3 Reasons Why You Should Aim For Consistency, Not Perfection

For many people, a healthy lifestyle can be tough. You get bogged down in tracking calories, monitoring every step you take, and become conflicted in what you should (and shouldn't) eat. Eventually, it all gets too much and you are left feeling exhausted and in need of a sugar-coated pick-me-up.

I get it. I was the same.

I used to use apps, journals, spreadsheets and alerts to track what I ate, when I ate it, how many calories I ate, and whether I had enough calories left to enjoy an evening piece of fruit. And in the end, I became desensitized to the whole thing, and sacked it off entirely.

Now, this isn't to say that apps and alerts aren't useful - because they are. But they shouldn't leave you feeling guilty or ashamed that you ate a "bad food", as is often the case when you see the "slice of cake" listed amongst an otherwise clean, healthy meal list for the day. You end up feeling disappointed, sad, and probably wanting more cake.

These emotions are not good either - not for your mental state or your habit formation. When building any new habit, it is important to associate that new habit with positive emotions like pride, a sense of accomplishment and feeling successful. These will make you want to do that habit more in order to feel these good emotions again. It helps to reinforce the habit as something worthwhile doing, as your brain gets a rush of endorphins when its done.

Don't get me wrong, avoiding the cake entirely should be the aim, but at the end of the day, we are only human and naturally like to indulge ourselves every once in a while. You can't eat cake every day and expect to see the results you want. But you also don't need to feel bad about treating yourself to your favorite biscuit at the end of a tough working day, or going for out for pancakes with a friend. This is because we shouldn't strive for perfection in our lives, when consistency is far more sustainable in the long run.

You may be able to "eat perfectly" for day, or a week, or even a month, but eventually you will want to taste the milky hit of ice cream, or the smooth, richness of a Belgian truffle. And that is totally fine - as long as your diet is consistent.

Consistency is not perfection.

Consistency, to me, is about eating the foods I know I should be eating regularly, and getting right back to it once the cravings have subsided and I place the tub of Nutella back on the shelf. Consistency in my diet is the long-term accumulative success over many weeks and months. Over this timescale, the odd slice of pizza or pint down the pub simply does not matter.

That being said, here are my top 3 ways to ensure consistency in your diet:

1. Prep your meals ahead of time

For me, this is a non-negotiable element of creating consistency for two reasons.

Firstly, I am far less likely to order a take-away if I know I have perfectly good food sat waiting for me in the fridge at home. I am an absolute warrior when it comes to food waste and will do whatever I can to avoid it. Prepping my meals in advance creates less food waste, and saves me to arduous battle with myself about whether I should bow to my cravings as I already know what I am having that evening. The choice between healthy or less-healthy is made clear

Secondly, if I do decide to surrender to my urges and break the cycle, the freezer is right next to the fridge where my food can be safely nestled away for another day. No fuss, no mess, no waste and I know I will get myself right back on track once I've finished.

2. Buy a high diversity of foods to create seemingly-endless options

I am not saying to go out and buy an insurmountable amount of food that you physically cannot eat just for it to go in the bin at the end of the week. But try and buy a high diversity of foods - different types of vegetables, rice, and proteins. I have found I am more likely to eat something outside of the realms of my healthy diet when I am tired of eating the same meal EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. (Plain chicken, rice, and broccoli anyone?).

But when I buy a variety of healthy produce - Mediterranean vegetables, spicy rice, canned chickpeas - I can change up my meal preps with new flavors, textures and aromas. Most of these foods are dry produce, or frozen - which helps in my crusade to reduce food waste.

You will probably find you are less likely to sway from your diet when you can have an extremely flavorsome, nutritious meal without the need for excessive repetition of meal options.

When is comes to consistency, diversity is King.

3. Learn healthy alternative recipes to your favorite "cheat meals"

Keep these recipes on hand for when you would do anything for some of Papa John's handiwork, or your old pal Wendy's classic burgers, These recipes may not be exactly the same - but if done well, they are sure to be a great alternative that is not only tasty, but healthier than its shop-bought counterpart and will void the craving for some feel-good food without the need of your wallet.

I keep an a-m-a-z-i-n-g burger recipe tucked in the depths of my brain for when whole-wheat pasta simply will not do. Ground beef, salt, pepper and thin glazing of oil is enough to keep me ticking over until the next wave of cravings arrive.

And if all else fails, go for it and enjoy whatever it is you want! Don't feel bad or put shame on yourself, just as long as you get back at it when the final mouthful is gone.

Remember - consistency over perfection. Every time.