10 Ways To Keep Yourself Accountable This Year

If I asked you if eating healthy was important, you would say ‘yes,’ right? 

If I asked whether exercise is important for your health, you would most likely say a yes too.

So if we know that nutrition plus fitness is the formula for living a happy and healthy life, why don't we do it or stick to it when we start? 

Why do we sometimes prioritise one over the other? 

Why do we put one on the back burner and only get serious about it when we’ve been slapped in the face by a wake-up call, such as getting puffed while walking up a small flight of stairs or a high blood-pressure reading?

In my experience working with hundreds of individuals at Best Body Bootcamp in Cannock, the key is accountability!

We’re often willing to let ourselves down time after time, but when someone else is counting on us, we show up for them.

We show up for others as we don't want to disappoint them, but yet we disappoint ourselves over and over.

We justify why we can't follow through on our nutrition plan, we make excuses for why we have to skip the gym today and we follow it up with a promise to try again tomorrow—or of course, the old 'I will start again on Monday.' 

Meanwhile, we’re subconsciously cataloging every time we don't follow through with our plan as just another failure, and over time, we begin to see ourselves as incapable or weak-minded.

Being accountable to others is OK—in the short term. When we’re starting out, we need that help. 

We need that encouragement and support in the process of developing good habits. 

At Best Body Bootcamp, in Hednesford, Cannock, we have a framework of accountability to help those wanting to get started. 

We get to know you from our free no sweat intro and find out a bit about you, we learn your name and we check in, we acknowledge you every time you walk through the door, we follow up and offer goal reviews and we celebrate with you each time you reach a milestone.

Our community of awesome members also helps in this accountability effort. 

That friend who is normally pairs up with you (I call them your partner in crime) notices when you have not been at class and texts asking how you’re doing. 

We also have a system of following up with you if you have not been in for 10 days to let you know we haven't forgotten and we want you here.

Now here’s a hard truth for us all: 

No matter how much we try keep you accountable, it ultimately comes down to you. It’s up to you to do what you said you would do and move toward your goals. 

We will always be your best cheer leader and help you, but if you haven’t committed to process, it won't work in the long term.

So how do we stop letting ourselves down and ensure we do reach our goals?

Here are 10 tips for holding yourself accountable to your goals:

1. Engage in the community. We want to help you! It is our business! If you don't try get involved, you are missing out on a big piece of the magic. Who wouldn't want a group of like-minded people cheering you on every step of the way?

2. Set reminders on your phone.  Have your workouts planned in like appointments you can't miss. Set an alarm for when you need to start prepping your food for the week ahead so that you don't end up procrastinating and not having enough time for any of it.

3. Tell your coach when you will next be in class. By saying this out loud, you have created a mini commitment that you will want to follow through with.

4. Hang a calendar in a visible place and cross off each day you hit the gym or stuck to your nutrition plan so that you can visually see all the marks of your success. Once the x's start building you will not want to break that chain and it will reinforce your intentions to keep going.

5. Share your story or goals on social media or friends and family - Even if no one on social media checks on your progress, making it public will make you more likely to keep your word.

6. Take progress photos to help you remember where you started. We often miss the change because we see ourselves daily and just don't notice it. By looking back and comparing it to where we are now, we can truly measure the results and see how far we have come.

7. Meet with an accountability buddy every 3 months to chat about your goals. If you are a member at Best Body Bootcamp Cannock, we want to do a goal review each quarter. If you aren't a member here, find a friend who needs accountability and help each other out.

8. Continuously remind yourself of your "why." A goal is great, but if we don't know why we want to reach it, it wont stand for long. So its best to ask yourself why you want to focus on your fitness and nutrition. How will it improve your life? How will it make you feel about yourself? Once you have dug deep and have a strong "why," remind yourself of it regularly so that it keeps you motivated.

9. "Rome wasn't built in a day”— remember it because it’s true! Its a journey, not a quick trip to the shops. There definitely will be ups and downs. Its part of the journey.  There will be plateaus. There will be doubters, stress and self-doubt. Don't let those things stop you in your tracks as overcoming these obstacles will show you what you are made of and just how strong you really are.

10. Set micro-goals and reward yourself regularly for achieving them. We all like prizes and setting smaller goals along the way and rewarding yourself for achieving this is a great way to progress and keep yourself accountable. 

This could be as easy as a reward when you hitting 3 workouts in a week or for someone who wants to focus on nutrition can reward themselves for each week they stuck to their meal plan rather than eating out. These rewards don't have to cost money either—get creative with things you enjoy and treat yourself!

These are just a few ways to keep yourself accountable, so find what works for you. Something that worked once might not work forever—switch things up often to stay excited and motivated about your success.

If you need help getting started with your health and fitness, we would love to arrange a No-Sweat Intro with you where we talk about you, your current lifestyle and your goals, and help you make a plan of action. Book one here! https://bestbodybootcamp.co.uk/freeintro/

Inspiration provided by Sarah Neal at CrossFit816.com.

 https://www.crossfit816.com/post/keeping-yourself-accountable