Commitment: Half of the battle with weight loss is mental—it’s you against your mind. That is why it’s so important to spend time really thinking about your motives and goals, and where you see yourself in a year. Research shows that keeping goals small—losing just 10% of your body weight, for example—means you’re much more likely to meet them.
Consistency: This is what makes this program so doable: It’s easy to follow and tells you exactly what to do, every day, which is essential to the stay-consistent mindset. One thing I always talk about (but which can’t really be said enough) is that to stick with a routine, you have to make it a priority. If getting a workout in is conditional on work, kids, friends, stress, the weather, the stock market, there’s a good chance you’ll skip it. Lump it into the category of daily necessities—you rarely miss a meal; try to view your workout the same way.
Convenience: Now, for any of the advice above to work at all, you have to make your routine totally, completely convenient to your lifestyle. That can mean a lot of things: the time of day (am works for some, not for me because I get to work early). The length of a workout (don’t have 40 minutes? Do 20 and skip the shower unless you’re unpleasantly sweaty); the locations (invest in a treadmill if the gym is far or jump rope and do sit-ups and push-ups in your basement). Point is, streamline the process as much as possible and don’t make promises to yourself you know you can’t keep. Only movie stars have 3 hours daily to devote to a workout. You don’t—so do what you can, just do it on most days.
Now! Get a sticky note and a pen, write down these three words: Commitment, Consistency, and Convenience. Then stick it in a place where you see every day, multiple times a day (bathroom mirror, computer, the fridge, next to your dinner plate). Enjoy your losing weight!
