CONSISTENCY

“The one thing that’s consistent is that people aren’t consistent.”

Let that one marinade for a second.

Yeah, I made that one up, and you may all quote me on it. Oprah? I’m here when you need me. Heh.

Why is it we can brush our teeth everyday (I hope) and make that a habit but it's a huge challenge for some when it comes to consistency and our health? I was intrigued this week during a chat amongst some awesome health goers where people were admitting that the one missing link to maintaining their goals of being health rockstars is the inability to be consistent.

Yes, we’re all busy looking for the 25th hour. An article I recently read from Psychology Today actually covered this exact topic. Click here for the five questions that can create that 25th hour (or you're just as nerdy as I am).

So here they are, the four things you need in order to be consistent.

1. GET YOURSELF ORGANIZED AND STAY MOTIVATED

We all have a closet, desktop, and cupboard that needs some serious help. How many sticky notes, loose papers, and to-do lists do you have flying all over the place? That's one sure fire way to a) be a piggy and b)likely lose lists. I am the queen of stickies being lost. I think I have a pile of stickies stuck to other stickies (don't judge, I need a lil help here and there).

Some solutions to organization and motivation:

Choose one form to jot down your to-do's, notes, rocking song lyrics or anything else of importance. if you have an iPhone, use the Notes option. It sends the note you typed to your inbox!
Need help from the oranizer junkie? Love this site.
Dodge the negative Nellies in your life. If someone isn't supportive of your weight loss goals or otherwise, simply don't discuss it with them.
Need motivation? Here's a few ways to find it (mind tricks?)

2. TIMING

Some of you exercise at the wee hours of the morning, some late at night, others during their lunch break. It's pretty simple, if you never have and never will be able to wake up at the crack of dawn and workout, I highly suggest you be honest with yourself and what you can be compliant with.

I suggest some of the following:

Start small. Like twice a week (for morning or any other workout you're going to start). Schedule it in my newfound love->google calendar!
Go to sleep a bit earlier and have a handy dandy alarm clock. May I suggest one that screams at you like a rooster? (I might chuck that puppy across the room, but it would wake me.)
Get the gym clothes out and ready to go (or gym bag) the night before. This works, trust me. I'm likely annoying with this one cause I repeat it so often. Don't hate, I'm your cheerleader, remember?

If you have to workout after the workday and find yourself a total wreck:

Assess why you're a wreck, are you exhausted? Are you eating the right foods, skipping meals, sleeping well? Take a peak at Get Healthy Starting NOW series.
Pack the gym bag in the morning and have it in the car and ready to go, include at least one snack you might need to chomp on before an afternoon workout (i.e. yogurt, piece of fruit-simple foods that are easily digested).
Get your babysitter, tell your spouse, plan on not cooking, whatever you have to do to make it happen, even if it's twice a week (don't worry, you'll tack on more time or days eventually, let's get you consistent with something to start.)

3. BE ACCOUNTABLE

Why is it all the other responsibilities in your life seem to trump our health sometimes?

I mean you'd never miss that hair appointment (nor would I by the way), dental appointment (Nope, I'd miss that one) or mandatory business meeting.

Pretend your fitness routine is a prescription (quirky but it's kind of like when I tell people pretend food is your medicine). I mean the doc told you when and how often to take a pill, right?
Tell someone, have a buddy system, become a class regular so when you turn on the "excuse" switch and your cranky pants self starts dodging the exercise routine, you're less likely to skip a class, workout, etc. Remember, nobody's perfect and happy go lucky every day of the week (surprise, I'm not a christmas elf or oompa loompa either). Too bad there isn't a hire a buddy.com website somewhere out there.
Hire a trainer. Yes, this can be costly, but in the long run, it's going to hold you accountable, who would dare call their trainer and get all whiney on them saying they're tired? Not I! Also check to see if your insurance covers gym membership. Even better, PAY in advance and schedule your sessions upfront-the "cheapo" in you won't want to waste the money.

4. SET GOALS

If you missed my goal setting guide, click here, if you have no idea how, or what goals to set (I'm good at that).

To start with:

Focus on a few goals for a week at time, log them, keep a journal, keep track of the good stuff! After all, don't you want to see how much success you're having? (Even if you didn't huff and puff up those stairs.)
I'm a big fan of an Apple (yes, MAC) App I recently discovered through a friend of mine (I feel like I'm giving away some good stuff here, but I'm cool like that) download the Lose It app if you have an iphone, otherwise go to the Lose It website and sign up for FREE.
Instead of focusing on the long-term goal (which is good to have, and you should, but baby steps), focus on the immediate achievements. Whether you were looking to lose 20 pounds or run 3 miles three times a week, it's important to pay attention to the short-term goals. Why? It keeps you motivated, that's why.

I think you'd all appreciate this article I recently found on

5 Tips for incorporating exercise into your life .

along with this one:

20 ways to be consistent, very to the point.

HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU:

“What are your tips, tricks and smarty pant suggestions when it comes to being consistent?”

and

“What actions are you going to take after reading this article?”