You’ve likely heard me talk so much about consistency being key to your progress and achieving your goals. But when it comes to nutrition, is there a magic formula for consistent success?
The answer, like most things in life, is nuanced and here’s why:
Consistency: The Key but Not the Lock
If you have been reading my posts in the past, I think you very well know that reaching your fat loss goals requires a calorie deficit. However, doing it so inconsistently won’t get you there.
You can crush workouts and track them all, but inconsistent eating will make progress sluggish. Thinking that you’ve been doing everything by the book but not seeing any progress (more about it here) can lead to frustration and unhealthy cycles of self-doubt and super strict/nonsense fad diets (Keto anyone? More here and here).
So, what does consistency truly mean?
It’s about creating a sustainable nutrition plan that aligns with your goals, schedule, and preferences. This plan should last longer than 3 days!
Building a Reasonable and Honest Plan for you
A good plan allows you to:
- Eat without drastic calorie reductions that leave you ravenous and craving unhealthy options.
- Enjoy treats like chocolate, pizza, or peanut butter (in moderation!) – contrary to what some internet “gurus” might say.
- Achieve sustainable, long-term results that benefit both your mind and body.
Here’s why “reasonable and honest” is crucial: restrictive diets with unrealistic calorie goals and demonized foods are unsustainable.
You know you won’t stick to them after a few days, leading to “hanger,” (hunger + anger lol) guilt-ridden binges, and dissatisfaction.
A reasonable plan sets you in a moderate calorie deficit that allows for slight hunger (yes, a bit of hunger is part of the process!).
It also includes room for occasional treats (cookies, pizza) while ensuring you stay in a deficit overall (can you eat that cake? read here?). Add a daily buffer of 100-150 calories for flexibility – some days you’ll be hungrier than others and that’s fine.
Honesty means tailoring the plan to your strengths and weaknesses. There will be good days and bad days, calorie-crushing days and off-track days. Accepting this without panicking is key because this is a long term run.
Finding Your Consistency Sweet Spot
Let’s say you set a 30-day plan to track progress and make adjustments.
These 30 days represent your 100% commitment.
Reaching your daily calorie goals (within the buffer) all 30 days means 100% consistency. Fewer successful days just mean a lower percentage.
Simple, right?
There’s more to the story, though.
Hitting your daily target can be challenging, especially with social events. Missing a few days of tracking due to work dinners or social events might lead to an 80% or even 70% consistency rate for the month which is still VERY good.
Instead of then thinking about giving up, look at your consistency and your progress with this perspective:
- 100% consistency: You might have prioritized nutrition over social outings, leading to faster progress, but at the cost of neglecting your social life.
- 70-80% consistency: You enjoyed more social interaction, even if your progress was slightly slower. However, your mental well-being and overall satisfaction were higher and that is a big YES to long term consistency and success.
The choice is absolutely yours to make.
Remember, fat loss and maintenance are marathons, not sprints.
Your consistency will fluctuate over time, and that’s okay as long as you can keep going even if sometimes it feels like nothing is working.
Maybe on some weeks you’ll reach 95% consistency without any issues, some others you’ll be at 70%, just keep going, it will all support your progress.
Here are 5 key takeaways:
- Maintain a reasonable and honest calorie deficit that works for YOUR progress and YOUR lifestyle.
- Celebrate 70-80% consistency – it’s still an amazing effort!
- If you lose “just” 1kg (approximately 2lbs) per month, in one full year you’ll lose 12kg (approximately 26lbs) and that’s A LOT.
- Long-term consistency is the only thing that makes sense, forget quick fixes, detox teas, influencers supplements and other crap.
- Calorie counting is a learning curve, but it pays off. Here is how to do it right
- The occasional treat won’t derail your progress – get back on track and move on. (can you eat your cake? Find out here!)
Bonus Tip: How many calories do you need every day?
Wondering how many calories you need? Here’s a quick formula for you (or you can use my free calories calculator HERE):
- Maintain your current weight: Multiply body weight by 15 (if you’re measuring in lbs) or 33 (if you’re measuring in kg).
- Lose fat: Multiply body weight by 12 (if you’re measuring in lbs) or 24.6 (if you’re measuring in kg).
Here is the bonus tip: All the values between these targets will also lead to weight loss.