Consistency is Key
The word “consistent”, meaning acting, or behaving in the same way, is an important key word when it comes to changing your body composition. Whether it be losing weight, or gaining muscle, “consistency is key”, as they say. There is no doubt you’ve heard this statement in the world of weight loss and fitness, and it most definitely rings true. In fact, I constantly preach this to my clients.
In my last blog post, I talked about writing goals, and to be successful in achieving those goals, you must commit to the process and take action. With that commitment, comes consistency in those actions. With any goal you set out to achieve, you will not reach it, or maintain it, without consistent action.
As a lifestyle coach, most of my clients have goals for weight loss. I have found a common theme amongst my clients is learning to establish habits and routines that serve their goal endeavors. I also have clients who have shared with me that after a few weeks, or a month, they have typically given up on their goals because they don’t see results and get frustrated. Unfortunately, what many don’t understand is that CONSISTENCY over a period of TIME is what is needed to lose weight, keep it off, build muscle, etc. I hate to break it, but there is no quick fix. This is why fad diets, and the like, do not work. You must realize that it took a period of time to gain weight or get to a point of discomfort and readiness for change. It’s not going to change overnight, and once you reach your desired weight loss goal, or body composition goal, you won’t be able to maintain it without that same consistency put in place, to get there. This is why developing consistent habits and routines is important.
Think about it, if you are forty pounds over your desired weight, it took a consistent effort of eating over your caloric requirement, perhaps leading a more sedentary lifestyle, all on a consistent basis to get there, right? You didn’t gain the forty pounds in a week, or a month. It took a period of time and consistent behaviors to get where you are today. For example, maybe you’ve created the habit of eating dessert every night, snacking at work, or going out to lunch every day. It will now take new habits and behaviors over a period of time, on a consistent basis, to take those forty pounds off…and keep them off.
So, what does consistency look like?
In the realm of all things weight loss and muscle building, diet and training are most important. Consistency, as it relates to diet and training, means sticking to a routine no matter what. This includes keeping your meals, your foods, your training, and overall activity consistent. Even in times of uncertainty, or when things aren’t “moving” the way you want them too. If you stay consistent, it will eventually happen!
Let me go through some examples with you…
Meal Planning, Prepping and Timing
Planning your meals each week will not only help you visualize your daily nutrition plan and make better choices, it can also help you save money when grocery shopping…and let’s be honest, that’s definitely a plus! Also, by purchasing ingredients that can be used in multiple meals, you can reduce the amount of time you spend prepping your meals.
Prepping your meals ahead of time is a great way to maintain consistency. This also is a routine you can develop each week, choosing a few hours one day a week to knock out the cooking of all your meals, and placing them in containers so all you have to do each day is pack them in your lunch bag/cooler for the day. This also leaves you no excuse to divert from your nutritious meals because you have them prepped and ready!
The timing of your meals is important as well. Try eating at the same time each day. The more you do this, the more your body will begin to expect your next meal. This will also keep you from snacking, knowing you have your next meal at “such and such” time. This will also help you be more mindful and present when you are eating during your meal time.
Scheduling Workouts
There is no better way to begin developing exercise consistency than SCHEDULING when you do it! Decide how often you will go to the gym, participate in a scheduled fitness class, etc and write it down in your calendar. Make that calendar visible. Better yet, record it in your phone with an alert that you receive each day as a reminder that you have scheduled this time to work toward reaching your goals.
WHEN you schedule your workouts can make a difference as well. Some of us enjoy working out early in the morning, whereas others have more energy in the afternoon/evening. Decide what time of day will easily work into your schedule, leaving you fewer obstacles/excuses to manage, ensuring you get to the gym and are able to make it routine.
Establishing Habits/Routines…Planning ahead
In his book “W1INNING”, Tim Grover concisely sums up the benefit of routines. He states that establishing routines can help you manage distractions, and with routines you will be able take action with certainty and purpose. When you decide to work towards a goal, you will have to change up your current routines to make yourself more successful in reaching those goals.
When you are evaluating your current routines and how you will change them, you need to decide what is most important to you. What are your goals and what routines will help you reach your goals? Think about the seemingly smaller, simple things you do each day as well. For example, the simple act of laying out or packing your clothes for the gym each day will help you create an environment that is conducive to your routine of getting to the gym. Just as meal prepping helps you adhere to pre-planned meals and nutritious food choices, the more basic routines you develop, the easier it will be to stick to your plan in order to reach your goals. The more you commit to your new routines, the more habit they become and the easier maintaining your plan becomes.
In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear speaks to habit tracking, which provides visual feedback to avoid “breaking the chain” and adhere to your new-found routines. Creating visual feedback is another tool to help make the progress toward your goals more visible. It can be tracking your meals in a notebook or app, placing stars on the calendar for days you reach your daily, or short-term goals, or tracking your workouts. Habit tracking makes you less likely to lie to yourself and helps provide greater awareness of your progress toward your goals.
It takes time…
I, personally, have experienced times of struggle with my weight loss and fitness goals. Believe me, I have been frustrated as all get out...but despite feeling emotional about it, and maybe even annoyed, I didn’t get discouraged and kept consistent. I leaned on my support system (also important to have), maintained my routines, and kept my focus forward, not giving up. I tried to divert my attention away from that emotional attachment, which is also helpful, and put my frustrations into my workouts with an “I’ll show you” attitude. It took a little time, it took consistency, and my body finally reacted in the way I wanted it to.
Making any change in life, especially a body composition change, can seem overwhelming at times. But it’s your daily habits and routines that are the key to reaching any goal. As Michael Hyatt puts it, “Consistency is more important than perfection”. As you develop new habits and routines to support your goals, give yourself some grace. You don’t have to be perfect. However, the more consistent you are, the closer you will see yourself to reaching your goal.
If you want to reach your goal, you must stay focused, determined, persistent and CONSISTENT!
If you’re interested more in ways to build new habits, consider reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s an easy read and gives you a few ideas on how to tackle creating new habits for yourself so you can reach any goal.