7 things I would do to create consistency if I was beginning a health journey
If you go to the gym today for the very first time ever and work your backside off, when you return home and get undressed in front of the mirror, what kind of progress will you see?
Absolutely nada.
What if you went back the day after and did the same thing? Again, nothing.
You could keep going for 7 days straight and it’s likely that nothing resembling progress will be staring back at you.
But, give it a couple of weeks and you may start noticing something…
Couple of months? Now we’re talking…
My point is, we all know that consistency is the most important, ever elusive component of any successful health/fitness journey.
You can miss a day or two here and there, no issues.
As long as your trajectory is positive, that’s all that matters.
So what would I do to create consistency for myself if I were to start a fitness or health journey again?
Especially in a world where ‘life’ has time and time again knocked countless individuals off their A game?
I’m glad you asked.
There are many useful techniques and tactics that I’ve used myself personally as well as with clients in the past to help drive consistency and I’m going to share them with you here.
Here we go.
1. Start journalling.
Before you roll your eyes and move onto the next point, trust me and hear me out here.
This is an idea that I definitely would’ve struggled with before but having recently understood the power and the art of consistent reflecting has been crucial and is a game changer.
We all know that this health and fitness thing is a journey but without a destination…kind of like hiking up a mountain without a peak at the top.
Those who think they’ll be happier when they lose 5kgs are sadly mistaken.
The true magic is found in the journey – in pursuit of X goal.
The endorphins after the workout, the synergy that exercise creates with healthy nutrition, the feeling of getting stronger. This is what a health and fitness journey is about.
Reflecting allows us to take a moment to stop and appreciate the view from however high up we have climbed so far.
Reflecting reminds us that we have done good work in the past and that we are capable of climbing this thing,
Without reflection, we are just walking up this thing with our heads down and closed within our thoughts (and a lot of times, our thoughts are not so positive).
I recommend starting off with 10 minutes every night or every other night, going over any key wins, big or small and also any struggles or difficulties over the last 24/48 hours.
Preferably writing on paper as it’s a far more powerful method than going over it in your head and it allows us to spot trends earlier so we can be proactive about them.
2. Find a community
‘If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together’ – Lao Tzu
This one is pretty self-explanatory. People keep each other accountable.
Doing things with others can turn things fun, even things we kind of dislike. Especially when we make friends who we enjoy the company of.
We can get inspired by finding people ahead of us who have taken the steps we are taking at the moment.
Group classes, community centres, run clubs are all good options.
3. Create performance based goals
Often overshadowed by shallow weight loss driven goals or completely overlooked by generic ‘I want to become healthier’ goals, performance based goals drives consistency the same way a moth is attracted to evening lights.
Whether it’s to do something as simple as completing 20 consecutive push ups, something as gruelling as running a half marathon or something as scientifically and longevity focused such as boosting your Vo2 max by 5 points – the striving towards something fuels purpose. Not to mention the huge dopamine hit we gain from the sense of accomplishment.
Not everybody needs to train like an athlete and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with just exercising to create good health, but there’s a reason why athletes have very little troubles with motivating themselves.
Furthermore, to create longevity in your journey, there must be something pulling you forward after any weight loss goals have been achieved.
4. Find a mentor to fill knowledge gaps and hold you accountable
Unless your doctor has just given you some bad news about your health and has advised you to make some immediate changes, it’s likely that there’s not a huge deal of urgency on your part.
This means that every day, you will have to get out of your own way to do something unfamiliar, likely with some feelings of reluctancy and resistance.
An external force usually helps here. A coach, a PT, a mentor of some sort.
Somebody that has been where you are trying to go, who can see the road in front of you and is willing to take a bet on you.
Nothing comes even close to creating motivation and consistency than seeing results.
On the other hand, nothing zaps it more than the feeling of being stuck in the same position.
An experienced coach in your corner is priceless, the sense of direction and leadership they provide allows you to just focus on executing rather than doing the guess work.
A reliable and trustworthy coach should have excellent testimonials demonstrating they have a proven track record of results. Having walked the walk themselves is also a very desirable bonus.
5. Spread the word
Vocalising things is powerful. As is writing things down.
When you share your goals and aspirations with others it creates a sense of accountability. It’s not the easiest thing to do, but it says, ‘I’m changing’.
It’s not easy because it puts you in a vulnerable position, sharing with others an area of your life that isn’t quite going right.
The easy thing to do (which a lot of people do) is to go about your way quietly, imagining the day when you can rock up to work after 6 months of discreetly working on your transformation and be showered with compliments left, right and centre.
The issue with this fairy tale is that lifestyle changes are usually hard and if you have nobody to turn to when things become challenging, suffering in silence is only making it harder for yourself.
You don’t need to tell the whole office, just a few close companions who you trust and you know will only be rooting for you to do well. Because let’s face it, there are lots of people who will receive this kind of information with envy as it’ll be holding up a mirror to themselves about their own struggles.
6. Spend time on your intrinsic motivations
Arguably the most important one here. Why is being healthy and fit important to you?
Would it be so bad to leave things as they are at the moment?
Digging into your ‘why’ and then the ‘why behind the why’ is an important task to do as it creates your north star.
‘I want to look good in holiday photos’ is a B- motivation, whereas ‘I want to lead by example and show my kids that health and fitness is important’ would be an A+ motivation.
The clearer you can get on what’s spurring the journey for you, the easier it will be to remain consistent. Period.
Ask yourself questions like;
How will this add to my life?
What will be possible for me that’s not possible right now?
Will this make me happier? If so, how and why?
What will the cost be if I were to not do anything about my current situation?
7. Invest in a step tracker, tape measurer and record progress photos
Last but not least, some simple but effective ways of keeping yourself consistent would be to use things like a step tracker, a tape measurer to track waist circumference and taking progress photos.
Hard data do not lie and keeps us honest.
It’s important to keep things as standardised as possible here.
Give yourself a realistic step target to achieve per week. Seeing progress? Great, keep it as it is.
If not, try increasing it by a little bit.
A weekly waist circumference and bi-weekly progress photo check in gives you familiarity and routine to anchor onto.