2616: Why Can't I Stay Consistent? The 3 Simple Steps to Building Consistency AND 3 Tips to Quickly Improve Your Body Image by Chalene Johnson

[00:00:00] Delicious meets nutritious in the snack that packs a real protein punch, Wonderful Pistachios. Each 1-ounce serving of Wonderful Pistachios has 6 grams of protein, giving you over 10% of your daily value and making Wonderful Pistachios one of the highest

[00:00:15] protein nuts. But perhaps more than that, I love all of the flavors they have. Their sea salt and vinegar ones are my favorite when I'm craving that flavor but want to keep it healthy. But

[00:00:25] that's just the tip of the iceberg. Wonderful Pistachios come in a variety of flavors like chili roasted, honey roasted, smoky barbecue and jalapeno lime, perfect for enjoying with family and friends or taking them with you on the go. Whether you're a pistachio purist who loves

[00:00:42] cracking open every nut or you prefer the convenience of no-shells pistachios, Wonderful Pistachios has got you covered. Grab Wonderful Pistachios and elevate your snacking game today. So fill up with a healthy snack when hunger strikes. Visit wonderfulpistachios.com to learn

[00:01:00] more. That's wonderfulpistachios.com. Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep? That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest

[00:01:18] with some positive affirmations. And these affirmations aren't just comforting, they can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep. So press play on Good Sleep tonight because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search

[00:01:36] for Good Sleep in your podcast app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily. This is Optimal Health Daily episode 2616. Why can't I stay consistent? Three simple steps to building consistency. And three tips to quickly improve your body image, both by Chalene Johnson

[00:01:56] of chalenejohnson.com. And I'm Dr. Neil, your host and narrator. Hey there, happy Monday and welcome back to another week of Optimal Health Daily. This is where I read to you from some of the best

[00:02:07] health and fitness blogs on the web, kind of like an ongoing audiobook and always with a bit of my commentary at the end. And with that, let's get right to today's two posts as we optimize your

[00:02:18] life. Why can't I stay consistent? The three simple steps to building consistency by Chalene Johnson of chalenejohnson.com. Today, we're talking about how to be consistent. Well, specifically, we're talking about how to be consistently consistent. Now, let's just get this out of

[00:02:41] the way. Being consistent is not about being perfect. There's already a word for that. Instead, consistency is about moving forward with some regularity. There's going to be some down days and some up days. You'll skip a day at the gym. You'll have a not so nutritious meal. But

[00:02:58] as long as you keep working at it, you'll be consistent. How do I become consistently consistent? One, you must tell yourself that you expect that you will actually do this. This is especially true

[00:03:12] when it comes to our fitness and diet. Sometimes we tell ourselves that we're going to make some good choices for our body, but deep down, we already know that we probably won't stick with

[00:03:22] it for very long. It can be hard to fight those internal messages we send ourselves. So, to combat those messages, for every time you think, I'm going to do that thing I told myself I wouldn't

[00:03:33] do, tell yourself that you won't do it five times over. Two, you have to make a conscious decision to be consistent and figure out how being successful makes you feel. This means telling yourself over and over that you will follow through, that you can do this, and reminding

[00:03:51] yourself of all of the awesome feelings you experience when you do stick to your guns. If you're not a list maker naturally, think about how amazing you'll feel when you do create that list. Just focus on those feelings, not the task itself. And three, have a specific plan.

[00:04:10] Make sure that you write down on paper how you plan on succeeding. For example, if you want to eat better, plan out your meals for the week. If you want to complete an online course, schedule

[00:04:21] the times when you will sit down and do the work. If we leave ourselves to last minute decision making, we're probably going to slip up. Ways to create accountability. Find someone to keep

[00:04:34] you accountable. This can be in person or just someone that you call or text on the way to the gym. And make sure you have measurable and attainable goals. Rather than saying,

[00:04:44] I have to lose 75 pounds, try, I need to lose 5 pounds this month. This will help create the momentum you need to be successful. Lastly, it's okay if you slide here and there. That's totally

[00:04:58] fine. In fact, it's to be expected. We're not looking for perfection. If we hold ourselves up to that perfect standard, then we're bound to fail and then we'll get discouraged. Just understand that being consistent means moving forward and that you're still on the path towards achieving

[00:05:14] your goals. Three tips to quickly improve your body image by Shaleen Johnson of shaleenjohnson.com. I hear from people all the time that they struggle to tone their inner thighs, decrease belly fat or struggle to get back into shape after not working out for years.

[00:05:34] I also hear from those who are in great shape but are dissatisfied with their bodies. So I'm sharing my tips to improve your body image and increase your confidence. Body image tip number one. Realize that you're normal. Everyone struggles with this. So please,

[00:05:51] please, please do not feel like an outsider because you need help improving your body confidence. Have you ever gone to Google and searched how to get in shape or how to lose fat or how to

[00:06:02] lose cellulite or how to flatten your tummy or how to get a six-pack or how to tone your thighs? Then guess what? You're just like everyone else. For some reason, we think that if our body is

[00:06:13] better, then we will be better. We tie so much of our acceptance, our love and our overall happiness to how we feel we look. Body image tip number two. You are your best coach. If you had a coach

[00:06:27] following you around all day that repeated the stuff you said to yourself, you would think they were the worst coach in the world. So stop talking to yourself that way. You have the ability to change your life by changing HOW you talk to yourself. Even if it

[00:06:42] doesn't feel natural at first, I promise that positive self-talk will start to feel more natural the more you do it. So recognize the negative thought, acknowledge the potential power it has, then combat it with at least three positive thoughts, even if you don't fully believe what

[00:06:59] you're saying. And body image tip number three. Acknowledge the truth. Your value is not measured in body fat. Your worth is not determined by the number on the scale. Your value is determined by

[00:07:12] what's inside. You just listen to the posts titled, Why can't I stay consistent? Three simple steps to building consistency. And three tips to quickly improve your body image, both by Chalene Johnson of chalenejohnson.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. Dr. Neil here for my commentary.

[00:07:35] I want to go back to Chalene's first post where she talked about staying consistent with our habits. Chalene said that having a plan can be helpful for keeping us consistent with our behaviors. And Chalene said writing down on paper our specific plan for success can make a difference

[00:07:51] too. And she's absolutely right. Many studies have found that simply writing down our goals can make a difference. I would also add that if we can write down specific goals, that's even better. And again, Chalene talked about this. Now, sometimes you'll hear these referred to as

[00:08:08] SMART goals, where SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-specific goals. For example, instead of saying, I'm going to go for a jog every day this week, we would want to reframe this goal so that it's specific, measurable, actionable, realistic,

[00:08:30] and time-specific. On the surface, I'm going to go for a jog every day this week seems like it meets all those criteria, but let's break it down some. So instead of I'm going to go for a jog

[00:08:42] every day this week, we would ask ourselves, is jogging every day realistic? That would be the R in the SMART acronym. Am I going to jog every day for the rest of my life? See, it's missing the

[00:08:56] T or time component. When I do go for a jog, how long am I going to do that for? That also relates to this time component and kind of overlaps with the R or is it realistic? So instead, a better

[00:09:10] goal may be, I will go for a 10-minute jog three times this week. Notice how this meets all of the SMART criteria. It's specific, measurable, relates to some action, jogging, it's realistic and time-specific.

[00:09:28] But what if jogging isn't realistic for you? Then maybe we rephrase the goal so that instead of jogging, we substitute it with walking. Once we've settled on a goal, a SMART goal that is, the next

[00:09:41] step is to write it down. Then check in as the week progresses. Are we meeting this goal? If not, we may need to rephrase it. Then write down this new rephrased goal and try again. All right, that'll

[00:09:54] do it for the Monday episode. I hope you have a great start to your week and I'll be back here tomorrow as usual where your optimal life awaits.