Consistency

RuthNjuguna

Hey guys please consistency is a problem for me. How do you guys maintain consistency

neanderthin

It's too vague a term really, it can be a good thing or it can be the opposite. Is there something specific you believe is beneficial that your having a hard time committing to?

springlering62

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10942799/consistency

welcome to MFP, Ruth.

For exercise, I get in the mindset of scheduling it both in my head and on my calendar, complete with reminders.

I just automatically go for a walk after breakfast and after dinner. It’s like clearing the table or brushing my teeth. I just made myself do it until it became a habit. Now it feels weird not to.

For classes or trainer, those are blocked out on my calendar. I initially set a reminder for the day before and then again two hours before. If for some reason I still forget, my watch gives me gentle reminders and countdowns how long it will take to reach the gym or studio.

I keep the same schedule, so they are on weekly repeat, so I don’t have to add them to my calendar over and over

I don’t need the reminders after all this time. That’s just so I don’t schedule a dentist or doctor appointment over them by accident, since I tend to fluster when setting up other events.

Workouts come first. I very rarely schedule an appointment when I have a routine workout

For logging, I always have a scale on the kitchen counter. Always. I make a habit of laying my phone on the counter, too, so it’s easy to log. (Some people prefer jotting it down on pad and paper and then transferring it to phone, but that’s an extra step in my mind, and, for me, the easier and more direct, the better).

I’ve also developed the habit of completing next week’s meal plan and shopping list by Wednesday, reviewing it Thursday, shopping Friday, and prelogging the next week out on Saturday. It’s just a regular chore I do on autopilot, like vacuuming in Saturday, laundry on Sundays, etc.

Even though I’ve prelogged, I still adjust entries by weight as I cook.

For example, I’m making a Greek salad tomorrow that we will eat for a couple of nights, plus I’ll have with lunch throughout the week. I’ve got the basic recipe logged in already for two evenings and a lunch, but will adjust it based on the size of that onion and the bell peppers, and how many servings I want to get out of it. Right now, it’s sort of a calorie “placeholder” til I can adjust quantities.

I expect to shed about 100 or so calories off the salad I’ve logged for dinner tomorrow night, which is fine That means an additional small snack after dinner because, right now, I’m bang on my calories with the giant serving I pre-logged. Or I might enjoy a few extra ounces of kebab with dinner. Prelogging doesn’t mean you’re inflexible.

Having that list puts me in control of what I purchase. Old Me went into the grocery store with no plan and tried to put it together on the spot, which gave me waaaay too much time for distracted buying. Plus it was wasteful. I threw out so much.

Once you get in the habit of these things, you just do it without an additional thoughts.

barabaradem

Totally agree, consistency’s where everything starts to shift. I didn’t see real changes until I stopped chasing perfect days and just focused on showing up, even if it wasn’t ideal. Little things add up.

springlering62

….. until I stopped chasing perfect days and just focused on showing up, even if it wasn’t ideal…..

This!!!!!

AnnPT77

Dittoes.

Perfection isn't realistic. "Pretty good on average most of the time" is plenty good enough, and more achievable, IMO. "Gradually better over a period of time" is a reasonable path to get there.

I'm a big believer in making the easiest-to-follow possible plan that gradually heads toward goals. Doing that requires less difficult consistency than some aggressive "lose weight fast", restrictive, unpleasant approach. As a bonus, it can help us build the habits we need to not only reach a healthy weight, but stay there long term. IMO, that - long term maintenance - is the real golden prize.

Personalization of tactics is IMO a key success factor. We all have different preferences, strengths, challenges, and lifestyles. There isn't a universal "one size fits all" way to lose weight or maintain weight. Other people can give us ideas to try, but deciding which ones fit is up to us. Figuring it out is like a fun, productive science fair experiment for grownups.

As long as we stick with the process, trying things until we find what personally works best, we'll succeed. That's true even if there's a bit of two steps forward, one step back. Keep working on it, and success will happen . . . at least that's been my experience. That effort is an investment in our future health and happiness.

Wishing you success: IME, the quality of life improvement is worth the effort it takes to accomplish it.