So you’ve heard every bit of advice. Eat less. Eat more. A calorie is a calorie. Cardio, HIIT, strength training. Yoga, mindfulness, get enough sleep. Get still more sleep. High carb, low carb, low fat, high fibre. Fad diet after fad diet.

All of that crap is nonsense.

Yep.  I said it.

Someone once asked me how I did it.  My answer, when I thought about it, surprised even me: consistency. Pick a plan you can STICK with, then stick with it!

That’s it. That’s the magic bullet. No fluffy stuff.

My story isn’t one of miracles, or of hundreds of pounds of weight loss. It is a simple one of making a simple decision. Then another, then another. I started my journey to a healthier life at around 205 lb. Not huge by any stretch, but I am only 5’9″.  I was overweight and somewhat sedentary.  I had not been to the gym in several years, and I used to love going.  My knees were having a hard time with skiing (my favourite sport), and going for a run was out of the question.  My daughter was 3, and kid #2 was on the way.  I was already having a hard time getting down to the floor and back up again, and I wanted to be able play with my kids on their level.

So I started with a few easy changes.

First, beer.  I love beer.  The current trend towards small, craft brewing is VERY enticing. But, I told myself that I could enjoy however much I wanted, but ONLY on the weekends.  It’s surprising how many calories a beer has, and to cut out 6 to 12 during the week has a pretty big impact.

My next step was to get active.  We had bought an elliptical trainer 5 or 6 years previous, and it had gotten used about 5 or 6 times.  Again I took a small, easy step: pick 2 or 3 nights a week after the kids go to bed (because when else do you have time when you work 60 hours a week?) and do 20 minutes on the elliptical.  Add in 10 minutes for a shower, and I only miss out on one 30 minute TV show.  I could live with that.

Pounds started coming off. My success spurred me on to start reading more about health and wellness. I started reading about the benefits of weight training, so I swapped a day or two for lifting instead of cardio.  I blended weights and cardio. Then I discovered HIIT. Progress accelerated. I got down to my target weight of 165lb. I felt like I had unlocked the secret!

And the secret is? Its not a secret! It ALMOST doesn’t matter WHAT you do, just that you do it consistently.  There is so much information out there, so many articles touting the benefits of this or the pitfalls of that.  And while I am a strong advocate for being informed, and making informed, intelligent decisions, the bottom line is that you only need to make a healthy choice, then stick to it. It doesn’t have to be a big one. Once you have mastered that healthy choice, make another one, then another one. You will eventually get the hang of it, and your success will be your motivation to continue to improve.

Remember that you aren’t going to go from fat to fit overnight.  It is a journey, and every journey has many many small steps.  However, you only move forward if you are consistent.