  I just thought that would be of interest for you to think about.  Not to do it, but to think "If I had thousands of followers, what would they think about me eating ____ and ____ right now."  Food for thought.  Pun intended."

I love waking up to messages on my phone from friends and this thought-provoking text was no exception.  I did think that this provided some "food for thought" and it got my brain buzzing bright an early that morning :)

To me, the reason that this individual was successful boils down to the fact that he had someone, in this case, thousands of "someones" in the name of his Twitter followers that held him accountable for his actions besides himself.  I've seen that many people, including myself, need an external force outside of themselves to hold them accountable when trying to get in shape (or really, achieve any goal.)

I have a number of forces in my life that have helped throughout the past year, and continue to help, to keep me accountable for my actions.  For me, it has been:

• The Weight Watchers program: I mean, come on, what better way to be accountable than to have to get on a scale every week and have someone weigh you?  On top of that, the essence of Weight Watchers is to track every. single. thing. you. eat.  And THEN, assigning a point value to it.  I don't think there is any way that you can do that without having some sort of feeling of accountability.

• Work-out buddies: My roommate and I motivate and encourage each other to get up at 5:00 a.m. to go to boot camp three times a week.  My co-workers (who are also great friends!) and I have become regulars at the spin class at our work gym and I know the question will be there every Tuesday/Thursday of "Are you going to spin?" And when I am home, my mom, a lifelong exercise junkie, keeps me moving and on my toes (nobody wants to be shown up by their mom!)

• Blog followers: Although you may not know it, having you here helps to remind me to try new foods, take care in what I am eating, and enjoy and celebrate that food can make me healthier and taste delicious!

• My weight loss support system:  This past year there have been a number of key influential people who have helped me and kept me accountable more than they will ever know.  My former roommate and best friend, my long-distance WW buddy, and a few of my closest friends have been especially helpful throughout this journey.  These people deserve a post dedicated just to them, but they've all helped to keep me accountable in their own ways.

So, just as my morning wake up text me gave me some "food for thought" -- I want to leave you with something to think about. Who keeps you accountable as you work to reach your goals?