Copyright (c) 2008 Ed Scow

...CONSISTENCY!

Consistency is by far the most important word in your fitness vocabulary. Not diet. Not cardio. Not strength training, or resistance training, or weight training. Not even your friendly personal trainer's name should be top on the list (he should be a close second, though). Consistency should always be at the top of your list of importance. It doesn't matter what your goals are, whether they be to lose fat, more flexibility or to just stay healthy.

It also doesn't matter what program you adhere to. I know I just worked my butt off creating a fat loss program (which I think is fantastic, by the way, and you can check out at www.fatlosstogo.com ) but to be totally honest, it doesn't really matter what program you do to as long as you stick to it.

Do you want to go to Yoga or Pilates class in order to get fit or lose some fat? That's great, but you have to do it and you have to do it consistently.

Or maybe you're a someone who reads fitness magazines and wants to give one of their workouts a try. That's great, too. Just do it and follow the program until it's done.

If you hate exercise and want to start eating better in order to lose that extra flab, that's fantastic. Just stick to your healthy eating habits most of the time and you're good to go.

However, the one thing that is not OK for anyone to do is follow a fad diet. Those may work for the short-term, but don't work in the long run because they don't teach you how to eat properly once the diet is supposed to be done. They don't teach you healthy habits and most don't give any attention to exercise and if they do, their plan is worthless. (However, if your only plan is to eat better and not exercise, I think you're severely limiting your results because exercise is critical. It makes your results come much, much quicker and won't turn you into a "skinny fat person".)

You can't decide you're going to exercise and then only follow your new plan once or twice per week for a few weeks, and then quit because you're not seeing results or because you're too busy. Nor can you decide you want to eat better, only to succumb to temptation at the first sight of a Snickers bar and then give up saying that it's just too hard.

We live in a society that wants everything NOW. We want everything in a pill or in a drive-thru or delivered.

Well, fitness and fat loss just don't work that way. You have to work and you have to be consistent with whatever you have decided to do.

If you want to exercise more to lose some fat, then you have to do it 3-4 days per week ...consistently. You can't just walk into a gym, or your basement, and pick things up willy-nilly and start your own program, either. You have to have a plan...you need some guidance. (I'll get into this in a future newsletter)

If you want to eat healthier and lose your fat that way, that's great but you have to do it right and you have to stick to your new habits. It may be difficult, but that's just the way it is.

Now, that's not to say that things aren't going to pop up that make it very difficult to follow your new goals. Things always pop up and there are always reasons to stumble and miss a workout or two and eat poorly. That's no excuse, however. That's just life.

You just have to pick yourself up and move on and keep on with what you set out to achieve.

If you want to succeed, you must be consistent.

Commit to yourself that you are going to be consistent with your fat loss goals and make this year different than in year's past.