ALLIANCE

Strength In Numbers

An Accountability Partner Can Help You Stay On Track As You Learn To Live Healthier

Are you still working on your New Year’s resolution of becoming healthy? If you are like most people, you may have given up by now. In fact, only 8 percent of people who make New Year’s resolutions actually stick to them, and the people who do not, usually give up after just one week. So, the question is how do you beat the odds?

Try having an accountability partner. An accountability partner helps you fulfill your commitment to living a healthy lifestyle, provides loving support, and shares a common goal with you. He or she should be someone you speak to or spend time with regularly. When you associate yourself with people who are living a healthy lifestyle and making wise choices, you tend to do the same.

Having an accountability partner creates a safe environment where people can open up and be honest. You and your partner support and sustain each other when experiencing those inevitable peaks and valleys. Both of you can even change the way each other eats in social settings. ho are yle. Start our it to eek ing meline gh nd se ne g

Of course, there are other benefits to having an accountability partner. Many studies show that positive relationships strengthen health and longevity, while a lack of social connectivity is associated with depression, cognitive decline, and earlier death. Moreover, researchers have discovered that overweight and obese young adults have a greater desire to lose weight when they surround themselves with other health conscious people. So how do you find an accountability partner?

1. Surround yourself with one or more people who are equally passionate about living a healthy lifestyle. Start by asking a friend you feel would appreciate your goals and passions and who understands the value of having an accountability partner.

2. Start with certain limits. Typically, it is best commit to working together for a set time. Begin with a six-week commitment and then increase it if the plan is working well for both of you.

3. Set goals. Once you have stated your goals and timeline to someone else, you are more likely to follow through.

4. Look out for one another. You have to stand your ground when it comes to your own health and the health of those you love. When accountability partners are too soft on one another — to the point they are accepting or empathizing with backsliding too quickly — the dynamics change and healthy progress is likely to deteriorate.

5. Always speak the truth (with love). It is always best to be honest with someone whose health you care about. Having an accountability partner ensures you keep each other on track, and you can communicate about which areas you need continued support.

6. Make a goal to celebrate your successes together. For example, you might want to celebrate by running a race together, or simply making a delicious, healthy meal.

LORI ESAREY opened Total Nutrition and Therapeutics in 2007. Several years later, she started a second company, Vitality Wellness and Aesthetics. Her passion is empowering people of all ages to achieve optimal health. She earned two master’s degrees from the University of South Florida in nursing and nutritional and metabolic science. She is also board-certified in anti-aging and restorative medicine.