Consistency.
Consistency is a new word in my life that I never thought would have so much meaning for me. I can give the word consistency pretty much all of the credit for my weight loss and maintenance of that 65-pound loss. And, of course, the good Lord above!
Without consistency, I couldn’t have done it. Consistency is key!
That and mindset and dedication.
The three of them, together with God helping you through it all, is a recipe for success no matter what you set out to accomplish.
You don’t need or want to be perfect. Consistency is more than perfection.
Perfection can hinder us and cause us to be hard on ourselves! We are going to use exercise, for instance. Being perfect to some people is exercising five days a week, killing yourself in exercise for the first two months, and not missing a single day. But after those two months, most start declining because things in life come up and you expect too much from yourself. Then, when it drops down to two days a week, you just give up because you think that to have exercise be a benefit to you, you need to work five times a week for an hour a pop, and if you aren’t sweating, it isn’t doing anything. So, by month three, you just completely stop. (This was literally me years ago when I was at my heaviest.)
Now, take a consistent person. They work out two days a week the entire year for thirty to forty minutes. Some weeks, they may get three or four days in if they have a less busy week, or one day a week here and there due to vacations, sickness, or just life in general! The person who consistently works out all year, even twice a week, has just exercised one hundred and four days out of the year. They kept consistent all year because they didn’t beat themselves up if something came up and they couldn’t exercise. I tell myself two days a week because it’s realistic. Most weeks, I do get three. But if I tell myself I need to do more and fail that week, I feel like a failure! If I tell myself twice a week and get at least that or more, I am proud of myself. Two days a week is totally doable with a busy lifestyle and is absolutely beneficial!!
Exercising every two days is a great schedule to follow. Say Monday, Thursday, and Sunday. Then, the following week, it would be Wednesday and Saturday. Now, obviously, I am not an athlete or training to be a bodybuilder. This is a totally different situation with training. I am just talking about a normal person who wants to live a healthier lifestyle.
I completely changed my mindset and became dedicated to my health journey. Not only is it consistent with exercise, but it is consistent with meal prep, good sleep, high step count, lots of water, and weighing in EVERY. SINGLE. FRIDAY for YEARS!
Weighing in every Friday and writing it down has given me data that has been a huge help on my journey. I can flip back to four years ago and say, “Dang girl, you have come a long way.” Or I can return to last spring and say, “Hey, you are down five pounds from last year!” Five pounds may not sound like a lot in a year, but you know what? I maintained PLUS lost. That is a victory for me.
I love to cook, and I eat in moderation. I never feel deprived. I love where my calories are and that I don’t have to starve myself to see results. They may not be HUGE drops, but they are my drops. They are my first time EVER losing weight and keeping it off for years and years. It’s been incredible, and I have learned so much by investing in my self-knowledge through listening to fitness podcasts, following fitness coaches on social media, and going through fitness and nutrition school myself to become a coach.
It may take another few years to hit my goal, and I’m just fine with that. It’s not a race. I didn’t put on tons of weight in a few months, and I don’t expect it to come off in a few months. I’m still learning and growing from it all and am happy with my progress. I can guarantee I will reach that goal I set out for five years ago, but I never set a time for myself. I knew I would get there when I got there.
Whether you want to lose weight, exercise, read a good book, pay off that debt, use face cream daily, start a garden, or whatever it may be in your life that you think you will start and give up, just stay consistent and don’t be so hard on yourself. Allow yourself grace. You’ll get there. Slowly but surely, you will finish that book. You will lose that weight. You will have that beautiful garden or glowing skin. Once you learn consistency is KEY to success, it’s a total game changer.
Four Ingredient Protein Pancakes
Ingredients:
• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 egg + 1/4 cup egg whites
• 1 serving of your favorite protein powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• *1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
• *1/4 cup banana (optional)
• *1 teaspoon pure maple syrup or light syrup (optional)
Directions:
Mix four ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Add cinnamon if desired.
These protein pancakes make it easy to hit your protein goal while enjoying the traditional breakfast stack, which is traditionally made with zero protein and lots of sugar! Save these for your high-protein repertoire! Enjoy!
38g protein • 10g fat • 25g carbs (including banana and syrup)
