Consistency with diet, exercise is key to losing weight

Opinion

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By Brenda Bark

As a personal trainer, I have found that the number one obstacle toward successful weight loss is a person’s lack of consistency with their eating habits and workout routines. Most people are not willing to change their lifestyle permanently.

Consistency allows you to build new habits and see changes that are the result of your hard work. You are not going to see changes overnight, but with consistency and patience, you will begin to notice changes. The best way to stay consistent is to be intentional and plan ahead. 

A few helpful tips that may help you stay on track include recording the food you eat, meal planning/prepping and creating a workout regimen.

1. Tracking Food: There are many free smartphone apps that will track your food intake throughout your day. Do not skip meals and snacks.
2. Meal Planning/Prepping: Choose a day that works best for you to schedule and plan your meals. In the beginning, stay simple and try to become a creature of habit through the week. Put a copy of your meal plan on your refrigerator and/or set alarm reminders on your smartphone.
3. Workout Regimen: Finding a workout environment that is the right fit for you personally is important. This may be a local gym, group class or a certified personal trainer. There are many different cardio options to get you moving and burning calories, many of which you can do on your own, with little to no cost. For example walking, biking and swimming. Strength training at least three days per week is important for acquiring muscle and toning. Many of my clients participate in interval training, which is a combination of strength training and cardio. This approach allows them to strengthen and tone their body while also burning calories.

   When exercising, pacing yourself throughout the week is important. This approach will prevent over-training injuries. Muscles can be become damaged if exercised on a daily basis.

This approach applies to your eating habits as well. If you have no time to meal prep for the week and you’re only eating clean on the weekends or vice versa, this is going to do your body more damage than good. 

You are going to end up starving and storing fat. Depriving your body of calories for a couple of days and returning to bad eating habits for a few days is not healthy and you will not see weight loss results. 

Our bodies are very much like computers; they remember and store everything we consume. Consuming five to six small meals per day, at the same time every day, will keep you satisfied and produce results.

Consistency is the key when you are trying to lose weight. 

Brenda Bark is the owner of Focus on Fitness by Brenda. To learn more about her business, visit myfocusonfitness.com.