I know this sounds silly, but if you want to stick to the plan, you first need to have a plan. Patients will often describe challenges with sticking to the plan, but when I ask them to tell me what the plan is, many struggle to provide more than a general concept or idea. Plans only work when we develop them. If you are planning to build a house, you don’t hire a construction team and tell them “I want walls and a roof”; you make a plan with exact dimensions, carefully thought-out steps, and a list of the materials you will need.
If you are trying to make lifestyle changes and achieve weight loss or health goals, you need to make a true plan. Set aside time to build this plan. What do you want to build? Do you want to lose weight, reduce the number of medications you are taking, or increase your mobility? What steps will you need to take in order to achieve this and in what order are you going to make those steps? What do you need to make this happen?
This may look like planning your meals for each day this week or planning a 30-minute walk with a friend in the afternoons. Be specific, be intentional, and stick to the plan. When our plans are more detailed and thought-out, the product of that hard work tends to be much greater.