Was that clickbaity enough for you? Did you see the headline and think:
“Finally, the secret will be revealed and I won’t have to eat this Kale and drink that Kombucha!”
Wellllll do not put down the salad fork yet. Because the secret isn’t really all that too groundbreaking. Not very fancy. In fact, I'm sorry but it’s downright boring.
The secret to a successful nutrition plan, whether it be for fat loss, muscle gain, or even maintenance is:
CONSISTENCY
That’s right, just a single word. But that single word carries quite a bit of weight with it (no pun inten …. Ok nevermind, I absolutely intended that pun lol)
It DOES mean that the big picture is more important than the minutia. Don’t bother doing research on the newest supplement regimen or superfood if you haven’t consistently stayed the course with traditional staples.
It DOES NOT mean intensity. What does intensity in a nutrition plan look like? Going from eating anything and everything you want (I’ll take a large pepperoni please) to completely restricting yourself to foods that end with the letter “i” because it’s such a skinny letter.
When making a nutrition change, subtle is better. This subtle change can allow you to maintain your ….. you guessed it …. consistency!
It DOES mean that you may have to change your viewpoint on what food means to you. Maybe you find yourself being an emotional eater. When things aren’t going your way, you reach for something salty or sweet. One way a nutritional plan can help with this is setting up parameters for when you should and should not be having a meal or snack. It’s way easier to “stay on the wagon” if you’ve got some guardrails there to help keep things …. Consistent.
It DOES NOT mean you have to eat the same boring food for the remainder of your life. Real food can taste good. With food companies employing some of the smartest chemist and clever marketing strategies, we’ve been lead to believe that basic is bad. I’ll be real, that broiled chicken, rice and cauliflower are not going to win any awards on Top Chef, but that does not mean you can’t add your own flare with some salt, pepper and a few other spices. Be creative, find recipes, ask friends what they like to cook with. Expand your knowledge on what is available to help you stay the course and achieve your fitness goal.
Lastly, what consistency DOES mean ultimately, is discipline. The ability for you to buckle down in times of stress and struggle, and maintain your focus and energy at the long-term plan. Without that daily level of self-accountability, even the best #motivationmonday Instagram post will eventually fail to inspire you.
So look to add consistency as the base of your food pyramid. No matter what you add on top, staying consistent with those choices is what will get you to your next stop on a lifelong fitness journey.
P.S. My new life goal is to win Top Chef by way of chicken, rice, and cauliflower lol
-Drew
