I often say to my son, “You gotta do what you have to do, before you can do what you want to do.” Now, I am usually referring to him doing his homework or chores so he can play with his friends. But I am, in a simple way, training him with some sort of work ethic for mundane task and stating the facts of life that nothing is given. Everything is earned in one way or another. He might as well learn that now with simple day-to-day routines, because I know in the long run it will translate over into other areas of his life. You can apply this mantra to any part of life where you need to create some self-discipline. There are things you have to do in order to get the things you want.

 

Eat. Work. Sleep. Repeat.

Every single human does this daily. But not every person does this the same way. The amount, the time, and the quality of each step shapes pretty much everything we do in our daily lives, as well as our energy level, productivity and our body composition.

• We eat to fill our bellies and fuel our bodies.
• We work to support our lifestyle. We work our bodies to make it tougher.
• We sleep to restore our bodies and mind so we can get up and go at it again the next day.

The cycle repeats daily. But what your cycle consist of is what determines the state of your health. Everyone wants the fast track to success and the results to go with it. You might still think eating less food overall is better than eating more of the right kind of food. You might still believe results happen faster for other people.

But true results come with consistency and, in most cases, a change in behavior patterns.

It is HARD work to change habits and behavior patterns. Changing “behaviors” is not something that sells either. The fitness industry is big business. There are never a short supply of people wanting to get thinner, fitter, or packed with muscles—pronto. People want to believe things come easy “in just 6 weeks,” but if this were true, everyone would be healthy, fit, and free of diet induced diseases. Get-fit-quick plans or diets are just schemes that are not teaching, nor changing, what really matters—your habits. All this misinformation makes it really hard for people to understand exactly what “consistency” really looks like.

Consistency.

We say this word a lot in Clean Kitchen because it truly is the biggest factor in results. Consistently eating and training in a way that will get you a certain body composition is probably one of the most misunderstood things. Mostly because of all that false advertising and the fact that we are all super busy with limited time to devote to something new.

What you do not understand about consistency.

The process IS the consistency you are searching for. Learning to love and live in the process is the ultimate goal, which creates consistency, which by default helps you reach your physical goals. So if you want to be the person with a certain body composition, you have to first learn how to be that person through the process. You do not magically wake up one day with abs, and truly understand what it takes to keep those abs. If you do not learn the process, you will not keep the results. Plain and simple. Consistency requires much more than just “eating” the right foods. What is required is a whole lot of self discipline. Self discipline when you have a bad day…when you are in a bad mood…when your kids are on your last nerve…when your boss pisses you off…when you are on your period (sorry guys, but you can apply this to your own mood swings). Self discipline is not when everything is peachy and all the stars are aligned.

• Self discipline to go to the grocery store on the weekend and cook ahead for the week.
• Self discipline to go to the gym every week.
• Self discipline to never skip a Monday workout—one of my all time favorites.
• Self discipline to challenge your body in a workout even when no one is telling you to.
• Self discipline to set your phone down and go to bed at a normal hour.

Self discipline means doing something when you don’t want to, because you want the end result more. Self discipline is the long game.

“You gotta do what you have to do, before you can do what you want to do.”

Or, in other words, you gotta learn to be the person who is “that person” you want to be. So what ever the goal you are after, whether its to be ripped out of your mind with muscles or just feel better and live “not a sick life,” you have to practice what that “future-self” would do and make it stick. It does not happen overnight and it does not happen because you wish it. There are just some things you have to do in order to be “that person.”

• You have to drink water, eat lots plants, and enough protein to support a healthy body.
• You have to plan out meals when you know you will be busy if you expect yourself to make good decisions.
• You have to cook your own meals sometimes—even if you suck at it.
• You have to exercise your body and challenge it in order to create change in your shape.
• You have to eat healthy meals, when sometimes you’d rather gorge on junk.
• You have to sit through a dinner and say no to dessert sometimes.
• You have to say no to pizza sometimes—I put this in here as a reminder for myself.
• You have to go to bed at a decent hour. Yes, even you night owls.
• You have to do these things consistently.

You have to be self disciplined enough to make them consistent. That’s the process in a nut shell. So if you see yourself trying to fudge on any part of the process, and think you are the exception to the rule, I’m sorry to bust your bubble. Unless you are a genetic freak, then you fall in line with the rest of us who have to learn to love and live the process. You get out what you put in. Call it “earning results,” but until you learn how to live in the process you will not understand what consistency truly is and how results can be earned. Learning to live in the process gives you much more than the results you seek, you get to keep your results and keep making new ones. Ready to learn and live the process like our clients do? Check out what the Clean Kitchen 12 Week Challenge is all about. Yes, we call it a "challenge," but the real challenge is changing you lifestyle! https://youtu.be/q4vo3EgbG6M