Have you ever started a new habit and felt super proud that you kept doing it despite wanting to quit sometimes?

It could be anything from building a deck, taking up a new sport, learning a new musical instrument, eating healthier, or heck, even brushing your teeth twice a day.  

It’s hard to be consistent all of the time, but it feels like a win when you are. 

Well, that’s how I felt a year ago when I started The Play of The Week blog. 

I was excited to begin writing, but it was sometimes difficult to keep showing up as the weeks went on. 

I knew I wanted to help more people with their play (exercise), nutrition and sleep habits, but I wasn’t sure anyone would read what I wrote.

However, every week, I was encouraged by comments different people would make on a topic I wrote about.  

So I kept going.  

I kept writing every week. I wanted to make my new habit stick.

It came down to consistency being the key. 

Even the weeks that I felt like I had too much going on, I still made time to write. 

I do practice what I preach!

As a health coach, I encourage my clients to be consistent, even if they don’t feel like it.  

Why?

When you condition yourself to practice new behaviours, you start to see yourself as an action taker.

I learned a lot about new behaviours, habits and change based psychology when I furthered my education with Precision Nutrition (PN) as a Level 2 coach several years ago.  

Dr. John Berardi, one of the founders of PN, says it best:

“ACTION is more important than any plan.

BEHAVIORS are more important than outcomes.

CONSISTENCY beats a heroic effort.

GETTING JUST A LITTLE BIT BETTER beats perfection.

ONE SMALL THING AT A TIME accumulates to huge progress.”

Putting the right habits in place consistently can help you make good decisions more often and moves the needle in the right direction.

When you feel good about being consistent, you are more likely to continue that behaviour.

Is there one place in your health journey that you could start to be more consistent around play, nutrition or sleep?  

Exercise (Play) – can you take a 5-minute break every hour and stretch during your workday when you’ve been sitting too much?  

All movement matters, not just the time you spend in a gym.

Nutrition – can you start to fill half of your plate with vegetables, or about two fists worth, at each meal?  

Fruits and vegetables improve your body’s levels of vitamins, fibre, minerals and antioxidants, which go a very long way to help manage body weight, especially as we age.

Sleep – can you go to bed 5-minutes earlier each night to help your body recover better from stress? 

Rest is one of the best tools we have to manage weight and daily strain on the body. If you want to know more about stress, a tool like WHOOP can help a lot!

It’s incredible what you can do to improve your health when you combine realistic expectations with consistency.  

Unlike most diet or exercise plans that promise you a quick fix, if you pick one thing and do it consistently, I guarantee you won’t quit after a few weeks.  

You will start to feel better inside and then begin to look better on the outside.

It doesn’t need to be complicated. It needs to be consistent.

Play on!

Coach Jan xo