Accountability: A Driving Force Along My Journey

Accountability. I have been hearing this word thrown around a lot lately. If I were to break the word down into a working definition for my life, I would define it as having someone else hold you responsible for your abilities. Even my 4 year old is held accountable for his behavior at school; he has the ability to act like he has some home training, and I hold him responsible for his actions at school. Humans are very capable creatures full of unleashed potential. Sometimes, we just need someone on the sidelines to be a cheerleader of sorts to help us uncover the talents we keep hidden. When I first started this weight loss journey, I was doing it on my own. Statistics show that most people drop out of workout programs within the first few months(3-6). I can't even lie, in the past, I have been one of those people. I remember a few months before I became serious about weight loss, I had prayed that God would send me someone I could count on as a friend. I wanted to meet women that held similar interests (i.e exercising) and I enjoyed being around. I have very good friends out of state,sisters that have been in my life since high school. Yet in the almost 6 years I had been in the Charlotte area at the time, I had not had the opportunity to develop close relationships with people. This is especially hard to do when you have a family and full-time career. I had gotten lonely in a sense. While my husband and I spend quite a bit of time together, he is no substitute for a good girlfriend. Although he is estatic about my weight loss and interest in running, knowing that I PR'd a run by 2 minutes does not tickle his fancy, lol. Now that I have worked in the same location for three and a half years, I have met women I consider to be my friends at work. Also, about nine months into my weight loss journey(hey, I overcame the statistic), I found out about the group Black Girls Run. I have discussed this group in previous posts. Had I not met them, I would not be a Black girl running! Heck, I was barely a Black girl walking! These ladies hold me accountable. In fact, they encourage having an AP (accountability partner) to keep you going when you just want to stop. Even when I am not able to attend weekly group runs, internet social networking helps me to keep in touch with these awesome ladies; they keep me motivated to continue to make healthy choices. The comraderie is amazing, even though I have never met many of the ladies face to face. Yesterday, we had BGR Charlotte's first Anniversary run and picnic. I heard that about 70 ladies were in attendence for the 630 am run. Women from all walks of life were holding each other accountable, cheering each other on at the finish line. I didn't attend this group run, though I had gotten up to run super early at 5am with my AP. However, I had heard from another running buddy that people were asking about my whereabouts, and it felt really good to be missed. Oh, I could go on and on about how God answered my prayers when I met these ladies. I try not to use the word "friend" too loosely, but I know that continuing to interact with these ladies will put me on the right path to discovering true friendships locally. For now, I am just really content to have a common interest to share with other women. WEIGHT LOSS TO DATE: I lost 2 lbs in July. I am at 155...only 5 more lbs to go. I am actually smaller than I was my senior year of high school!