Everyone knows that to lose weight you need to eat right and exercise, but what a lot of us do not take into consideration is accountability. If you make your weight loss goals known to friends, family, or even all your Twitter followers (Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri did just that) it might make you more likely to stick to it.

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Senator McCaskill posted on Twitter that she wanted to lose 50 pounds because she was tired of feeling bad about her body. By posting this on Twitter all of her followers could read it, comment back, and see if she stuck to her word. She did eventually reach her goal of losing the weight. It was not her tweeting that got her thin, but the desire to follow through with the goal she set in front of her 59,000 Twitter followers. The accountability pushed her to continue to hit the gym and eat healthy even on those days she was tired and that Chinese buffet looked delicious!

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Now not everyone needs to have thousands of Twitter followers to keep them on track, but telling your friends, family, or co-workers can help keep you motivated. Facebook is another great way to keep yourself accountable for the fitness goals you set for yourself. There is even a website called getupp.com that links to your Facebook to tell your friends about your goals. It works with an application on your phone. First you make a commitment which is then shared with your friends. Your friends can actually vote if they think you will succeed. Next you open the getupp app at the right place and right time (you get a window of time) and it posts on your wall that you succeeded! If not, it posts to your wall that you did not complete your goal. No cheating! It uses your phone to check your location.

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Nothing is more motivating then wanting to prevent the whole world (well at least your Facebook world) from seeing that post. If you fail commitments all the time, these fail posts can easily take over your whole wall. So if you are looking for that last step to keep your healthy lifestyle together try making yourself accountable and sharing your plan whichever way you want! Tell a friend you are going to take a yoga class at salon downtown pittsburgh, Verve 360, to give yourself that extra push to go!