Accountability can help end long weight
The word I have the biggest love/hate relationship with is “accountability.”
Most guys, like me, have this part in our ego that says “I can do this myself. I don’t need anyone else.” Guys don’t like accountability because it means doing something you don’t want to do, or not doing something you want to do.
I really didn’t think much about accountability until I got involved in Promise Keepers in 1996. It was through Promise Keepers that I first became aware of my need to have other men in my life to hold me accountable in my walk with the Lord, my marriage, my business dealings, basically every aspect of my life.
Accountability is one aspect I forgot to mention in my column last week about pornography. A key element to help someone break a sexual addiction – or any addiction -- is to have other people of the same gender who will ask them tough questions and hold them accountable for their actions.
I used to have a small accountability group that I met with in Colorado. There were three of us and we were very close. Our group lasted almost eight years until one guy moved back to California and I moved to Texas. Since then I haven’t had anyone to serve in an accountability role besides my wife. No offense intended toward her, but it’s not the same as having another guy I can confide in and talk about deep spiritual and marital issues. I hope to find a few guys like that once I move here, which I hope is very soon.
In the meantime, I’m hoping that my readers will help serve as accountability partners for a problem I have been struggling with for a long time. I am, according to government guidelines, morbidly obese. According to the scale at the Hereford YMCA, I have 268 pounds packed onto my 5-10 frame.
I was 145 pounds when I graduated high school 25 years ago. Granted, I was coming off a three-sport year and was in the best shape of my life. When I left college in 1987, I was bouncing between 170-180 pounds.
Here I am, three sympathetic pregnancies and a sedentary lifestyle later, and I have gained nearly 100 pounds. I can’t blame anyone other than myself. I hate the way I look and feel. I’m a compulsive eater. It’s my greatest addiction. I often eat without knowing I’m doing it. I’m also bad at making time to exercise.
Here is where you, the reader, come in. I want you to hold me accountable for my weight loss. I want you to ask me about it on the street. I want you to send me encouraging e-mails (please, no phone calls). I am going to include a brief accountability notice at the end of each column to let you know how I’m doing. If I slip up, I want to hear about it.
My goal is to lose at least 80 pounds. If there are any other people out there who wants to take on this challenge with me, let me know. Likewise, if there are guys who would like to form a Christian men’s group, I’d be all for that.
I may be a big fan of the Lone Ranger, but I know I can’t do this as a lone ranger. I need help. In the process, I hope I can encourage and help others with the same struggle. Obesity is a national epidemic. It is certainly rampant in this community, so I know there are others who can benefit from what I’m about to go through.
On a side note, as long as we’re talking about accountability, I owe a huge apology to Becky Reinart, David Tiemann and Bud Jowell. I inadvertently made them look bad in a story last week about roofers. Reinart told me that most local roofers did get permits to do their job. But my story made it sound like Tiemann’s roofing company didn’t do it. It put Jowell in a bad light because he didn’t know he needed a permit. He had one. He hired Tiemann to repair his roof and Tiemann included the permit in his bid.
I am truly sorry for any problems my reporting may have caused these fine people. I promise that I will try to be more thorough in my writing. And you can hold me accountable for that.
Joe Southern writes the weekly Editor’s Note column. He can be contacted at editor@herefordbrand.com. Past columns can be read online at www.joesouthern.blogspot.com.
Most guys, like me, have this part in our ego that says “I can do this myself. I don’t need anyone else.” Guys don’t like accountability because it means doing something you don’t want to do, or not doing something you want to do.
I really didn’t think much about accountability until I got involved in Promise Keepers in 1996. It was through Promise Keepers that I first became aware of my need to have other men in my life to hold me accountable in my walk with the Lord, my marriage, my business dealings, basically every aspect of my life.
Accountability is one aspect I forgot to mention in my column last week about pornography. A key element to help someone break a sexual addiction – or any addiction -- is to have other people of the same gender who will ask them tough questions and hold them accountable for their actions.
I used to have a small accountability group that I met with in Colorado. There were three of us and we were very close. Our group lasted almost eight years until one guy moved back to California and I moved to Texas. Since then I haven’t had anyone to serve in an accountability role besides my wife. No offense intended toward her, but it’s not the same as having another guy I can confide in and talk about deep spiritual and marital issues. I hope to find a few guys like that once I move here, which I hope is very soon.
In the meantime, I’m hoping that my readers will help serve as accountability partners for a problem I have been struggling with for a long time. I am, according to government guidelines, morbidly obese. According to the scale at the Hereford YMCA, I have 268 pounds packed onto my 5-10 frame.
I was 145 pounds when I graduated high school 25 years ago. Granted, I was coming off a three-sport year and was in the best shape of my life. When I left college in 1987, I was bouncing between 170-180 pounds.
Here I am, three sympathetic pregnancies and a sedentary lifestyle later, and I have gained nearly 100 pounds. I can’t blame anyone other than myself. I hate the way I look and feel. I’m a compulsive eater. It’s my greatest addiction. I often eat without knowing I’m doing it. I’m also bad at making time to exercise.
Here is where you, the reader, come in. I want you to hold me accountable for my weight loss. I want you to ask me about it on the street. I want you to send me encouraging e-mails (please, no phone calls). I am going to include a brief accountability notice at the end of each column to let you know how I’m doing. If I slip up, I want to hear about it.
My goal is to lose at least 80 pounds. If there are any other people out there who wants to take on this challenge with me, let me know. Likewise, if there are guys who would like to form a Christian men’s group, I’d be all for that.
I may be a big fan of the Lone Ranger, but I know I can’t do this as a lone ranger. I need help. In the process, I hope I can encourage and help others with the same struggle. Obesity is a national epidemic. It is certainly rampant in this community, so I know there are others who can benefit from what I’m about to go through.
On a side note, as long as we’re talking about accountability, I owe a huge apology to Becky Reinart, David Tiemann and Bud Jowell. I inadvertently made them look bad in a story last week about roofers. Reinart told me that most local roofers did get permits to do their job. But my story made it sound like Tiemann’s roofing company didn’t do it. It put Jowell in a bad light because he didn’t know he needed a permit. He had one. He hired Tiemann to repair his roof and Tiemann included the permit in his bid.
I am truly sorry for any problems my reporting may have caused these fine people. I promise that I will try to be more thorough in my writing. And you can hold me accountable for that.
Joe Southern writes the weekly Editor’s Note column. He can be contacted at editor@herefordbrand.com. Past columns can be read online at www.joesouthern.blogspot.com.
posted by Joe Southern | 10:33 AM
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