A friend of mine gets together with me once a month for fellowship and accountability and we go out for breakfast at the same restaurant. One of the waitresses serves us regularly and knows that I eat the same thing every time my friend and I have breakfast. The waitress noticed my weight loss and complemented me on it. I thanked her and braced myself for what would happen next.

She asked “What’s your secret?”

I quickly quipped it was my regular order of two eggs and an English muffin that was my secret. We laughed and she went to start our orders.

I get that question regularly, so I wasn’t shocked, but sometimes I really hate answering it. One reason is there is absolutely nothing spectacular or amazing about the way I lost weight. I ate less and started working out. Most people when they hear that think “boring!”

But that isn’t the only reason I dislike the question. The other reason is I did what worked for me. I knew myself well enough to know what would work for me and I knew the challenge I was facing well enough to know what would work and what wouldn’t.

I know that I get bored easily with workouts, so I only do it three times a week (I started at two times a week). I make sure I am changing things up (different muscle groups and different machines). When I am on the treadmill, I find a machine between two TVs so I have different shows to bounce back and forth from.

I know that the best nutrition for me is high protein and low carbohydrates (notice how I didn’t say diet?). I don’t cut carbohydrates out completely (believe me, I tried), but I eat about half of the daily recommended amount (with my doctor’s approval and support).

I could tell you all of those things, but those things are what work for me. What works for you might be very different. Maybe you do need to work out every day or you will fall out of the habit. Your nutrition needs are probably different from mine. If you don’t know what works for you, any changes you try to make will be much harder, and change is hard enough by itself.

I want to give you some encouragement today, because we are entering the time when many people will start to falter on the changes they wanted to make for the New Year. You can do it! If you haven’t taken the time to consider what works for you and the best way to step up to a new way of living, a new plan may be just the thing you need to stay on track.

Author’s note: This post originally appeared at Fridley Covenant Church.