Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Being Consistent to Lose Weight and Keep it Off

Let’s be honest, losing weight and keeping it off takes a lot of consistency, but for so many people say that being consistent is the hardest part. It seems so simple and beneficial in our health, which leads us to getting ready hard on ourselves we are like most people and end up being inconsistent.

Why is it so difficult to do something that we know is beneficial?

I mean not even discussing weight loss, but consistency is typically what gets in the way of lasting change,  we can stick to it for a bit and then something happens.

Life gets crazy.

We get stressed.

We are going through a tough time.

Being consistent involves a lot more than just trying harder. It is a lot deeper than what most people talk about. Trust me, I read  up on what there people are saying often, they were not talking about what I am going to share with you.

The problem is that our hearts have not yet been transformed by God and most of the time we aren’t even trying to address our hearts as we change. We focus on just trying harder instead of changing our heart.

When this changes, that is when lasting change can really take off.

Before I get to the plan to overcome issues with consistency, I wanted to shed light on one of the biggest mistakes that happen when people try to be consistent with their diet, workout, weight loss program or even with their daily time with God.

The Biggest Mistake People Make while Trying to Lose Weight and Keep it Off is Not Setting the Right Goals

Goal setting helps you to stay motivated and focused along the way. The way most people set goals is just looking at the end result and only focused on that. Maybe a little breakdown, but it is all very outcome focused instead of realizing that the process helps you to gain wisdom and get better along the way.

Setting the right goals can help you to be less focused on the outcome or end destination and instead enjoy the process. You will not like every single step, but the right goals will help you to have little wins along the way and help you to enjoy learning how to be healthy.

Simply stated, your goals should be smaller goals or steps that string together to make you end goal come to life. Your goals should be actionable, not changing a number on the scale that you cannot control.

Yes, I just said that.

You cannot directly control your weight, but you can do things like control how quickly you eat, eating at a table, taking deep breathes, stretching, exercising, the list goes on…

So the big challenge is to eliminate just thinking about the big end goal, but instead thinking about what you want, the life you want and how to slowly create that life and those habits into your life, with small task or approach goals

Now for the plan to be consistent and build healthy habits that you cannot find anywhere else!

How to be Consistent Step #1 Identify why do you want to achieve your goals.

What is it that you really want? What is it that you want to avoid? Dig deep and think about why you are putting int he work.

How to be Consistent Step #2 Breakdown your goals.

See the smaller steps that will make up your large goal. This may be difficult at first, but you want break down your goals to fit your lifestyle, time constants and body. Make your goals something that you can do. Think about trying to master your larger goal and break it down into action steps. This is how Olympians do it. They go to the basics and continue to master and have a solid foundation. If your overall goal is to lose weight, think about what habits and smaller steps to take to lead you to your goal. For example, it could be eating slower, eating at a table, taking deep breathes, making your bedroom more conducive to sleep, being more active throughout the day.  Always be sure to consider your life and make it small realistic steps that you can do that week.

Some examples of weekly goals:

• Find 5 healthy recipes and make a shopping list for next week
• Have a glass of water before breakfast
• Clean up your table so you have someplace stress-free to eat
• Go for a walk during my break at work 3 times a week.
  

How to be Consistent Step #3 Commit and Schedule

Now that you have some goals laid out take the time to schedule in when you are going to it. Write in your calendar, put a reminder on your phone. Write it down and commit. Remember to pace yourself, build at a pace that you can sustain. Do not focus on 50 goals all at once. Focus on one main goal at a time.

How to be Consistent Step #4 Get Guidance and Accountability

 Get someone who will hold you accountable and be a guide for your in the process. Having someone to guide you in the process is and help you to make a plan is critical.

In order for this to really work, you need to see the bigger plan and trust in the plan that it will get you to your goal. We are all bombarded with information from all directions and in order to simplify and know how to create a plan that works take expertise. The smaller habits really do matter and build on each other when you have the right person helping you along the way who knows how it connects will be immensely helpful.

Whether it is a friend who has been through it or a coach who know what they are doing keep taking little steps that lead to the larger vision with some true accountability to keep you on track and help you to make adjustments along the way.

How to be Consistent Step #5 Have visual reminders.

You want something that you will see that will get you into action. The visual reminder is key to help you as you build the habit and work on the deep desires of your heart are changed. You want to have your environment to lead you to the actions you want to help you to be more consistent with your habits. This could be making your Bible visible, making workout clothes or an exercise mat visible. Have fruit and vegetables visual or the first thing you see in the refrigerator.

How to be Consistent Step #6 Be ready for a crazy, non-linear journey.

Do you know who is the best story teller? God. Hands down.

The stories He writes in each of our lives and how it weaves together is AMAZING. If you have read Genesis and know about Joseph’s story you know all the twists and turns Joseph’s life took.  Anticipate the peaks and valleys, Do not loss hope or confidence in God or any part of your life. He is Lord of all. Open your hand and surrender the details to Him.

Is this easy? Nope, if you are like me you like to have some say in the journey and not hand it all over to God. I so often want a journey that makes sense to me along the way, but that is not the way that God works for most people.

Do I want a linear journey? YES!! But, it is not the best route. The best route is God's path.

So instead of trying to make sense of it and see the progress. I invite you to continue to hand things over, have hope and know that God can do all things. Stay committed to being healthy emotionally, spiritual and physical through it all. Let go of your time frame (I said that for me). During these times, this is where your accountability and guide can make or break your journey. They will help you to see the bigger picture of your goal and stay focused on God. They can guide you on what steps to take when things are frustrating and overwhelming.

How to be Consistent Step #7 Evaluate when your mini goals are not completed.

Evaluate what is going on. Sometimes it is a crazy time in your life and goals need to be changed, If that is the case adjust your plan for the week or this season. No worries just adapt and finding little ways to be healthy when things settle.

Other times…

There are underlying desires that need to be met. Let me give an example to explain what I mean by this, I have a high value for health, but I tend to stay up late to “accomplish” more or check off some items on my to do list. I am driven by being successful and achieving things. This desire sometimes overrides my high value and desire to be healthy and get to bed at a normal hour. (I am also only thinking short term in these moments, you are more productive when you get sleep, but let’s get back to the main point.)  When I recognize this, I go to God and get my desire  to be successful filled by God, instead of trying to do things.

Everyone is driven by different things, but all of those needs can and should be filled by God, not people or things. I cannot stress how important uncovering and addressing this underlying motivators are.

THIS IS KEY!!

If this wasn’t in order I would make this number one. This is how you really address and allow God to change your heart in the process. I do not know what deep underlying desires are driving you away from the goals you are working towards, but dig deep here. You need to know to go to God with this need so He can fill it.

How to be Consistent Step #8 Extend grace to yourself and move on.

You are going to do some unwanted things along the way. Do not spend your time berating yourself or saying that you blew it. It is a process and you are human. Be kind and give yourself grace. It is okay! Reassess and head back toward your goals, see if there is something you can do to make the habit you are building easier. Change your environment and continue to work on your faith and emotional health.  The extra work really adds up.

How to be Consistent Step #9 Find joy in the process.

Easier said then done, am I right?

The end result is not the only good thing coming out of your efforts. Enjoy discovering new things about yourself and develop a love for learning. Uncovering different aspects of yourself and getting closer to God is amazing. Continue down that path. Be okay that the journey cannot be avoided and it will add to your life.

Remember to be present and approach it with like a marathon. A marathon runner is going to have checkpoints, and take in the sights. You can be consistent. Follow the steps I outlined and you will be amazed at how different it is this time around.

If you are looking for more resources, I have an awesome FREE PDF for you to build healthy habits with God you can download it HERE.

As you go through this process it is important to recognize that even though I laid out these steps to take you on your journey. It is a cyclical in nature. As you journey and conquer your goals you will gain wisdom for the next goal or layer your dig into. Allow God into the journey and allow Him to create a new heart, with new desires and behaviors to develop consistency between what you want and your actions by eliminating lurking unfulfilled desires.

I also wanted to talk quickly about what being successful looks like. Some of my clients do not like me to talk about them because they do not feel like they have completely overcome their weight because they still fluctuate a bit or have a health problem here and there. They have gone through amazing transformations, inwardly and outwardly, but they sometimes feel like a fraud. Maybe you can relate, this is a normal feeling when you are only focused on the outcome. Success is not just about that magic number on the scale, it is also from the wisdom and insight from going through the process. They may not have completely slayed all the dragons that they are facing, but they have slayed a couple to get the point they are at now and They are stronger, more confident and more like the victor that God created them to be.

With God, you can absolutely be consistent and conquer your big goals that you are facing. Follow the steps and look past just the outward circumstances.


<3 Jessica

P.S. Don’t forget you FREE PDF to Build Healthy Habits with God.