Fitness, Healthy Living, Nutrition

Are you consistent?

by Matt Elphick

28/10/2021

Blog Are you consistent?

Do you find yourself starting various hobbies or tasks but you don’t follow through? Do you find yourself struggling with consistency? Weight loss is no different.

Whilst we find an overwhelming amount of information on the net about how to lose weight, one thing we are not educated on is the power of the mind in this whole journey. Whilst most of you might ask “what does consistency have to do with fat loss?” we are here to explain how important this bit of the puzzle is to your success.

Fat loss is both easy and hard. It’s easy because it comes down to basic science. Expend more than you consume, and you lose fat. Seems simple, right?

But it’s hard because you need to have a good training and nutrition plan that you’re consistent with. And you need to be patient. Otherwise, successful fat loss isn’t going to happen.

If you can wrap your mind around the fact that consistency and patience are KEY, then successful fat loss will be a lot easier and less stressful.

We encourage you to forget about diet and exercise strategies just for a few minutes and focus on getting your mind right. Because the best way to improve your health is to improve your mind. Having a positive mindset changes what you do, the excuses you tell yourself, the effort you give and the choices you make.

We have listed 10 reasons that might be holding you back from seeing the changes you want

• You lack self-belief

The first step to goal setting is to believe you can achieve it. If you’ve ever struggled with self-doubt, you know that truly believing in yourself takes time and takes effort. You have to change the way you talk to yourself, change the way you look at yourself, and change the way you think of yourself. Self-doubt can hold you back in a lot of ways and these mental limitations will hold you back from reaching your true potential.

• You have comparison syndrome

Constantly comparing your body, your workouts, or your results to those around you can really hinder your progress. It’s great to have a support system and people to hold you accountable, but always remember that your body is different than any other body on this entire planet (which pretty amazing when you think about it!) Therefore, your progress will be different. What works for your husband or your best friend might not work for you!

The only person you should compare yourself to is the person you were yesterday. It’s ok to use others as inspiration, but there is a fine line between inspiration and comparison. Put your blinkers on and focus on YOU.

• You’re obsessing over what you CAN’T have

If you’re constantly thinking about the foods that you can’t eat, your results won’t be sustainable.

This is one of the reasons we use macro tracking with many of our clients, because nothing is off limits.

If you want to go out for pizza or have a glass of wine with friends, you absolutely can. Don’t deprive yourself, because when you do it makes forbidden foods more appealing. It just takes a little planning ahead.

• Another thing we work our nutrition clients is on realizing how food makes them FEEL. How does eating a balanced meal of protein, carbs, healthy fats and veggies make you feel in comparison to eating a whole packet of biscuits? If you slow down and think about this before eating, you will almost always make the better choice. And guess what? The more you eat those nutritious foods, the more you will crave them!

• You’re impatient

Stop giving up after a week, or a month, or even 6 months. Real change takes TIME. And depending on how far you have to go or how big your goals are, a sustainable body transformation can take YEARS. Stop chasing fast results. They aren’t sustainable. And in the grand scheme of things, taking 1-2 years to get yourself healthy, TRULY healthy, is not that long.

• You don’t realize what it really takes

Change is challenging both mentally and physically. Before you even start the process of fat loss, you should sit down and figure out why you want to change. Dig deep! And write it down. KNOW YOUR WHY! This is something you can always come back to when you feel like giving up.

No matter how far you have to go or what your goals are, the journey is never easy. It takes commitment, dedication, consistency, and sacrifice. Are you willing to make the sacrifices needed to accomplish your goals?

• You’re letting the scale dictate your progress

We have been in the fitness industry, for a while now mainly assisting fat loss clients and can confidently say that weight loss is never linear. And if you are allowing the scale to dictate the effort you give, you won’t get the results you so badly want. Body weight fluctuates daily based on thing like hormones, water, workouts, stress, and a million other things that have NOTHING to do with fat.

Here’s what this means: the scale is not the best method to measure your progress. Keep track of energy levels, sleep quality, motivation, performance, measurements and take progress photos. Always remember that a pound of muscle takes up much less space (and looks better) than a pound of fat.

Don’t let the number on the scale determine your self-worth or your daily efforts. Put in a conscious effort to have respect and kindness for yourself no matter how much you weigh. If you can’t do this, nothing will change. BE KIND TO YOURSELF

• You’re eating according to your mood

This is something we see often in our nutrition coaching practice. Ever feel stressed and find yourself reaching for the crisps or the cookies? We have all been there. You’re most likely not really hungry, but you’ve conditioned yourself to THINK you are hungry during times of stress. Food is nutrition. It’s fuel for your body. Not a punishment, not an escape, and not therapy. Start to be mindful of when this is happening and take steps to break the cycle.

• What is the real issue?

If you are overweight, chances are there are bigger issues than just lack of exercise, poor diet, and an unhealthy lifestyle. Sometimes it’s underlying emotional issues that are keeping you from changing your habits and becoming healthy. Maybe you turn to food for comfort or a way to deal with grief. Maybe you’re unhappy or lonely and turning to food in order to fill these voids. To achieve successful fat loss, it may require a deep dive into some pretty emotional stuff. But once you start to recognize and address these issues, you will be well on your way to accomplishing your goals.

• You go from 0 -100

Ever opened a packet of biscuits, eat one, and then eat four more because you’ve already gone off plan? And then all of a sudden, it’s three days later and you’ve been off plan ever since……

Everyone has a bad day or an unplanned meal. The truth is that consistency always wins over perfection. If you’re consistent, then 1 bad day or bad meal will not ruin your progress. Here is what’s important: Don’t dwell on it, don’t beat yourself up, and don’t throw in the towel. Just move on.

• You’re scared to fail

Even though you may be uncomfortable and unhappy in your current situation, stepping into the unknown and changing your habits is downright scary. Maybe you’ve tried losing weight in the past and have failed so now you’re afraid to give 100% effort. Trying your hardest is scary because you have no excuse to fall back on if you don’t get the results you’re hoping for. However, not having a sense of urgency when it comes to change can hold you back from making real progress. Be relentless in your efforts and remember that you have only failed when you stop trying.

The 10 reasons listed above should clarify just how important mindset is when it comes to sustainable fat loss. We have coached many people through physical transformations, but it’s the mindset transformation that we see in our clients that makes us the most satisfied!

If you have been struggling with fat loss or your mindset around fat loss, contact us now for more information about our one to one personal training.