How Accountability and Support Affect Your Weight Loss Success
You are likely reading this because you love yourself enough to want to bring out the best version of yourself. Like many things in life, this is often easier said than done! After all, we are often mistakenly confusing the idea of tough love and self-deprecation when it comes to ourselves, and that can lead us into terrible spirals of shame, doubt, and - you guessed it - falling into the same old patterns of behavior that are often unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Enter this focus on accountability in weight loss. Sometimes, accountability can often be a loaded word. After all, this word is often associated with ideas and actions related to wrongdoing, and getting justice for criminals or other wrongdoers. However, on the other end of that word is a welcoming invitation to set loving and firm boundaries with ourselves and others, to take actionable responsibility for our choices, and to make changes based on our past experiences.
With that in mind, when the Strong with Sarah community says “accountability,” it’s an invitation and a gentle nudge to explore what it means to set healthy goals for yourself and think about how best to hold yourself to those goals, with a few ideas to get you started on that path to success.
Measuring Success
First and foremost, think of any time in your life up to this point where you found success - whether it was a life’s little victory like finding your missing keys, or a big accomplishment, like a promotion at work. Chances are, there was no one certain path to getting there, and there were numerous obstacles along the way (that key was where you least expected, right?). Thinking about weight loss should be no different.
Let’s face it: life happens. Stress happens. And as I’m sure you know by now, between our biology and “life happening,” those numbers on the scale can (and always will) fluctuate.
With that in mind, especially when we think of traditional, and often less sustainable weight loss models, there can often be a fine line between number crunching and feeling crushed by numbers. One week can leave you cheering, and the next can make you feel devastated, especially when you feel like you did “everything right.” Shame is not a weight loss accountability tool! Instead, when you work with a Strong with Sarah coach and the greater community, you will find ways to replace that shame with alternative behaviors and ways of thinking that can help you transform in a way that brings out your best self that no number can fully measure.
So, as we consider weight loss accountability and surrounding support networks, let’s be especially mindful that just like you as a person, your journey to achieving truly sustainable weight loss goals is and always should be about more than numbers.
Using the Buddy System
You may not be a kid on a field trip anymore, but the idea of staying with your friend or other confidante when you’re exploring new or difficult terrain is always important. When it comes to finding weight loss success, where the challenges on the path are often social, emotional, and covert rather than physical and obvious, it can be even more important to build a weight loss support system among people you trust.
Thankfully, in this day and age, there are more and more ways to stay connected, making accountability in weight loss more feasible than you might think.
Phone a friend - everything is better with a friend, especially when they already know your likes and dislikes, what stresses you out, and what your favorite go-to’s are for healthy ways to deal with that stress.
Hop on a call (or shoot a text) - part of Strong with Sarah means you have access to texting your coach and setting up 30-minute appointments. This can be a powerful way to rewire your brain so that you really think through your “whys” rather than delve into another “why not?” moment that leads to shame later.
Use the Strong with Sarah app - If you’ve signed up for coaching with us , you can use it when you’re in a rush–for when you’re still gathering your thoughts for that phone call or 30-minute appointment. No matter how great your weight loss support system is, sometimes accountability in weight loss means having a private place to journal and record your progress.
Group Meetings - again, no matter how alone you may feel, attending group meetings is a chance to realize that you only have a team, but an army of warriors fighting the same battle. And that is powerful stuff indeed.
Addressing Your Social and Emotional Health Leads to Better Physical Health
In so many cases, after all, unhealthy eating and drinking habits often stem from trauma and other unresolved pains. It’s not uncommon to think of iconic movie scenes where a woman who just ended a relationship runs for the bucket of ice cream and junky TV for comfort, and while we can all laugh because we know the feeling, those scenes often underscore a very core part of ourselves, especially when our lives have been constantly interrupted by hurtful events.
While Strong with Sarah cannot ever take the place of a qualified therapist or other licensed mental health counselor, adding the weight loss support system that comes from both peers and evidence-based programs are additional tools in the toolkit to address the here-and-now behaviors and patterns that can help you reach for your weight loss goals in a meaningful and holistic way.
The Radical and Transformative Power of Forgiveness
Traditional diet culture can be harmful, especially since so much of the industry focuses on feelings of, let’s face it, unworthiness. This couldn’t be farther from the truth! After all, when we think more about what this means when it comes to addressing the root causes of our behavior, especially if it comes from bad past experiences, we see that this mindset does more harm than good.
I believe moderation is the key to everything - and rest assured, dear reader, this also means moderating your own negative inner thoughts. This is where developing accountability in weight loss and finding that support system truly makes all the difference - the key is to not deprive or restrict yourself. Accountability is about developing the habits and skills to listen to rather than demand things of your body and to gently but firmly make sure that you move, find nourishment, and find rest in ways that are enjoyable and satisfying, as well as affirming.
See you on the journey and welcome to the Strong with Sarah community! Complete our new client inquiry today to speak with a team member about how we can help you achieve your unique goals.