I've got the secret to weight-loss!

And it has nothing to do with popping pills or eating cabbage or drinking lemon and cayenne pepper. And it's not about doing MORE exercise or cutting MORE calories. Yes, exercise and a reduced-calorie diet will help but you wanna know what the real secret is...

CONSISTENCY!

consistency - marked by harmony, regularity, or steady continuity; free from variation or contradiction

I absolutely love the "free from contradiction" part... so poetic! But seriously, being consistent in a healthy lifestyle will be the number one key to losing the weight and ultimately keeping the weight off.

And think big picture... being consistent with broad topics like exercise and eating right is enough, but of course you could break it down and focus on individual aspects of each area: consistently increasing your weight-load, consistently increasing your mile time, consistently getting enough fruits/veggies a day, etc. But if you're only consistent with making sure you get in workouts and eat right, it'll get the job done too (of course in the end, you will need to tweak these smaller aspects to get better and better results).

For example, take a look at me. I change up my goals/exercise/eating routine almost weekly because that's what works for me. I actually had someone use the word "scatter-brained" when describing my weight-loss journey because if it's not my shift from gym workouts to at home workouts, it's a change in eating 3 meals one day and then changing it to 6 meals the next.

(source)

But you know what... I DON'T CARE! Changing things monthly... weekly... daily... even hourly... keeps me consistent and that is the key. Being "scatter-brained" leads me to getting my workouts done 6x/week. It gets me to keep my calories in check. It gets me to keep going strong even after a year of this life-style change. Just being extra consistent in the last three weeks has put me down almost 4 pounds - that usually takes me two months to do!

So if you're like me and have a desire to change things up CONSTANTLY don't sweat it! As long as you find the things that will keep you consistent, this journey now becomes a matter of when, not if.