They say timing is everything, and for goal-setting, I fully subscribe to that philosophy. As a society, we are programmed to believe the time is NOW to start working towards whatever it is you may want – whenever the mood strikes.

While I can appreciate that go-getter mentality, I don’t believe the here and now is always the best approach. For some goals, there needs to be proper planning, careful consideration, and strategy. All of which can take time to coordinate.

When it comes to weight loss, there are MANY ways to diet. But I firmly believe if you’re unable to fit a goal into your lifestyle, at the current moment in time, you won’t be successful.

I believe one of the first steps to any endeavor is determining whether or not the time is right for YOU to put your wants into actions.

Five Red Flags the Time Isn’t Right

Weight loss requires sacrifice, and most of that sacrifice comes from nutrition.

It’s tough to eat clean, count calories, track macros, and follow a new nutritional protocol. It requires thought, strategy, planning and time management.

If the below sounds like your immediate future, you may want to think twice about starting something new.

• Excessive travel for business or pleasure
• High-stress periods concerning family, school, work, or personal life
• A stacked social calendar
• The holidays or other festivities are approaching
• When finances are spread thin

Once you’ve determined it’s NOT the right time to diet (btw, that’s completely okay), where should you place your focus?

MAINTENANCE.

Keep doing exactly what you’re doing. If you don’t lose, and you don’t gain, you come out even. Make the best choices possible until the dust settles. That’s the best case scenario if you’re not in the proper position to make a big change in your life.

Five Signs the Time is Now

• You feel comfortable saying “no” to people, places or things. Remember, goals are sacrifices
• Travel is light or nonexistent
• Your finances are free to be spent on food, ingredients, and appliances (blender, crockpot, pots/pans, anything that will help your meal prep)
• You have time to dedicate to researching recipes, meal prep, and grocery shopping

Timing will never be 100% perfect, so I think the main thing to consider is that first bullet. Once you’ve determined it IS the right time, where should you place your focus?

ADHERENCE.

Set your plan and STICK to it. A diet will NOT work unless you adhere to its principles and stick with it. Changing your body takes TIME, and you have to give the process a chance to work. That’s not days, that’s not even necessarily weeks, that’s months of consistency. The good news is, adherence gets better and easier over time. The results start to set in slowly but surely and add to your determination and motivation. Hell yes.

In Conclusion

If the time isn’t right, you’ll only set yourself up for frustration, discouragement, and a vicious cycle of “starting over.” Take a moment to plan out your roadmap. Focus on maintenance and when you have a realistic starting point hit the ground running.