How to Stay Consistent With Fitness in December

Nikkiey: Anybody can be consistent in September. Anybody can be consistent in October. Anyone can feel structured in the fall time when life is predictable, right? The kids are going back to school. You know when you're going to be able to get your workouts in. You know when you're going to be able to meal prep. But December, dude, December truly exposes you. I can tell you right now how empty my gym is, and I know that this is what people are struggling with. And that's because what December does is it brings chaos. It brings emotion. It brings family dynamics. It brings travel. And then women decide, oh, I can't focus on my goals right now.

What's going on, my friends? Hey, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of The WarriorBabe Show with your host, Nikkiey Stott. On these episodes, we talk about mindset, methodologies, tactics, all the things that are going to help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. And that's what we're going to talk about on today's episode, episode number 317. I think this one's going to be a really important one around your mindset.

Right now we're in the in-between, interesting window of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. This in-between area is where the routines fall apart, the calendars fill up, you're traveling, stress is rising, you're eating all this yummy food. And this is where most women start to tell themselves, I'll just start again in January. But I'm going to lean into that with you guys here for a minute.

Your January doesn't determine your year. What does is how you lead into that January. So how you go about December, how you've been going about November, these months decide whether you enter this new year feeling empowered or defeated, feeling clear or chaotic, or feeling grounded and knowing that this is just another day in the consistency of your fitness lifestyle, or you spiraling because on January 1st you're trying to change a hundred things at once to get back into your routine of working out, eating better and all the things. It's literally deciding whether you're going to be in momentum or you're starting all over again. And this month determines who you're going to be walking into 2026.

So it's not that you should wait for January 1st to determine that. You should be doing that right now, in this in-between season, this in-between window of the holidays, setting the foundation for yourself walking into 2026. Okay? So that on day one, you're not just trying to change everything or get back into the routine of everything, and everything goes haywire on day one and you give up within seven days. I'm serious. Take this seriously, please. Because if you're somebody that's experiencing the chaos and all the things in the quote unquote busy season, this is the best time to try and get a routine in for yourself. Okay. So I want to talk about that in this episode today.

This is the thing. Women have been taught to worship... hold on, let me just pause there for a second, actually, because that was me 10 years ago, almost 11 years ago now, where I was worshiping January 1st. Like it's a magical moment where this extra motivation resets, this discipline resets, the willpower resets. And that's what a lot of women do. I can say that because I was that person. You guys are worshiping January 1st.

The truth is January doesn't reset anything, or give you momentum, that you didn't build in December. If you end December tired, if you end December bloated, if you end December checked out, if you end December eating chaotically, skipping habits, avoiding discomfort, putting yourself last, January is just going to feel like you are climbing Mount Everest with no oxygen tank, my friends. You're not starting fresh that day. You're starting literally from a deficit. The more that you allow the days of December to go by while pushing off solidifying your routine, every day is just a notch adding to the deficit you're carrying into January 1st.

And that's why so many women quit by January 15th or by the end of the month. They don't fail because they're weak. They fail because they gave up on their routine, on themselves, in December, when the holidays were chaotic, when things were busy. And I understand, I validate the busyness. But that said, there are women just as busy as you are, and they're still making it a part of the routine. What it comes down to is time management, my friends.

One of my really good friends is a mom of four. She is also starting her own company and literally going all over the place, tapping into her resources, talking to people, traveling all over to colleges to get this business off the ground. And she's taking care of her home and her husband and her kids. And she still makes it a point to get her fitness routine in during the day. She literally has told me that the days I can see her and meet with her are within this time block of two to two and a half hours on a given day. She has it down pat.

So that's what I would encourage you, as I'm speaking to you in this episode: time management is truly what it comes down to in the chaos of the busy season. Right? So where in your time management can you make sure that you are blocking out at least an hour, maybe two hours, to just ground yourself in the morning, set yourself up for success, get your movement in, get your steps in, get your workout in, put together your meals for the day, and be on with the day? That's all it takes. It's all it takes. It doesn't have to take so much time. It only feels like it's so much time because you haven't nailed down the time management aspect. Okay.

But getting back to this: if you're allowing all of this to fall apart in December, you can't expect the discipline to magically appear on January 1st. It does not work that way. Think about who you are becoming, the woman that you are stepping into, that next-level you who has this routine down pat. Think about it from the end point. The woman that you want to become, at the end point where the goals are already accomplished, has this time management and routine down so well that when a busy season falls into place, it doesn't even faze her, because she's already navigated that routine for herself. She's already locked it in.

So thinking about her from that end state, you obviously have to change something from where you are now to get to that point. So what is it? Probably time management, locking it in, sticking to your routine. That next-level you is not all going to magically appear on January 1st. That next-level you doesn't reboot on your calendar. That next-level you is built day by day, and especially in this hard month.

Anybody can be consistent in September. Anybody can be consistent and motivated in October. Anyone can feel structured in the fall time when life is predictable, right? The kids are going back to school, you know when you're going to be able to get your workouts in, you know when you're going to be able to meal prep, whatever. Or if it's not fall for you, then maybe it's some other time of the year that you can relate to, right? But December, dude, December truly exposes you. I can tell you right now how empty my gym is, and I know that this is what people are struggling with outside of the gym, in the reality of the world. My gym is so empty right now. It's crazy.

And that's because what December does is it brings chaos. It brings emotion. It brings family dynamics. It brings travel. It brings noise. It brings food everywhere. It brings stress. It brings the lack of routine. It brings more temptation, more excuses. And then women decide, oh, I can't focus on my goals right now.

But the truth is, the woman that you're becoming during December is the woman that you are going to carry into the rest of the year. December shouldn't weaken you. It shouldn't make you fall apart. It should reveal your patterns, where maybe you've seen, this is how my old identity, this is how old me fell to the chaos, fell to the temptations of the food, fell to all of these patterns that I'm speaking to, right? It's revealing those patterns for you to look at them, to take ownership, to take responsibility, to be honest with yourself and say, okay, I need to change these patterns, because a pattern shapes who you become.

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So you can continue the holiday, December patterns that you've been a part of every year, or you can reshape them. And if you want to enter January more confident, more clear, already winning, already ahead of the game, the one thing you don't need is to be perfect this month. Let me just say that. What you do need is minimums, and you need to look at what minimums are going to be non-negotiable for you. Because minimum habits are what keep you intact. They're the actions that next-level you, the woman who has already accomplished the result she wants, took on a daily basis, right?

And the minimum habits that you're doing every day not only do that, they also help keep your momentum alive. So that can be, okay, let me just make sure that I get 8,000 to 10,000 steps in my day. Let me make sure that I'm getting three of my strength training workouts a week. If you were someone that was doing five, maybe you go to your coach and say, this is what's realistic for me right now.

And this is a really important thing to listen to. Actually, let me just riff on that for a second. If you used to do five and you could do that, no problem, but now you are in this busy season and you're still trying to stick to the five, but it's not happening, and you're only getting three to four workouts in a week, you are going to feel like you are failing because you're not getting the five. But you're just not being honest with yourself. It's not realistic for you to get the five right now. So you need to peel it back, look at the data of your weeks, and see that you're only getting maybe three workouts consistently. So that is what you should pull back to, to make it realistic and make it so that you don't feel like you're failing, but you're actually following through. That little thing will make a huge difference in your mindset.

Another minimum, and it doesn't have to be all of these, it can be two or three of them, is just drinking your water throughout the day. Or focusing on being protein focused: when you put your meals together, you're making sure that you're putting protein on the plate first. Or sleeping eight hours a night. Or tracking 70% of your day, 80% of your day, or not doing all or nothing on the days of the week, whatever is more realistic for you. Again, what is realistic for you that you could lock in for the month of December? That's going to make you feel like you have forward momentum going from December into January.

And it doesn't have to be all of these. It can be one of them. It can be two of them. It can be max three of them. Perfection is not the goal here. What is, is consistency, because consistency, especially this month, is going to build that next-level you moving into January.

And it's not this month either... most people don't lose progress in December. What they do is they lose themselves to the chaos of the world. It's not the food. It's not the events. It's not the travel. It's not the lack of time. Getting deeper, what it is, is self-abandonment. It's putting everybody else first. Women will abandon their routines or abandon their discipline. They'll abandon their minimums, their needs, their boundaries, their emotional regulation, their goals, themselves. And then they say, you know what, I'm just going to come back strong in January.

But again, what's happening here is the version of you that has pushed herself off to the side in December is not going to magically lead you into this powerful January 1st mentality. That person's exhausted. That person feels so behind. That person feels guilty. That person feels overwhelmed. That woman feels like she's starting from zero again. And that is one of the most discouraging feelings in the world, right? And you don't deserve that cycle anymore.

Let me tell you from my own experience, from training, from competing, from building WarriorBabe: discipline doesn't show up when life is easy. Discipline is revealed in the most inconvenient season of your life, when you're tested. But you're tested in a way that gives you an opportunity to make what is most important in your life the foundation, right? You know that you can't pour out of an empty cup into other people. And what makes your cup full is you working out, your health, eating healthy, right? And then that's going to spiderweb into you being a role model for other people.

So being disciplined doesn't mean that you're selfish, and it doesn't mean that you're unreliable. It makes you reliable. It makes you steady. That's where you can show up solid for other people, right? You stay connected to yourself. And when you do that, even when everything around you feels chaotic, you're grounded and centered in yourself, right? And so you're able to show up better if you're able to put your needs first.

Moving into the month of January, don't give up on yourself is what I'm saying. Don't give up on yourself this month. If it's not what it was back in October and September and August, again, take that concept I talked about with working out: what is realistic for you right now? And just follow through on that. That way you don't feel like you're starting from a deficit. That's the biggest thing I want you to take away from this. You don't want to feel like you're starting from a deficit going into January 1st, because dude, you're going to burn out so quick.

So what I want you to do is think about the outcome. If you follow through on these things I'm talking about with you in this episode, think about how you're going to wake up come January 1st. You're not going to feel chaotic. You're not going to feel like you're spiraling. You're not going to feel like you have to change a hundred things. What you're going to feel is clear, grounded, strong, regulated, in momentum, proud of yourself. You're not bloated. You're not ashamed. You're not starting over. You're not in this deep, deep deficit.

Imagine you're already being the woman you want to be, right? You're already that next-level you coming into January 1st, because these last couple of weeks you showed up and kept following through on what we're talking about here, instead of trying to scramble to become her on January 1st. That version of you is literally built right now. It's built right now.

Getting off this podcast, if it was resonating with you, you're going to take away some things to go into the weekend, to go into next week, making this your January 1st, right? Not after Christmas, not after the parties, not after the shopping, not after the chaos, not after the travel. Right now. Right now, all right?

And the most important part is that the choices you make this month don't just affect January either. They affect your results. They affect your metabolism. They affect your self-belief. They affect your confidence. They affect your habits, your future self, your metabolic health. Your 2026 version of you starts right now. And what's crazy is that future you, dude, she's already watching you. She's watching what you're doing right now. She's watching you today. And she's asking, are you going to lead us through this hard season? Are you going to follow through? Are you going to do it? And your answer should be yes. Do it.

Okay, so here's what I want you to take from this episode. Stop treating December like a break from your life. Start treating December like the month that builds the life that you want moving into 2026. This month is not just a throwaway month. It's going to feel more chaotic. Yes, 100%. But guess what? Once it's done, you'll be able to rest and catch up and you'll be able to reset your workout days and all of that. Just reassess what you need right now. It may feel like it's the bare minimum, and that's okay. Minimums are good this month.

Okay, this month is the month that separates the woman who talks about change from the woman who actually creates it. So who do you want to be walking into 2026? And remember that that woman gets built right now in December, not January, not January 1st. So what are you going to do about it?

All right. I hope you feel encouraged. I hope you feel motivated leaving this episode. And I hope some light bulbs have just gone off, so you know: okay, I'm not going to throw away the month of December. I want to feel the momentum going into January 1st, but that has to start right now. If it doesn't, then you're going to be scrambling on January 1st. All right. Love you guys. I'll see you in the next episode.

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