Staying On Track In Between The Check-In Points

How do you stay on track with the goals and healthy habits in your life?

Is there someone in your life who holds you accountable to stay on track?

Do you have regular check-ins which keep you focused on your goal?

Two of my appointments this week reminded me of the importance of regular accountability.

First on Monday night, I had an appointment with my nutritionist.  I visited her back in September for the first time, and I haven’t been back since.  She gave me great advice in September.  She explained how to change my eating and my exercise to achieve some goals I have to live a healthier life.  She recommended I use MyFitnessPal to track my eating and exercise.  I did great with tracking all of this for about four weeks.  I lost several pounds.  I started converting fat to muscle.  And I was starting to feel a lot more energy throughout the day.

And then my second appointment kept getting postponed for one reason or another.  Over time, I stopped tracking my eating.  I thought I was eating fairly well still, and I still tracked my exercise.  But I stopped dropping weight.  I was a little discouraged, but I didn’t have enough accountability going to keep me on track.

Late last week, my wife reminded me of my appointment with my nutritionist this week.  Friday, I started tracking my food intake again.  After all, I didn’t want to show up at my appointment without some information.  On Monday night, my results indicated I was doing okay, but I probably missed out on the opportunity to make larger strides towards my goals because I stopped tracking.  My times of accountability were not close enough to each other to keep me focused (this coming from Mr. Discipline).

I got another reminder on Tuesday morning when I arrived at my dentist appointment.  Just like I had fallen off track with tracking my eating, I had fallen off track with my flossing.  I initially do well for the first couple of weeks after my dentist appointment, and I do well right before my next dentist appointment, but I am terrible in the flossing department the rest of the time.  Tuesday, I had the “privilege” of having a deep-cleaning because I hadn’t flossed and I was growing plaque barnacles on the bottoms of my teeth.  To prevent bone loss and gum deterioration, my dental hygienist numbed my mouth a scraped my teeth for an hour.

We need regular accountability in our lives.

This is why I meet with a mastermind group every other week.  This is why I meet with my men’s group every Friday morning at 6AM.  This is why I go to church every week.  I need these check-ins to keep me on track.

What area of your life requires more of your attention?  Who can you ask to hold you accountable to stay on track with this area of your life?  What works for you when it comes to accountability?  What hasn’t work for you when it comes to accountability?

Share your thoughts in the comments.  Let’s learn from each other!