Consistency.
Consistency.
Consistency.
We all want it.
But what does it really mean? And how do we get it? Especially when it comes to our fitness and nutrition?
What Consistency Isn’t
You may think consistency means perfection.
Never messing up. Eating perfectly every day. Never missing a work out. Eating all your meals at home, that you cooked from scratch, using all organic ingredients.
Getting 8 hours of sleep every night and hitting your daily water intake. Never gaining weight.
In short, nailing it and being successful at everything every. single. day.
But guess what?
No one can do that. Not even the most dedicated, hard-core fitness and nutrition devotees on the planet have PERFECT DAYS every day.
Why?
Because perfection isn’t attainable.
Because perfection isn’t real.
You will fail every time you try to achieve perfection because it literally does not exist.
Continuing to set an unrealistic standard for yourself - “no mistakes!” - sets you up for failure, and that’s why you can’t be consistent. Because you don’t understand what it really is.
A Better Way to Think About Consistency
You’re probably not an NFL fan like I am, but let's pretend that you are for the next couple minutes…
When you think about CONSISTENCY, think about a Quarterback moving the football down the field - one play, one pass, one run, one yard at a time.
Being consistent doesn’t mean he never throws an interception, or gets sacked, or loses a game.
Those things happen to everyone. Even the best…
Patrick Mahomes, quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, the 2019 Super Bowl Champions, IS one of the best. (And yes, I put money on that in Vegas last year and I’m still happy about it…)
Mahomes is currently (at the time this article is being written) the highest paid quarterback in the NFL.
Want to know what “consistency” looks like for this top athlete?
Look at his Quarterback Rating or QBR: it’s an efficiency statistic that measures the performance of quarterbacks and how likely they are to win. For example, a QBR of 75 means that holding all other factors constant (defense, offensive teammates, etc.), a quarterback's team would be expected to win about 75 percent of the time, given that level of QB play. [Source: ESPN]
Patrick Mahomes’ current QBR is 85%. He’s in second place in these rankings.
He’s at 85% - and yet, that’s good enough for his team to be currently leading their division and have a win/loss record of 5 and 1.
He’s also on a $45 million dollar contract.
Let that sink in.
Maybe it's time to consider being a little more like 85% Patrick Mahomes and letting that be good enough instead of living at 0% - which is where you’re currently ranking by trying to hit 100% every day….
What Consistency Looks Like For Me
Enough about football. Let’s get tactical and talk about what consistency looks like in practical terms.
In one of my FAVORITE books, “The Power of Habit,” Charles Duhigg talks about “keystone habits.”
Duhigg defines a Keystone habit like this:
“Small changes or habits that people introduce into their routines that unintentionally carry over into other aspects of their lives.”
They are habits that create a positive chain reaction.
By identifying and prioritizing my KEYSTONE HABITS - I have 4 and they’re listed below - and making them non-negotiable, I don’t kill myself every day trying to keep 2 dozen plates spinning.
I only have to focus on these four things, because when these four things get done, everything else falls into place.
For me…it’s just this. These 4 simple things. Every day. Every week. Every month. Every year. For going on 9+ years now.
1. I eat protein at every meal.
By making protein the anchor of every meal, I’m rarely hungry between meals and have steady, consistent energy and very few cravings.
When I say “protein,” that means pure protein sources like chicken, turkey, eggs and egg whites, whey protein powder, fish, beef, pork, wild game like bison and venison, sometimes dairy like unsweetened Greek yogurt or cottage cheese.
I don’t mean foods that have a few grams of protein in them, like grains and beans (which are predominantly carb sources) or nuts (which are sources of dietary fat - not protein.)
2. Move every day.
Even though I’m a fitness professional, the vast majority of running an online business involves sitting on your butt behind a computer all day.
When I only cared about workouts, I was considered “sedentary” because of what I did the rest of the day: nothing.
I had a much harder time managing my weight and body composition because outside of my workouts, I didn't MOVE.
By increasing my non-exercise activity and shooting for 10k steps a day, my total daily energy expenditure increases and stress levels decrease. That translates to more calories out, fewer cravings, better sleep, and just FEELING better.
This habit is non-negotiable - 365 days a year. And if there’s a snow storm or it’s 100 degrees outside, then I’ll be on the treadmill…still getting those steps in.
3. Lift weights AT LEAST 3x a week.
By setting the bar at only 3 workouts, I can ALWAYS pull that off. Even on crazy-busy weeks. I can always find AT LEAST 3 days to lift weights for 30-45 minutes.
What happens more often than not is I easily get those 3 workouts in, and that gives me the energy and momentum to get in a 4th or 5th day of training - which is interval-based cardio and/or some kind of yoga/flexibility work.
Having a training schedule laid out in advance in our STRONGER TOGETHER program is the key to consistency for workouts - for me and the hundreds of clients we train. You can find details HERE.
4. Eat at least one vegetable-heavy meal per day.
Almost every day for lunch, I have a BAS - that’s “Big Ass Salad” - that easily has 3-4 cups of vegetables in it.
If I don’t do that, I’ll make a chicken & veggie stir-fry for dinner, or I’ll prepare 2 different vegetables and cover half my dinner plate with them.
I aim for vegetables or low-sugar fruit at every meal, but if for some reason that doesn't happen - having this one meal with multiple servings of veggies covers the bases.
"BUT WHAT ABOUT SUPPLEMENTS? WHAT ABOUT CARDIO? IS ALL THAT FOOD ORGANIC? WHAT ABOUT PILATES? WHERE DOES THAT FIT? HOW MANY OUNCES OF WATER ARE YOU DRINKING? WHAT ARE YOUR DAILY MACROS?! HOW MANY CARBS IS THAT? ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH POTASSIUM? HOW MANY MILES DO YOU RUN EACH WEEK? WHY DON’T YOU DRINK GREEN JUICE? WHERE DO YOU FIT IN BARRE? WHAT ABOUT CHEAT MEALS…OR ARE THEY CHEAT DAYS?"
If that’s what you’re thinking right now, that’s exactly why you’re still struggling with consistency.
Because you still define consistency as “DOING ALL THE FITNESS/WELLNESS INDUSTRY BULL SHIT EVERY DAY.”
Pick 3-4 things that are BIG dial movers for fat loss and do them every day.
Stop getting bogged down in details that don’t matter.
Stop wasting time on things that aren’t moving the ball forward…like green juice and Pilates and running.
When you have an off meal or an off day or miss a workout, instead of making dramatic announcements about how you “FELL OFF THE WAGON,” just quietly go back to business at your very next opportunity to do so.
Comments