Most women have tried everything to lose weight…except consistency. Let’s change that.
“I do well for a while… and then I fall off.”
Many women I’ve worked with have tried everything… Juice fasts. Weight watchers. Noom. Sure Slim. Keto. Whole30. They’ve gone through all the diets and workout plans.
They’ve tried everything… except consistency.
But consistency, like any skill, can be learned. We can create habits. We can build trust in ourselves. We can begin keeping the promises we make to ourselves.
Here’s how to do it:
- Get specific and clear on your goals.
We might have big picture goals – I want to feel joy. I want to be confident and comfortable in my skin. But day to day, we want to get specific on the actions we will take to reach our broader goals.
If we want to get consistent, but then set goals like “I want to eat better” or “I want to be nicer to myself”, we’re not setting ourselves up for success. We’re not being specific enough about our actions. And if we don’t have that specificity, how will we even know if we’re being consistent? The best practice here is to start with small steps towards your goals. Often, we get overwhelmed and struggle to be consistent because we try to do too much at once or make large changes right away. Pick small (specific) steps forward, and get consistent first, then add more steps on later. This is how we start to build trust in ourselves.
- Pick a range. Adopt an all-or-something mindset.
Maybe one of your habits is to stretch everyday. Maybe your target is 6-10 minutes of stretching. But you also want to have a minimum standard – that could be 1-2 minutes. You want it to be something you can do any day, no matter what. Make it achievable, even on your busiest, crazy days. The two minutes of stretching you did is better than the ten minutes you didn’t have time for. Keep going as imperfectly as you need to!
- Keep your goals in the forefront of your mind.
Sometimes, we don’t stay consistent because we lose focus and we forget our goals. Find a way to recommit to your goals every day. It can be as simple as tracking your progress in a planner. It could be marking an X on your calendar for each day you complete your habit. Find ways to remember on a regular basis.
- Set yourself up for success.
If your goal is to workout every day, how can you make this as easy as possible? Can you schedule a walk with a friend? Can you set your clothes out in advance?
If your goal is to eat better, maybe you wash and cut up your vegetables ahead of time. Maybe you do some meal planning and prepping every week. Anything you can do to make your habit easier will help you become more consistent.
- Plan, do and review.
Failures are part of the process, but we can learn from these mistakes. Instead of setting a goal and then forgetting about it, we want to review how things are going on a regular basis. If things aren’t going as you would like them to, what’s getting in the way? Is it your environment? Is it limiting beliefs? Release the expectation that you’re going to nail it right away. This is a process, and you’re going to learn and improve along the way, especially when you take the time to reflect and review.
Saying “I’m just not consistent” or “I can’t stick with it” is a convenient excuse.
It’s not true.
Follow these steps and do it.
