Focus on the Process, Not the Outcome

When it comes to weight loss, getting caught up in how much weight you want to lose can sometimes backfire and cause you to lose motivation and get off track if things aren’t going the way you had planned.

Weight loss is a journey. It takes time and it takes consistent effort. The path to your goal is rarely in a straight line either so there will be ups and downs along the way.

The key though is staying consistent, and the best way to achieve consistency is to focus on building habits, slowly, over time that will get you to your goal, focusing on the process, not the outcome.

It works best when you focus on mastering one habit before moving on and adding another. Sure, this process may be slower to getting to your ultimate end goal, but it is far more sustainable over the long term, not to mention less stressful and easier than a complete lifestyle change all at once. That approach usually becomes overwhelming for most people and we fall off track.

An example of this for someone could be to first schedule 3 workouts a week for an hour and maintain that schedule for 4 weeks. After the 4 weeks you should be in the habit of exercising 3 times a week and have adjusted to that schedule. Next you could try to focus on adding lean protein to most of your meals. This will help to reduce calories from other potentially less healthy sources as you build meals around your protein source and will also ensure that you are getting enough protein for proper recovery from your workout sessions. Once you are comfortable with eating more protein you can then move on to building a new habit or behaviour that will bring you another step closer to your goal.

We all know what we need to do to achieve weight loss for the most part. It’s the implementation part that is tough, especially implementing it consistently and over a long period of time. So, try the slow and steady approach, focusing on the process of mastering one habit or behaviour at a time. If you are doing the right things, the weight loss will happen for you as you build more habits. You will feel better and better as time goes on building momentum and motivation as you go!