Success Strategy #1: Accountability

I started my fitness and health quest on June 15, 2008. The first success strategy I used was accountability.

I found a friend (my neighbor) who was also interested in exercising, and made a commitment to go running with her every morning before work. I knew that she'd be getting up early and waiting for me outside our houses, so I was less likely to hit snooze and go back to bed. I didn't want to stand her up!

At work, I told a few people what I was doing, and a few of us created a mini-contest. Rather than having a "Biggest Loser" contest, which doesn't work well for people with different fitness goals, we each documented the goals we wanted to achieve by a target date. Our target date was August 15, 2008, and my goal was to weigh 125 pounds by that date. Someone else in the group wanted to lose 1" from their waist. Another person wanted to gain 5 pounds of muscle.

We checked in with each other on a regular basis. Knowing that these people I saw every day at work for going to say, "hey, did you do your run this morning?" or "how are you doing on your goals" was great motivation to make sure the answer was one I would be proud of.

Although I didn't meet my goal by my target date (weighed in at 126 on 8/15, and it took until 8/20 to reach my goal), I stayed on track.

If you're starting out:
Set a SPECIFIC GOAL against which you will be held accountable
TELL someone about your goal
SCHEDULE your exercises
Find a FRIEND who expects you to exercise on your schedule

These tips helped me. I hope they help you too!