Week 4: Accountability

I recently had someone ask me why I allowed my FitBit and LoseIt accounts to post my exercise and weight loss stats on Facebook. I have to admit I was extremely annoyed by the question, because I am more than certain that this person believed I was posting these things for the attention alone. I guess in a way, that kind of is the reason, but not quite in the way this person might think. It’s not about ego-stroking attention. It’s about accountability.

I post my FitBit adjustments on Facebook because I want them to be noticed, but more importantly, I want the absence of an adjustment post to be noticed more. You see, it’s the thought of someone actually asking me “Hey, what’s up? Why aren’t there any recent FitBit adjustments on your wall?” that often motivates me to get on that treadmill. If faced with a decision between running for an hour or trying to explain to someone why I decided not to, the running is going to win every single time. I hate shame. I hate the feeling of it and I hate having to make excuses for my own actions. So, yeah, sometimes the only reason I get on the treadmill is because I’d rather deal with the physical exertion than the emotions that go with explaining my inertia away.

The same goes for my weight loss and gain posts. If I stop and think “Eating this pie/cake/donut now may very well cause a weight gain this week, and on Sunday everyone is going to know it!”, chances are I’m not going to eat it. The knowledge that my friends and family are going to actually see my weekly progress is often the only thing that keeps me from eating more calories than I should.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I do love the positive attention I get when I post a significant weight loss or an exceptionally good calorie adjustment, and the words of kindness and support I get when I’m having an off week help me pick myself up and keep going. But in the end the accountability matters most. It helps me stay on my path to fitness.