Accountability

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I am so sick of this weight loss battle. I am able to do good for a while and then I lose it and end up gaining everything back.

My biggest struggle is that there is no one accountable for my success or failure other then myself, so my question is how do you keep your self accountable?

I would love any tips or advise....I hate being at the weight I am at.

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Replies

  • savvystephy
    savvystephy Posts: 4,151 Member
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    I am in a couple groups / teams on MFP and I keep myself accountable through posting constantly with them. I have a group of people who know what I am doing and know when I mess up. So they keep me on track because I don't want to mess up for them.

    From my undergraduate psychology classes, I have learned that one thing you could do is chart your progress by hand and paste it to the refrigerator. Or put a mirror on the fridge. Those things are common reminders about your weight loss goals when you think about food.

    I hope that some of that helps.
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
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    What I do to help keep myself accountable is tell my family and freinds what my weight loss plans are.

    That way anytime I fall off the wagon, like this weekend with all the Hallowween festivities, I feel obligated to get back with the program.
  • klhain
    klhain Posts: 35 Member
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    I hear you and share in your frustration. I was at my goal weight last December, gained it all back by April, and haven't been able to loose any of it yet. As far as being accountable you can find a friend and ask them to help you out, but ultimately you have to make the decisions of what you eat and you have to be accountable to yourself. I love buying new clothes after I've lost weight, so that is my reward.
    I too would love to hear any other tips or advice.


    Good Luck
  • beanface25
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    Thanks for all of the tips! I'm going to try all of them! :)
  • Timothy2000
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    I feel so good that I did not have a single piece of candy this weekend although I had two slices of pizza One was saturday it was a full slice the other was sunday and it was a slice of personal pan not sure how many calories it is but i am assuming a lot. and I just finished my week 2 day 1 of the couch to 5k program and feeling great and its my first day of my new smoke free life hopefully.
  • Timothy2000
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    Oh sorry got off of topic one thing that is helping me is that I feel so much better without all that junk in my system I remember how I felt before and I do not want to go back to that. I have more energy now and just knowing that in about a year I can take my shirt off and not be embarrassed by my belly To be able to look down and see a flat tummy and hopefully see a six pack there with a nice set of pecs to match oh wait i am being vain sorry just rambling now. lol anyway leave notes throw out anything bad for you. I cleaned out my kitchen the other day and it was three bags full of junk. Now I have lots of fresh fruits and veggies in my fridge along with some soy milk and egg beaters lol thats about it,
  • itsmenatalie
    itsmenatalie Posts: 190 Member
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    I have my own official weigh in every Monday morning. For me those results really count even though I'm the only one who sees them. It helps keep me on track over the weekend knowing I will weigh in on Monday.
  • savvystephy
    savvystephy Posts: 4,151 Member
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    Oh, another thing I learned from psychology is you can tell a friend that if you don't eat right for X amount of days, they can send money (which you have given them) to your most hated charity/organization with a letter of endearment (ex: I really like what your organization does, etc.). If you do keep to your goals, you get your money back / they hold on to it until you reach your next goal. That way if you don't reach your goal you have immediate punishment. People respond to immediacy, which is why weight loss is so hard because it is far from an immediate reinforcement (where cake, alcohol, etc is very immediate with more distant consequences).
  • moujie
    moujie Posts: 229
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    here's one I have used to keep myself accountable "this time" around:

    throw out (give away) the fat clothes as they get too big. It makes me SO nervous to do this because I get a pair of pants that are too big and I think - I can't give these away, what will I wear if I gain the weight back? then I say, NO, you have to give them away, you have to lose more, maintain or go naked! It's really hard too - I didn't realize what a crutch it was for me. I didn't realize how comfortable I'd gotten with the idea that I might gain the weight back. after all I always have right? so now this is really helping me focus on the long term. and let me tell you - I've been floundering since mid summer - gaining and losing the same darn 3 lbs...but I know why, it's because my behavior hasn't been what it should. so I've started being more "on track" again just this past weekend. it took weeks of saying, "I'm going to do better" before I actually started doing better. Let me tell you something though...not having any pants to fall back on makes it painfully clear I needed to get back on track. because I know my pattern. if I fall off the wagon I tend to wait until it's next to a ravine and go plunging downward! so getting rid of the fat pants has kept me from leaping to my doom many times these past few months!

    good luck to you - you can do it and we all understand what you're going through around here! :flowerforyou:
  • Serenifly
    Serenifly Posts: 669 Member
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    I hold myself accountable of course :)

    My piece of advice

    CONSISTANCY IS KEY!

    Without true consistancy, it's going to all bounce back
  • cds2327
    cds2327 Posts: 439
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    i am struggling too, but i have made this harsh, yet true, realization. i am the only one accountable for my weight loss. No one helped me put it on, so no one is going to help me put it off. Many many of the books I have read, say that if your not ready to be accountable for losing the weight, then maybe your not ready. Sounds like you need to do some soul searching. Try reading some of the success stories on here. Do you really want it? Still, you will find love an support here, but ultimately, none of us can come knock the twinkie (or whatever) out of your hand.
  • JustJessie
    JustJessie Posts: 162 Member
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    Well I've just started on this journey yet again. But this is the first time with MFP. What has kept me motivated this past week are short term goals. 2 pounds or more each week instead of looking at my over all number I want to loss. Hanging that old favorite pair of jeans on my closet door so I see them everyday while getting ready to go to work or go out with friends. (Sometimes I try them on) Another major motivator is going to the doctor and getting a full physical with blood work and all done. Then setting the next appointment to get the tests redone. It is my personal goal to get any of those numbers back or closer to what they should be including the number on the scale.
  • beanface25
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    Thanks for all of the great advise and encouragement. I am actually feeling really excited about changing my eating habits today.

    moujie - I think your post hit close to home for me, and I've been thinking about it all morning. I LOVE clothes and have tons and tons of them. So I'm going to try what you suggest...give away my clothes as they get to big. This will be very difficult for me as I am very attached to my clothes! :happy:
  • moujie
    moujie Posts: 229
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    Thanks for all of the great advise and encouragement. I am actually feeling really excited about changing my eating habits today.

    moujie - I think your post hit close to home for me, and I've been thinking about it all morning. I LOVE clothes and have tons and tons of them. So I'm going to try what you suggest...give away my clothes as they get to big. This will be very difficult for me as I am very attached to my clothes! :happy:

    Great! It is hard to give your clothes away as they get too big but it has really helped me to realize that I can't simply accept that I'll gain weight back as my reality - I have to be in this for the long haul.

    good luck, I know we can both do this! :drinker: