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If I asked you if eating healthy foods was important, you would say ‘of course,’ right? And if I asked whether exercise is key for health and wellness, you would most likely respond with a yes. So if we know that nutrition plus fitness is the magic formula for living a vibrantly healthy life, why don't we do it? Why do we prioritize 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 winded by one flight of stairs or a high blood-pressure reading?
In my experience working with hundreds of individuals at CrossFit Devotion, 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 because we don't want to disappoint them, but yet we willingly 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 better yet, to start fresh on Monday. Meanwhile, we’re subconsciously cataloging every time we didn't show up for ourselves as just another failure, and over time, we begin to see ourselves as incapable, inept and weak-minded.
Relying on others to hold us accountable is OK—in the short term. When we’re just getting started, we need that assistance. We need that encouragement and support while we develop good habits. At CrossFit Devotion, we have developed a framework of accountability to help those wanting to get started. We send reminders, we check in, we acknowledge you every time you walk through the door, we high-five, we follow up and we celebrate with you each time you reach a milestone.
Our community of fellow members also helps in this accountability effort. That friend who is normally in class with you notices when you haven't been there and sends you a friendly text asking how you’re doing. We let you know you aren't forgotten and we want you here.
Now here’s where the truth hurts a little bit: No matter how much work we put in to keep you accountable, it ultimately comes down to you. It’s up to you to consciously choose every day to make progress toward your goals. We will always cheer you on and help you, but if you haven’t bought in to the process, it won't work in the long term.
So how do we stop letting ourselves down and create a safety net for reaching our goals?
Here are 10 tips for holding yourself accountable to your goals:
1. Engage in the community. We want to help you! All of us. Not just the staff of the gym but the whole community. If you don't engage, you are missing out on one of the biggest pieces of the magic CrossFit Devotion has to offer. Who wouldn't want a group of like-minded people cheering you on every step of the way?
2. Set reminders on your phone. Schedule your workouts like meetings or doctor appointments that just you can't miss. Set an alarm for when you need to start prepping healthy meals so that you don't look at the clock, realize you have no time and reach for something unhealthy out of convenience.
3. Tell your coach when you’re planning to come to your next class. Putting your intentions out there. By doing this you have created an expectation. The risk of seeming unreliable or flaky by not showing up will make you want to follow through on your promise to attend class.
4. Print off a calendar, hang it in a visible spot and cross off the days you hit the gym or stayed true to your nutrition plan so that you can visually see all the marks of your success. We took this trick from the book Atomic Habits. Those little marks on the calendar are proof that you are a person who commits to a task and stays consistent. Each mark is more and more evidence that you are a person that goes to the gym or eats healthy. It helps give you the identity of a healthy fit person. The powerful thing about having an Identity is that we tend to hold on to them as hard as we can. Once you identify as a person who enjoys working out or prefers to eat healthy your new "Atomic Habit" become muscle memory and is then easy.
5. Share your story on social media. There’s something to be said for putting it all out there! Even if no one on social media follows up with you on your progress, making a claim publicly will make you more likely to keep your word.
6. Take progress pics. To see our progress, we have to remember where we started. We get used to how we currently look because change is subtle and gradual. By looking back to our starting point and comparing it to where we are now, we can take stock of the progress we have made since day one. At CrossFit Devotion we also use technology to track our progress. We use a super "scale" called an in-body scanner. The sweet thing about the in-body scanner is that it gives several data points not just weight so we can see if you're making progress even if the number on the scale doesn't change. For example you could lose 3 pounds of body fat and gain 3 pounds of muscle. On a regular scale you would never know and be disappointed when in reality you did amazing!
7. Set quarterly goal-setting meetings with an accountability buddy. If you are a member at CrossFit Devotion, we want to schedule these meetings with you every quarter, so reach out to get yours on the calendar! If you aren't a member here, find a friend who needs accountability, too, and make quarterly dates to review your progress and set goals for the future.
8. Constantly remind yourself of your "why." A goal is great, but if we don't know why we want to reach it, it doesn't mean much. Ask yourself why you want to focus on your fitness and nutrition. How will it impact your life? How will it make you feel? It doesn't hurt to do some visualization either. Mentally imagine yourself as the person you see your self as if your goals are met. Once you have a solid "why," remind yourself of it daily so that you internalize it and keep it close to your heart.
9. Don't make it all or nothing. "Rome wasn't built in a day”—we all know that saying, and it’s true! We are on a journey, not a quick trip to the supermarket. There will be ups and downs. There will be plateaus.There will be naysayers and stress and self-doubt. Don't let those things knock you off your path. Acknowledge them, thank them for teaching you some thing about yourself and then continue to make forward progress.
10. Reward yourself for reaching micro-goals. Everyone likes a prize, right? Set micro-goals along the path to your BIG goals and reward yourself for hitting those milestones along the way. An example is if someone wants to lose 30 pounds, they can give themselves a little gift for every five pounds loss. Someone who wants to focus on nutrition can reward themselves for each solid week of staying on track or keeping their eating out to below an acceptable minimum for the week. These rewards don't have to cost money either—get creative with things you enjoy and treat yourself!
Pro tip- If your goal is to stay on track with your nutrition your reward should not be a cheat meal or even food related.
There are many other 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 on your health and wellness path, feel free to contact us! We would love to set up 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!
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