Today I want to talk about four big mistakes you may be making that keep you from being consistent with the healthy habits you want to make progress in. Just FYI-these may challenge you some! I encourage you to read this with an open mind. 

These four mistakes are some of the most common traps I see women fall into when trying to stay consistent with exercise, nutrition, or really any healthy habit. And while you might expect me to say things like, “You just need better planning” or “Get yourself a meal planning system,” that’s not where we’re going today.

Instead, I want to peel back the layers and look at the deeper reasons you struggle with consistency. Ready? Let’s dive in.

Mistake #1: Relying on Motivation to be Consistent with Healthy Habits

So many women believe they need motivation in order to make progress. Motivation feels like that spark that makes you want to do the thing. It’s when your emotions and your actions line up—you feel like cleaning the house, so you clean the house.

But here’s the problem: motivation is just a feeling. And feelings come and go. If you wait until you feel motivated to go to the gym or prep your meals, you’ll never build true consistency.

Think about how you talk to your kids when they don’t want to do something. You probably remind them that sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do. The same is true for us.

That’s why I use something I call Core Needs Prioritization. These are the essentials that move the needle for me—exercise, meal planning, and a couple of other key habits. I plug them into my week first, before anything else.

Because you know what really kills motivation? Rushing, hurrying, and constantly feeling like you don’t have enough time. When you’re already frazzled, that “I’ll just skip it” voice gets louder. By blocking out time for your core needs ahead of time, you create space to follow through—even when motivation is nowhere to be found.

Motivation is nice when it shows up, but consistency comes from systems and planning, not feelings.

New to strength training? Check out my free No-Fear Weight Room Tour video

Mistake #2: A Disconnect Between Beliefs and Actions

Here’s the next trap: saying you want something but not truly believing you’re capable of it.

Maybe you tell yourself, “I want to work out three times per week.” That’s a totally reasonable goal. But when life gets busy, you skip, cancel, or put it off. And underneath the excuses, there’s usually a deeper issue: you don’t believe you’re capable of consistency.

For years, I lived in this disconnect myself. I’d count calories and stay “perfect” Monday through Friday, then completely unravel on the weekends. At the time, I blamed it on willpower. But looking back, the real issue was belief: I didn’t think I could actually be consistent seven days a week. And because I believed I couldn’t, my actions followed suit.

Your actions don’t follow what you say, they follow what you actually believe.

If you don’t believe you can change, if you don’t believe you’re capable of creating time for yourself, if you don’t believe consistency is possible, you’ll keep sabotaging yourself.

The good news? Beliefs can be shifted.

 But it starts with being honest about the gap between what you say you want and what you actually believe is possible for you.

Mistake #3: Letting Mom Guilt Run the Show

This one hits home for a lot of moms: mom guilt.

When you’re stuck in this mindset, everyone else’s needs come before your own. And yes, babies are completely dependent on us at first. But as time goes on, if we don’t consciously separate ourselves from being our child’s “everything,” it can blur into a belief that their needs are always more important than ours.

Here’s what I want you to remember: you are a person too.

Your kids don’t just learn from what you say; they learn from what you model. More is caught than taught. When your daughters see you taking care of your body, prioritizing exercise, and treating yourself with respect, they’re learning what a healthy mom looks like.

And it’s not just about your daughters. I’m raising four boys, and I want them to see what it looks like to have a mom who values herself and her health. I don’t want them growing up thinking their future wives should sacrifice their health, run themselves into the ground, and act like the family butler. Nope. That's a hard pass.

Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean neglecting your family. It means modeling balance, self-worth, and health. That’s a gift for your kids!

Mistake #4: Refusing Accountability

This last one might sting a little, but hear me out: sometimes you’re not just lacking accountability. You're actually refusing it.

Why? Because accountability requires commitment. And commitment feels scary.

If you sign up for coaching, join a challenge, or ask a friend to check in, now you’re on the hook. 

That opens you up to the possibility of failure. And for a lot of us who’ve tried and failed before, that feels downright terrifying.

So instead, we avoid it. We tell ourselves we’ll just do it alone. But without accountability, we stay in the same cycle of starting and stopping.

Refusing accountability is really about self-protection. Your brain wants to keep you safe in your comfort zone, so it convinces you to stay uncommitted. But the "risk" of accountability is what helps break that cycle.

If this one feels uncomfortably true, sit with it. Ask yourself: am I letting fear of failure keep me from the very thing that could help me succeed?

If this hits home to you, and you realize you need to commit and want a coach who gets it from the mom side as well as the exercise and nutrition side, you can book a call here to see if working with me would benefit you. 

Pulling It All Together

So, let’s recap the four mistakes that keep women from being consistent with healthy habits:

1. Relying on motivation instead of creating systems.

2. Believing lies and letting your actions follow those limiting beliefs.

3. Letting mom guilt push your own needs to the bottom of the list.

4. Refusing accountability because commitment feels scary.

   
   

At the end of the day, so much of this comes back to belief. What do you believe about yourself, your worth, and your ability to change?

If you felt defensive at any point while reading, pause there. Sit with it. In my own life, I’ve realized that when I feel defensive, it usually means something deeper is going on.

Consistency doesn’t start with the perfect workout plan or meal system—it starts with your mindset. Once you uncover the beliefs holding you back, you can begin replacing them with truth and building the kind of habits that actually last.

Other posts you might like: 

• How to Stay Consistent With Healthy Habits as a Busy Mom (Even When Life Is a Hot Mess)

• Healthy Habits That Stick—Even If You're Juggling Work, Kids, and Chaos

• How to Stay Consistent With Healthy Habits When Life Gets Crazy