Sharing Your Health & Fitness Goals Makes ‘Em Gettable

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Working towards a health or fitness goal? Sharing your goals—and your progress!—with others can make a huge difference in how successful you are along the way. Research proves it. According to a study published in Translational Behavioral Medicine, strong social circles can be very effective in combatting obesity and helping individuals succeed. When dieters participating in a weight loss study shared their plans and progress with others on social media, they lost more weight than those who kept their goals to themselves. Here’s why broadcasting your goals makes them easier to reach.

Sharing Your Goals…Creates Accountability
Telling your family, friends, and coworkers about your goals creates the opportunity for someone to ask you about your progress down the road. And knowing someone might be checking in can help you stay on track. “It’s harder to skip a workout or cheat on your diet if there’s a possibility you’ll have to answer for it later—to someone other than yourself or the bathroom scale,” says Harley Pasternak, celebrity personal trainer and Fitbit Ambassador.  

…Provides Positive Reinforcement
Research across industries and fields shows getting a pat on the back can motivate you to be a better student and a more devoted worker. It can also nudge you to be a healthier, more fit person. Sharing your progress with others often results in comments like, “Good job!” and “Keep up the great work!” And that kind of positive reinforcement can help you stick with your health and fitness goals.

…Strengthens Your Support Network
Sharing your goals and receiving support from your social circle, encourages others to share and get support too—it’s a positive feedback loop, says Steven Ledbetter, an expert on behavior change and co-founder of Habitry. “Talking about your goals in a common space where you feel safe, creates an intentional community—you share values, like living your healthiest life possible, and help each other live up to those values,” says Ledbetter. The more you share, the stronger your community becomes, and the easier it is for everyone to reach their goals.  

Fitbit Can Help!
Tools in your online dashboard and in the Fitbit app can help you set and track your goals—whether you want to lose a few pounds, get more sleep at night, or take more steps everyday! And when you’d like to share your fitness progress with your friends, you can use the Exercise Sharing feature to post a photo with your workout stats to your favorite social media site. Accountability. Reinforcement. Social Support. Check, check, and check!

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  • I started fitbit two days ago with the goal in mind to improve my overall health. My birthday is today, Sept. 30 and I am 66 years. I have type II diabetes and I wish to decrease my blood sugar levels and lose weight also. I believe that keeping track of my steps each day will help me reach my goal. Since I have started this program I have been sleeping better at night. Well, here I go and I wish all well who are on this journey also.

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