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Weight Loss 101, Part 4:

Staying Consistent

At this point, you've got your calorie deficit dialed in, you've learned how to diet and track your macros, and you've found a workout routine you actually enjoy and can stick to. Now what?

Well, next comes the most difficult part of this whole thing...

...staying consistent over the long haul.

If you remember, we previously discussed how consistency is key. It's not about perfection, but rather showing up day after day, week after week, and not letting small slip-ups derail you completely.

From my own journey, here are 5 tips that helped me stay on track:

1. Don’t Give Yourself The Option

Often I found myself playing a mental game of "Should I or shouldn't I?" when it came to going to the gym or sticking to my diet. This came from the fact that I was giving myself the option to skip it in the first place.

Do you debate whether to brush your teeth or shower each morning? No, because those are ingrained habits, not optional choices (at least I hope so 🙃). Your fitness and diet need to become that ingrained too.

You want to make workouts and healthy eating unconscious habits, just like brushing your teeth. Instead of treating them as separate chores, they should be natural parts of your daily routine. When they're seen as separate tasks, you devote more mental and physical effort because they don't fit seamlessly into your life. I talk more about making fitness unconscious here.

If you remember my ✨beautiful✨ illustrations, you’ll want to go from this:

To this:

2. Focus On Small Actions

Going to the gym or cooking a healthy meal used to seem daunting to me. It's exhausting and just the thought of doing them both would discourage me enough to where I wouldn't even do them. This changed when I started to instead, shift my focus from the large action of going to the gym and instead on all the small actions it took to get there.

For example, getting to the gym requires you to:

1. Pick out gym clothes

2. Put them on

3. Fill a water bottle

4. Grab your keys

5. Walk to your car

6. Turn on the car

7. etc.

Each small action is simple and doesn't require much effort or thought. By breaking it down, you build momentum and unconsciously find yourself completing the larger task of getting to the gym.

3. No Zero Days

I used to (and sometimes still do) think consistency meant perfection, with no slip-ups allowed. I'd compare each day to the last and judge myself harshly.

One day, I'm at 110%—eating perfectly, working out hard, everything's great. The next day, if I don't feel as good, I'd compare it to the perfect day before and decide it’s not worth it, leading to what I call a zero day.

Avoid zero days at all costs. If you're not up to a full challenge, that's fine! Just do what you can.

• Not motivated for a hard gym session? Go and use a few machines lightly.

• Not motivated to eat clean? Just incorporate a few healthy items.

The point is, a day at 1% is better than a day at 0%. Consistency isn't about perfect days but about accumulating efforts, no matter how small. The key is to keep showing up.

4. Track your progress

What gets measured, gets managed. If you don't track your progress, how can you see how far you've come? Use a tracking app or an old-fashioned journal to monitor your calories, workouts, measurements, etc. Seeing the data keeps you honest and motivated. Take before and after pictures consistently.

I used to take progress pictures every week and get discouraged if I didn't see changes. But progress takes time! Looking at yourself only a couple of weeks apart might not show much because your mind updates its image of you regularly.

Think about it—when you haven’t seen someone in a while, they’re the ones who notice major changes. Why? Because they’re comparing the current you to the last time they saw you.

Be consistent and compare your progress over longer periods, like from week 1 to week 10. You'll see the difference, and that change will keep you motivated and determined.

5. Focus On The Present

I used to always focus on the goal, thinking about what I would gain if I achieved it. But the future is uncertain and distant, making it hard to stay motivated.

What worked for me was focusing on what I disliked about my present self and what I wanted to change.

For example:

• I didn’t like the way I looked.

• I didn’t like being limited in the clothes I could wear.

• I didn’t like how I felt.

• I didn’t like the constant pain.

• I didn’t like struggling with simple tasks like walking up stairs.

This shift gave me more motivation and energy to stay consistent daily. Focusing on a 100lb goal was too abstract and far off to keep me motivated, and often it discouraged me. Instead, focusing on immediate changes and dislikes made a real difference.

Thank you for joining me on today's newsletter.

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