Introduction

Between now and January 14th (the next 13 weeks), I plan on losing 20 pounds, going from 190lbs to 170 lbs. Of course, a 13-month weight loss challenge is anything but a long-term solution to eating better and living a healthier life. But I plan on experimenting with that idea, too.

Lately, I’ve been slacking in the healthy eating department. Between work travel, writing deadlines, and personal events—including getting married and going and on a honeymoon—my food habits have slipped, and I’ve become a tad heavier than I’d like. Nothing crazy, just some extra weight that it’s now time to kick. It’s time to bring more awareness back to eating, and develop some healthy eating habits that stick.

In this week’s episode of Becoming Better, my cohost/wife and I dig into this challenge (she’s planning on losing 10 pounds along with me). 

My question for you is, want to join us? At the end of the episode, we put a call out, asking if anyone listening to the episode—and now, reading this post—is game to participate in this same challenge with us, to lose a specific amount of weight by January 14th. If you want to join, just shoot us off an email with how much weight you plan on losing by January 14th. Set a calendar reminder to follow up on that message when the 14th comes around, to let us know how it went! We’ll expect your response

If you’re looking for some inspiration for what to do differently—beyond bringing some awareness to what you eat, and reconnecting with what constitutes a healthy diet, perhaps by reading my favorite food book How Not to Die—below are the three main strategies we’ll be using to keep ourselves motivated!

1. Accountability

Accountability can help immensely in the formation of new habits. Here are a few ways we plan on becoming more accountable for the next 13 weeks: 

• By finding an accountability partner. I’m partnering with my friend David—who wants to shed a few pounds as well. I’ll also, of course, be partnering with Ardyn at the same time. 
• By tracking each other’s activity (through the Apple Watch Activity app).
• By developing joint rituals, like eating and working out together more often.

2. Tracking

In addition to taking before and after pictures, we’ll be tracking our progress through daily weigh-ins on our smart scale, which allows us to see how our weight changes over time. I’ll also chat on a regular basis with my accountability partner (every week or two), so we can chat about how things are going, and whether we’re on track to meet our goals. In addition to recording weight, Ardyn and I (and my accountability partner David) will be recording everything we eat in MyFitnessPal, the popular food-tracking app, to curb overeating.

3. Anticipating Obstacles

When you try to develop a new habit without first anticipating obstacles that might get in the way of the habit, you’re far more likely to fail. For this reason, I’m making it a weekly ritual to anticipate any obstacles to eating healthily every Sunday, when I also plan out my week. Obstacles are infinitely easier to deal with before they arise, rather than after.

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If you have a few pounds to part ways with, I hope you’ll join us on the challenge!

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