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How do I stay consistent?

jominick1234923
jominick1234923 Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss

I try my best but can never stay consisten

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Answers

  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,902 Member

    Only you can do that. Have a plan and a routine and stick to it. I've found for me the enemy of weight loss is randomly eating whenever. Have set meals to eat. Abide by them. Get you're routine going, and if you force yourself to stick to it, it will become automatic.

  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 4,290 Member

    When you find the answer, would you please share?

    I've lost 90 pounds over the years. The hardest thing for me is still consistency. I love high calorie food. I love ❤️ low calorie food. Some days I want it all. Some days I don't. I just struggle and do my best.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 35,519 Member

    It depends somewhat on what you mean by "can never stay consistent", and on your personal "why" for that.

    Sometimes people think they need to be exactly perfect on exercise, nutrition, and calories every single day. If they slip one day, they beat themselves up about it, maybe blow off the rest of the day or week, maybe even give up altogether.

    It's not necessary to be exactly perfect every day on any of those things, ever. Pretty good on average can work fine. Furthermore, chipping away gradually at getting a little bit better in one's habits can lead to good results if a person sticks with that, adopting one or two new positive habits, practicing those until they're semi-automatic, then picking some other positive changes to make next. Rinse and repeat. It adds up.

    Way, way too many people arrive here thinking they need to revolutionize their eating, follow a restrictive set of eating rules all the time, eat only "diet foods" (which they maybe don't even enjoy eating), totally give up treats forever . . . and then they stack a bunch of punitively intense, unpleasant daily exercise on top of that. That doesn't end well, but it usually ends quickly.

    If something like that has been part of the problem, one answer is to make a simpler-to-follow plan. Misery is optional, generally.

    If logging all your food is unrealistic for you, don't log it. I'm old enough to remember when calorie counting by food logging was not at all practical, had to be done with pen and paper. No one stuck with that, as far as I know. But people lost weight anyway. They cut down on foods they knew were high in calories like fried foods and baked goods or candy, ate other foods they liked that they knew were more filling, kept an eye on the body weight scale, and adjusted their habits as needed to see gradual weight loss. I've done it myself. Calorie counting is more predictable, IME, but it's not the only path to success.

    Maybe none of that applies to you; I don't know. If you say more about what bumps in the road limit your ability to stick with your plans, and about what plans you've tried, other people here will try to help you with those specifics, including me. We're not going to be jerks about it, generally, because most of us have been there, many of us have successfully lost weight and gotten healthier/fitter, and it was Such A Good Thing that now we want to help others. That's my motivation to post, certainly.

    Best wishes!

  • herblovinmom
    herblovinmom Posts: 459 Member

    Being flexible has allowed me to be more consistent. I can pre plan my meals for the week, prepare some things ahead of time, schedule in my workouts, but if life happens I need to be flexible. Maybe I rearrange my meal plans if I grabbed lunch with an unannounced friend, or I can move around my run days if I’m feeling under the weather, I try to remain flexible and adapt to life. Make alterations to my routine but still make healthy choices that help me reach my long term goals. And practice makes progress. So just keep going.

  • Hobartlemagne
    Hobartlemagne Posts: 617 Member
    edited March 10

    Meal prep works.

    Plan ahead, cook ahead, log ahead. Eating is the last part. You'll feel less stressed since the whole thing is planned by the time its meal time.

  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,363 Member

    You ask a really good question; that make each of us think. "What has worked for consistency during my successes."

    I agree..

    1. meal prep for the week
    2. clear out any temptations from the house .. or all of them..
    3. be loyal to the time of day where exercise is easy..and stick with that time.
    4. If you find a time of day where you are more likely to eat off plan.. switch up your routine during that time.
  • Kiwi2mfp
    Kiwi2mfp Posts: 175 Member

    Simple answer...keep trying. Eventually you get better and better at it.

  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,054 Member

    I am most consistent when my goal is realistic and appropriate (enough calories). When I over-restrict, I am a binge waiting to happen. That leads to inconsistency… too little - too much - back to to little and too again much. I agree with Ann that it's the average that counts over time.

    Any routine you enjoy is easier to stick to, and that goes for eating and exercise. So prioritize stuff you like.

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