When you are trying to lose fat and change your body shape, one of the big words you will hear is consistency. It is not about that one crazy workout or that one ‘healthy’ meal, it is about consistently applying the same principles over a long period of time.
Yet many people struggle with consistency and often fall off track as a result. This is what separates those who achieve their goals and those who don’t – the ability to consistently do the tasks required, week in, week out.
To build consistency, you must have strong habits. However, this is an area that you may not have in place. So, how can you build these habits into your lifestyle to lose fat and achieve the body shape that you want?
Have An Inspiring Goal
For you to build habits and stick to the plan, you must have a deep, emotional goal that inspires you during your journey. There will be days when you are tired and not motivated to do the tasks required to reach your target, and this is often when you can fall off track. So, find out your ‘why’ and link each important habit to that.
Find The Times That Work For You
One of the big issues people face, is struggling to find the time around their busy work and family life. As a result, you can get intimidated and give up on the process before it really gets going. Yet, it does not have to be like that. Simply set aside some to figure out the best slots for your training, activity and nutrition preparation. You have more time than you think, and doing this will add some vital structure to your day.
Learn To Enjoy It
A key aspect of building strong habits is being able to enjoy the process. If you find your journey as uninspiring, unenjoyable, and boring, you will most likely slip out of the habits required to reach your goal. Don’t see your diet as a diet, see it as making better choices. Don’t see training as training, see if as an opportunity to get stronger, add muscle and build a more stable body. A change in mindset to enjoyment and appreciation will be gamechanger for your habits.
Be Disciplined and Set Non-Negotiables
There will be days when you are low on energy, motivation, and inspiration, and this is normal. These are the days that will test you mentally and physically, so you must be disciplined, understand the value in your tasks and set some non-negotiables for yourself. These can be as simple as showing up to your sessions, training hard, and promising to track your food. This attitude will build strong habits and get you through tough times.
Track Your Progress
Progress stimulates consistency. You can enjoy the process and be disciplined all you want, but if you are not seeing a reward for your efforts, you will struggle to build strong habits. So, you must have several ways of monitoring your progress, including photos, scale weight, clothes sizes and how you feel in general, among others. Once you make this a habit each week, you will be inspired and want to continue the other habits required to reach your goal.
Summary
So, habits are a vital part of losing body fat and getting in shape. To build strong habits, you must have and inspiring goal, find the best times that work for you, learn to enjoy the process or progress, have discipline and set non-negotiables, and track your progress. Once these are integrated into your life, you will have strong habits that you can stick to, which will eventually lead to consistency and progress with your fat loss goals.
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