A couple months ago I asked the Cultivate For Life community what their number one struggle was in fat-loss and fitness.

And the answer I got over and over again was, "Consistency."


This is something that I can related to myself. 
Many times I have started fitness programs or attempted new approaches to eating, but after the initial spark of interest and commitment wore off,  I failed to maintain momentum and my commitment went from a spark, to smolder to nonexistent.-If you follow me on Insta, you know what a fire geek I am...

It took me a few years to identify the reasons why I kept struggling to be consistent with my health commitments.
Now that I realize what sorts of programming I require in order to be consistent, I've adopted a fitness and fat-loss friendly lifestyle that truly works for me AND my dynamic life/personality.

Knowing what my struggles were, I decide before creating this round of my coaching club, Germinate, I would throw some questions out to the Cultivate community to see what their struggles are.
It was a super affirming experience when over and over again women were saying that they struggled to be consistent with any programs that they tried.


So why IS IT so hard for us to be consistent with eating for fat-loss and exercise?

See what the Cultivate community had to say!-I used their direct quotes from surveys
 

1. I don't have enough time.
"Too time-consuming." "I got busy with other commitments." "I had a baby then had no time."

Most of us looking for health and wellness programming are NOT looking for something that consume our entire lives. 
We want daily, time-efficient actionable steps that we can take towards accomplishing are goals.

Right?

The biggest possible bang for the buck that we can muster right now. 
Hours of gym and transportation time, or meal prep, or reading...that just can't happen right now.

In the first few weeks of a program when we are MOST inspired to make change, that's when we are willing to adjust our schedules and make sacrifices to fit everything in. 
But when "life happens" and we get sick, or our jobs suddenly become more demanding...we have to travel, or whatever, we suddenly realize that this program is not sustainable because it requires more time and energy than we can afford right now.
So we quit.

2. The programs aren't right for you.
"The programs didn't match my personality." "[The programs] didn't work with my lifestyle." or "I didn't enjoy it." "Logistically impossible."

As a coach I strongly supportpeople expanding beyond their comfort zones and broadening their horizons to grow, get results, and make lasting change.

BUT, I also think that it's totally ok to recognize when something is just not your jam. 
For example, the following things are currently NOT my jam:

1. Running long distances (3+ miles)
2. Spending hours cooking
3. Folding laundry
4. Spin classes
5. Any hour-long workout class
6. Attending kids' birthday parties on the weekend-Not related but definitely feel strongly about this one. I know, I'm a terrible person. I also hate parades.
 

None of the items on my list are bad or even unappealing to me longterm, but if I'm being honest about where I am right now in life, I'm NOT going to feel inspired by any of these activities, nor choose them over say, something else I might enjoy more...like...a root canal. 

I have 3 kids, farm animals, a dog, a home to maintain, a business to run, a husband to love (and help him run his business) and even more on my plate. 
My time is precious to me and my peeps and THE ONLY WAY that I can consistently carve out time for good nutrition and fitness is to find approaches that are actually enjoyable to ME where I am right now in life.

That's why I primarily do 30 minute workouts at home and eat a high protein/high veggie diet that tastes awesome, but doesn't require a lot of prep. It's also why I've learned to eat out and grab "to-go" food that works with my nutritional commitments as well.


3. Lack of accountability, support, and assistance
"No one notices if I don't do it." "There was no accountability." "I felt alone in it."

One of greatest benefits of attending classes or working with trainers, is that there's accountability and support that helps us all to be consistent!

But if you struggle to physically GET somewhere in order to make exercise happen, or if you have financial, time, or childcare restrictions that keep you from working out-then you're not going to be consistent with it. 

You might start out with a bang, but eventually the crushing pressure will increase your stress (not helpful for fat-loss, btw) and prevent you from getting to your classes or appointments.

Yet you and I probably still need to feel like somebody is paying attention. 
We still need that support and encouragement that comes from a fitness community. 

I've had to foster online relationships, create systems, and use online coaches and clubs to hold me accountable and make me feel like what I'm doing matters.
I have found that his helps IMMENSELY with consistency.
Knowing that other's are paying attention, and notice when I don't show up to my commitments motivates me to stick with it.

4. Lack of results
"I don't get good results." "I felt like I was always failing." "I hate feeling discouraged all of the time."

This one is ABSOLUTELY frustrating. 
Carving out time for exercise of healthy eating only to see NO difference in our bodies is not appealing to anyone.

There was a season in my life when I did NOT understand nutrition and I used running as my sole form of exercise.
I just kept running and running, and I very clearly remembered getting hungrier and hungrier, but never looking any different. 
-Now this is not to say that you CAN'T change your body with running, because you ABSOLUTELY can, but the program I was following was designed to make me a better runner, NOT to change my physique, and I was neglecting my nutrition needs as well.

So I was frustrated. 

It's work, effort, and discomfort to start a new form of exercise or learn to eat differently. 
So if we are putting the work in, then we want to see that our efforts are paying off.

Because I read about runners who used weight lifting to make themselves better runners, I decided to start focusing more on strength training and less on running.

And that's how I got hooked, because I found programming that got me results and quickly. 
Strength training and metabolic conditioning paired with fat-loss diet  (that also nourishes and helps you to build muscle), gets you quick fat-loss results AND makes you look toned.

I saw changes, I liked the exercise, it was time-efficient, so I stuck with it!

We are all going to be much more consistent in a program when we see that it's working for us. Even if our initial successes are just small, we need those little victories to keep on keeping on. 


If you want to see changes, you have to do the work.
If you want to do the work, then you have to follow a program that works with your lifestyle and supports you so that you can actually make the work happen.

5. Diets are for the birds.
"I don't want to be starving." "When I'm on a diet, I suddenly want all of the foods that I can't have." " I am successful for a while, but then cheat on the diet and gain all of the weight back."

Diets don't work. 
Feeling deprived and restricted longterm INEVITABLY leads to binging. 
Willpower is a finite resource. Food is an important part of life. So living a life that is all about restricting food and counting calories is NEVER going to work longterm. 

But what then?
Fat-loss comes when we have a calorie-deficit. And calorie-deficits happen when we eat less, so don't we sort of need diets?

Most of us don't want to stick to something longterm that makes us uncomfortable.

Is it helpful to expand our food-related comfort zones and adjust our eating styles to better support the goals we have for our bodies?
Absolutely.
But is there a strategic way to do so that doesn't involve LONGTERM restriction or a miserable existence?
Yes there is. And guess what, that is the more sustainable option and makes it much easier to remain committed.

So there you have it, the top 5 reasons why the people in our community are struggling to be consistent in their fitness and nutrition commitments. 
1. Time
2. Mismatched programs
3. Lack of accountability and support
4. No results
5. Diets are horrible

Great, so where do we go from here? 
Well, we have to do a little bit of soul searching and personal reflection to determine how much time we CAN devote to exercise and what are WE looking for in a program?
What results are we expecting and how soon do we want to see them?
IF we hate diets, what are we willing to change about how we eat?
Do we want to follow a more gradual approach?
Do we even need to change our eating styles?

Really thinking about what it is that you want in a program and which questions about your fitness and health you need answered will facilitate your finding a program or a coach that meets your needs!

Start shopping around online and see if you can find trainers that resonate with you. People whose advice seems actionable and logical!

hen take the plunge, put yourself on the hook and commit to a program for 3 months. 
Also, don't get too caught up in following any program ABSOLUTELY perfectly. 
Perfection will never happen and being consistent in even the small things will get you results. 
Consistency creates momentum.
Build upon the momentum and keep going...you'll see more and more and more results as you do!
 

As a coach and trainer, I took all of this field research in my community and created a program that meets your needs!
A program that gives you the streamlined and time-efficient approach to building muscle and burning fat while NOT following a super restrictive and miserable diet.

Germinate coaching club is for people that are

• Tight on time
• Require programming that can be adjusted for their lives
• Crave connections and instruction at an affordable price and convenient locations (their home!)
• Want to see results early in the process
• Are anti-diet.

With this program you get-

• 4 new 20 minute fat-blasting/muscle-building workouts every month (12 total)
   
• A weekly workout schedule and a nutrition plan to get you results fast
   
• A framework for creating your own weekly meal plan to help you take all that you learn here in Germinate to create a lifestyle that works for you and your body
   
• Access to my library of minimal prep meals for you to continue to create and observe your own individual approach to healthful eating
   
• Bi-monthly webinars, complete with Q & A's on "How to eat for fat-loss" "How to get toned AND burn fat with strength training", "Hormonal-based fat-loss", "Understanding cravings, hunger signaling, and satiety-and how to keep them in check!"
   
• Connection to an online community of other busy women through our private coaching club, women who are also working to accomplish their personal fitness and wellness goals
   
• Coaching, encouragement, structure and accountability  via our private coaching group
   
• Daily access to a coach for questions, advice and troubleshooting
   
• Weekly emails on mindset, nutrition, and fitness to help you stay on track and enrich  your journey to a more powerful, healthfull and confident you!
   
• Optional add-on-
  Take your program to the next level, spend two 60 minute sessions with me so we can talk about your specific goals and how to tailor Germinate Coaching ClubProgramming to help you accomplish them!
  I conduct these coaching calls via Skype, Facebook messenger, or FaceTime.
  (There is an additional cost to the coaching call package.)

Visit the Germinate website by clicking here.