Beck, Day 6, Accountability and Finding a Diet Coach

I'm writing this as I just got back from one of the most exciting lunches I have ever had. Me, The Healthy Librarian and Jane Esselstyn (daughter of Caldwell, sister of Rip) got together at my favorite spot, Organic Energy, to talk about my favorite subject, Plant-based diets. Talk about surrounding yourself with like-minded people! I'm on cloud nine.

Which kinda ties in with the next step we are going to tackle on The Beck Diet Solution: Find a Diet Coach.

Are you starting to squirm yet?

I am.

Do you like to keep your dieting private?

I used to. (Ha. Ha. That's one of the reasons I forced myself to do this blog.)

Are you uncomfortable asking for help?

Check.

Then why do we have to do this?

Because the reality is that we all need help. Denying that we do is not going to get us to where we want to be. We need motivation, support, help with problem solving, reminders to give ourselves the credit we deserve, and most of all ACCOUNTABILITY.

In many ways, I have put myself out there with this blog and asked you, the readers, to be my coach. Whenever I am struggling with something, if I blog about it, I get creative comments with extremely helpful and useful ideas. I love that!

Websites like PEERtrainer and Spark People can function as a coach because they form online communities of people that communicate regularly with each other. I cannot tell you how powerful it was for me to be actively engaged with small groups/teams of people on PEERtrainer for the first year and more of this experience. I was literally beginning to surround myself with like-minded people and I didn't even know it.

At the same time, I was attending Weight Watchers meetings. Talk about accountability! It doesn't get more
real than that. Unfortunately, I was frustrated with the corporate b.s. that goes along with that large of an organization and I left, but I will never forget how important those meetings and friendships were to me.

The most important point of this is that you want these coaches to be positive forces in your life. People who will listen to you ad nauseum (thanks Chris-Anna!) go on and on about your struggles and help you to problem solve in a positive way. Not your binging buddy (unless they want to stop too). You could certainly hire a private health coach, specialist or therapist. And of course, I hope that Healthy Girl's Kitchen (the blog and the Face Book page and the T. Colin Campbell Foundation group) functions for you as part of your coaching team.

You won't have to rely on this person or these tools forever (unless you want to). Just until you get these new habits under your belt.

So who are your coaches going to be? Let's see your list in the comments section!

Should we band together for accountability and really get something started using the Healthy Girl's Kitchen group on The T. Colin Campbell Foundation Ning site? Leave a comment here if you would like that kind of online support/accountability.