#100, Persistence

I think it is completely appropriate that as we dive into our 100th episode, we talk about persistence. Persistence is a skill that comes in real handy when you are trying to make permanent changes because change takes some time. In today’s episode I’m going to give you some tips for staying persistent while giving you a sneak peak into my life and what persistence looks like for me. 

***Weight Loss from the Soul***
If you are a busy lady who really wants to make progress in her health and weight loss goals, I open up my program three times a year. We dive into an incredible 12-week journey that helps you learn and implement physical, mental, and emotional habit changes so that you can gain momentum and stay in charge. All my program graduates then have life-time access to the course. Get weekly coaching, daily encouragement and accountability while learning how to lose weight for the very last time. 
***

According to the Oxford Dictionary, Persistence is a firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition

In other words, persistence means you keep going, even when it is hard. 

This summer I started a new journey in my prayer life. Last semester things got crazy at school, and that is an understatement. Like so many of us do, I started to let some of my self-care practices fall to the side, feeling short of time and short on energy. At the top of this list was my exercise and daily journaling. As the school year came to a close I felt more frazzled than ever. 

I hated feeling this way. I was exhausted and had a shorter fuse than normal with my family. I was desperate to feel peace and guidance from the Lord that I knew would fuel my life. So, I love studying my Bible, but I’m a terrible prayer warrior. I like to use my brain more than my heart, and I often just skipped prayer more than a simple greeting of God in the morning. God totally put it on my heart that so much of my frustration and anxiety would ease if I learned to lean on Him and invest in prayer. 

So I did. And, spoiler alert, it has flowed into every other area of my life. I have more peace and energy as I trust in God instead of trying to do everything in my own strength. I even started investing more time into my physical and emotional health, realizing that I am loved and God holds my life in His hands. 

If you haven’t thought about adding a strong prayer life to your weight loss journey, I highly encourage you to consider it. 

However, as you can imagine, it has been a little difficult to stay persistent in prayer. When I start my days, my mind immediately offers me a dozen other things that it feels are way more important. And, sometimes my responsibilities as a mom and wife clash with my desire to spend quality time with God. I have learned to be persistent by following these three steps. As I go through them, I want you to consider how you can apply this to just one habit in your weight loss journey. As an example, this might be planning your food everyday, drinking enough water, daily movement, or logging your food. 

#1: Know Your Why: Something will always come up to get in the way of your good intentions. It might be an emergency, a temptation, or a relationship that makes your follow through difficult. That is why you have to be very clear about WHY this habit is so important to you. If not, those other things will naturally be prioritized or you’ll be guilted into doing whatever you think everyone else needs or wants you to do. For example, if you have committed not to eating unless you are physically hungry so that you can honor your body, then you might cave if feel tempted by a treat that is brought into the office. However, if you know why honoring your body is important for your health and weight loss progress and remind yourself of that truth, you will have strength to persevere even if those cupcakes look amazing.  

#2: Evaluate the Process: Sometimes things don’t work. You can set yourself up for failure thinking you have to do your new habit in a certain way or at a certain time, without attempting to figure out what really works best for your life and family. For example, you might decide that working out first thing in the morning is the best time to get in some exercise. But, in a single week, your baby needs to eat or be changed at that time and you have no way to get in some movement before the rest of the family is up and you’re on duty. Instead of giving up, you evaluate your process and realize that naptime or the evening is a better time for exercise and try that instead. 

#3: Celebrate Progress: I can’t say this enough, you have to be celebrating your progress. So many of the things we do for our health aren’t seen by another human being. We have to learn to celebrate ourselves along the way. In weight maintenance, progress looks like consistency in habits instead of a downward trend on the scale, so I literally set habit streak goals, buy, and wrap my own little gifts to reward myself when I reach that streak. It is fun and it helps me stay motivated even when nobody knows what I’m doing except me. 

Okay, sweet sister, I pray for many blessings over your weight loss journey and I am so honored to serve you through this podcast.

I really want you to consider joining me on for my next weight loss course. It’s an amazing experience. You get twelve weeks of groups coaching and a powerful step-by-step guide to how to lose weight for the last time. You will have daily encouragement and accountability and everything is yours to keep and access even after the course ends. If your interested head over to loraarmendariz.com/weightloss for more information or to enroll. 

I’ll catch you next week! All my love to you.

---

Listen to the Podcast