192. Mindset Shifts for Staying Consistent

August 22, 2025

“I was doing so good... until the weekend hit.”
Sound familiar?

In this episode, Kara tackles one of the most common struggles in any health journey: staying consistent — not just when you’re motivated, but even when you’re tired, busy, or life gets messy.

She breaks down the real reasons we fall off track, how all-or-nothing thinking sabotages our efforts, and the exact mindset shifts that make consistency feel natural instead of exhausting. You’ll also hear stories from clients (and Kara herself) that prove sustainable habits don’t require perfection — just a simpler approach that works with your real life.

🔑 Key Takeaways

Consistency ≠ Perfection
You don’t need to do it “right” every day. You just need to come back without the drama.
The Weekend Trap
Kara shares how she used to “rebel” on weekends after being “good” all week — and what finally helped her break the cycle.
The Power of Simplicity
If you want to quit, it’s probably time to simplify your plan — not work harder.
Client Wins & Real Progress
One client thought she was failing… until she zoomed out and saw the long-term trend. 📉 The scale wasn’t broken. Her brain just needed perspective.
The Gap vs. The Gain (Mindset Tool)
Stop measuring how far you have to go. Start celebrating how far you’ve come. That’s where your motivation lives.
Start Small
Try tracking one simple habit — like water or sleep — and build a win streak. Use apps like Habit Share for accountability and consistency momentum.

📝 Journal Prompts

Where have I been consistent — even if the results haven’t shown up yet?
What would it be like to be consistent without being perfect?

📚 Resources & Links

👉 Free Webinar – Doctors’ Secrets: How to Lose Weight & Keep It Off
Discover simple, sustainable strategies that actually work.
Save your seat: www.coachingkara.com/signup

👉 Free Personalized Solutions Call
Talk with Kara 1:1 about where you're stuck and what to do next — with zero pressure and total support.
Book here: www.coachingkara.com/freecall

🎧 Listen to more episodes at:
www.coachingkara.com/blog/192

🧭 Conclusion

You don’t need to feel motivated to be consistent. You don’t need a perfect plan, a flawless track record, or to “start over on Monday.”

✨ You just need to take one small step that fits your real life.

Consistency isn’t built in the ideal weeks — it’s built in the messy middle.
And you’re already doing better than you think.

Episode Transcript

09:54:28 Hey friend, welcome back to the Concierge Weight Loss Podcast. I'm Kara Hackleman, and this is Week 4.
09:54:35 Of our mindset for Success series. And today. We're talking about something that every single woman I coach asks me about.
09:54:42 How do I stay consistent? Not just when things are going well, not just when I'm motivated, because that's what we all think we need.
09:54:49 But even on the hard days, even when life gets chaotic.
09:54:53 If you've ever found yourself saying. I was doing so good! And then the weekend hit.
09:54:59 Or, I just need to get some motivation. I… or… I can't stick with it unless… I do it right. Like, unless it's perfect, unless, unless, unless, unless I see the scales moving, unless.
09:55:11 This episode is definitely for you. Let me tell you what consistency used to look like for me.
09:55:19 Monday through Friday, on point, doing the things. Saturday and Sunday, complete derailment.
09:55:25 The weekends were like my own personal rebellion. I tell myself I was being good all week, so I deserved a break. That's what living was, right? It was supposed to be having fun, why else would I want to lose weight?
09:55:36 And it always felt like if I wasn't doing it perfectly, I wasn't going to be doing it at all. And I knew that.
09:55:43 The weekend wasn't gonna be perfect. Eventually, I realized that wasn't about the food.
09:55:50 It was about how I was thinking. I was swinging between perfection and deprivation and rebellion.
09:55:56 Until I finally stopped putting good and bad labels on food.
09:56:02 And my efforts, and started listening to my hunger cues. I gave myself permission to eat what I wanted, but also permission to.
09:56:11 Stop when I had had enough, when I was satisfied. And you know what? Those foods I used to obsess over on the weekends, they stopped feeling like the thing.
09:56:21 That made the weekend special. Because the mindset was no longer my thinking, it was no longer all or nothing.
09:56:29 It was, this is just what I do now. It's just how I take care of myself. It's just some things.
09:56:36 I can have that anytime. I remember that one, too. Consistency doesn't mean you do everything right.
09:56:42 It doesn't mean you never miss a habit. It means you keep coming back to what works without the drama.
09:56:50 One of my favorite client reminders is. It's not failing until you give up.
09:56:57 And… you only want to quit… I love telling them this, you only want to quit because you're making this harder than it needs to be.
09:57:05 So, consistency gets easier when you stop making it complicated. One of my clients who has.
09:57:12 Since made amazing progress. She struggled a lot with the scale at first.
09:57:17 She'd lose a pound, and then she'd stall, and then she'd gain, or then she'd lose.
09:57:23 And every time it went up, she thought, I must be doing something wrong.
09:57:27 But she kept doing the habits. She was planning and tracking and sleeping and… She was getting her water in, and we were coaching her brain.
09:57:35 Eventually, she found a setting in this app that we like to use, um… I think it's called Happy Scale. Uh… Eventually, in that app, she let it zoom out. So, and look at the whole journey.
09:57:49 So, the daily graph of what her weight was every day or every weigh-in.
09:57:54 It was a mess. It was up and down and all over the place, and pausing, right? But when she.
09:58:00 Zoomed out to look at the whole… I think it was, like, a year at a glance, or the whole journey, I forget how it was.
09:58:09 Consistently trending down. That was so exciting. That shifted everything for her. She wasn't failing.
09:58:15 She was just… downward trending, right? She just needed to stop micromeasuring the process.
09:58:23 The progress was happening, it just… Some days it was a little up, some days it was a little down, and I teach that… I teach the ladies I work with why. I mean, hormones and the food we hate, and whether or not we worked out, and what the humidity is. There's so much in our control, and so much more out of our control with what the exact number on the scale is.
09:58:42 So, when she looked at the big picture. Man, it just shifted everything for her and her brain. She saw that she had that downward trend.
09:58:53 Let me call out some of the all-or-nothing thinking that kills consistency.
09:58:57 A lot of times, people only track when they're doing well.
09:59:01 They're afraid of the number, they're afraid of. The habit tracking, or whatever, the assessing of what they were doing, or making a plan.
09:59:09 If it's not right, if it's not perfect. And so, that's what coaching is about. We'll then work on why is it… being so, like, judgmental and critical to you to not have… it be perfect. Um, only assessing when you followed the plan. Still kind of that same thing.
09:59:26 Um, making a plan that only works for your ideal week. So, like.
09:59:30 You know, um, Pinterest. Pinterest-worthy menu plans, or meal prepping.
09:59:36 So, you only make a plan. Um, for what ideal weight loss should look like, right? I used to joke that everybody thought weight loss was salads and, um, rice.
09:59:46 Chicken and broccoli. So, making a meal plan that only is completely ideal, not for you, but for, like, weight loss.
09:59:55 Um… some all-or-nothing thinking. Quitting because the scale didn't go down yet.
10:00:02 That's definitely some all-or-nothing thinking. Let's throw out all the… you know, 20 pounds we lost, because we didn't lose.
10:00:08 60 yet. Um, if this is hitting a little too close to home, don't worry. You're in good company. These are super common and totally coachable.
10:00:16 And yes, I can tell you I have done every one of these. I have thought it, done it.
10:00:21 All the things. So, it's very common. You are in good, good company here.
10:00:27 Here's another big mindset shift. You don't need motivation to be consistent.
10:00:33 Because everyone comes to me and says, I just need to find some motivation, and I thought, if you find where you hid that stuff at, let me know, because that's not how it works.
10:00:40 I used to believe that motivation was this magical feeling that just showed up when I was doing well, and disappeared when I wasn't.
10:00:49 But now I know, motivation is a byproduct of momentum. Just start doing the things. You take action, and then motivation shows up to catch up with you.
10:00:58 You don't need to feel ready. You don't need to wait until Monday.
10:01:03 You just need to take one. Little, tiny, doable action. Just do one.
10:01:10 It starts that momentum. It starts that motivation. One of my favorite mindset tools comes from a book called The Gap and the Gain.
10:01:18 So here's the short version of my favorite part of this. Most of us measure ourselves by how far we are from the goal.
10:01:24 Like, I have 20 pounds more to lose. I have… This much more until whatever. That's the gap.
10:01:31 The gap from how far we are to where we want to be.
10:01:34 But we forget to measure how far we've come. That's called the gain. So the book's called The Gap and the Gain.
10:01:40 So we have gained. Where we are currently. So whether it's 20 pounds, or whatever we're, you know, if it's your education, like, I haven't reached my degree yet, but I'm, like, 2 years in.
10:01:52 Like, that's the gain. We've learned so much in our weight loss, we've accomplished so much, we've figured so many things out.
10:01:58 That's the game. When you shift from the gap.
10:02:04 How much more I have to go, which is really you looking at all the things you haven't accomplished yet.
10:02:10 To the gain, you'll find proof that you're growing. Look how far I've come!
10:02:16 It's amazing. That's what helps you stay consistent, even when progress feels slow.
10:02:20 Because you're seeing the truth of your efforts. So, what a fun, simple tool that builds consistency.
10:02:29 I love the Habit Share app. Uh, my clients can use it, you can tag a friend, so if you have an accountability friend, uh, you can have them see what habits you're doing. My clients can tag me on it so I can see.
10:02:44 Their habits, um, the Habit Share app. You get to decide what you're tracking, how often you're wanting to hit that goal, that kind of thing.
10:02:51 You get to check off habits each day. And you'll start noticing something. There is power in not wanting to break the streak of the habit.
10:03:00 You'll do the thing, whatever the habit is, just to hit that green.
10:03:04 That green bubble to be able to say you did it, because you don't want a red one in the middle of it.
10:03:09 Small habit, daily streak, big confidence. So, if you're wondering where to start, here's what I recommend.
10:03:17 Pick one habit to focus on. And I really love when my clients start with water and sleep. That's what I encourage.
10:03:25 These support hunger and energy and mindset. And a lot of times, they're easier to get a win there than it is with food.
10:03:32 So, start with one habit, and I prefer you to start with water and sleep.
10:03:37 Ask yourself, what would consistency look like if it was easy?
10:03:41 So, consistency, if it was easy, how many times a week would it be?
10:03:47 Would I be doing this most of the time? How many ounces of water, what… how many hours of sleep.
10:03:53 If it wasn't a big deal at all, what would it look like? And then repeat this phrase. It's not a failure unless I quit.
10:03:59 So, if I only go to bed one day this week that got me enough sleep.
10:04:04 It's not a failure, because I missed 6, it's a success, because I didn't quit, I'm gonna try 2 next week.
10:04:11 Repeat this phrase. This only feels hard because I'm making it hard.
10:04:16 Right? I said. I could go to bed one day this week early.
10:04:22 That isn't hard, right? I definitely could do one day, especially if I'm not trying to do it on a day that.
10:04:28 We have to stay up late for something. So that's me making it easy. It's making it so easy that I can get a win.
10:04:35 Um, repeat this phrase. If I want to quit, it's probably time to simplify.
10:04:41 If you're wanting to quit, it is definitely you making it too hard, and so it's not that you're never going to be able to make it.
10:04:48 To that next level, but right now, let's. Simplify it. Let's make it so… absolutely attainable.
10:04:57 That… that you… you can, that you will, that you'll be excited to, and then you're gonna be excited to try another thing.
10:05:04 So, journal prompt for the week. Where have I been consistent, even if the results haven't shown up yet?
10:05:11 I'm attempting to go to bed early every night this week.
10:05:14 That's where my consistency has been in the attempts, even if I haven't been successful yet.
10:05:21 Um, what would it… and the next question, what would it be like to be consistent without being perfect?
10:05:27 So, would it be trying? Would it be in doing part of it, even if it wasn't all of it?
10:05:35 Um, so many days, or, you know… Maybe I'm not getting 8 hours of sleep, but I'm getting 6 and a half, and that's better than the 4 before.
10:05:43 Um, reflect, celebrate, keep going. I love it, I love it. Alright, you don't need to be perfect.
10:05:51 You don't… you don't need to always feel motivated, because I tell you a lot of times I do stuff I don't feel like doing.
10:05:58 You don't need to overhaul your whole life this week. Nope.
10:06:02 You just need to keep showing up in a way that fits your real life, yours.
10:06:08 One small win at a time. And the more you do that.
10:06:11 The easier it gets to be that consistent version of you.
10:06:17 You're already on your way. Already. You're already doing so much. So… You want help building consistent habits that actually work with your life? Join the free webinar, CoachingCARA.com forward slash sign up, and grab your space there.
10:06:30 Do you want help figuring out what's holding you back from staying consistent?
10:06:34 I'd love to talk to you one-on-one. Book a free personalized solutions call with me at CoachingCara.com forward slash free call.
10:06:42 Alright, P.S. You don't need to wait for motivation.
10:06:48 Just start, and let motivation meet you there. See you next week for our final episode in this series, Letting Go of Comparison.
10:06:56 And embracing your journey. You don't want to miss it. See you then.