How many of us know someone who has gone great lengths in their weight loss journey with extreme dieting and excessive training, only to lose all that progress and go back to where they were before? I’ve seen it numerous times. Someone has a weight loss goal (call it 40 lbs for example), and face it head on going 1,000 mph. They go from eating 4,000 calories a day to eating 500 calories a day. They go from sitting on the couch to working out 2 times per day, every day of the week! Sure they lose weight initially just from the calorie deficit and newfound metabolic activity, but eventually two things happen. The first thing is that they burn themselves out. A beginner should not be doing two-a-days. That is reserved for elite-level athletes who have years of experience and coaching. The second thing that happens is metabolic adaptation. In simpler terms, our bodies adapt to the lower calorie intake over time and becomes more efficient at burning calories. That translates to weight loss coming to a screeching halt and frustration for the person who is trying to lose weight! Extreme dieting and training is NOT the answer.
I have always admired people who maintain a high level of fitness while sustaining their desired health and body type. Why? Because it takes consistency. It is honorable and worth applauding when someone has a big weight loss success story. To make the decision to lose x amount of weight and get to a healthy body mass index (BMI) is rightfully something worth celebrating. But I always wait and see if they can maintain that success for a long period of time. That’s because I want to see if they have what it takes to gut it out and stay consistent, even when others aren’t watching. It’s easy to notice someone go from 300 lbs to 200 lbs. But nobody will notice the hard work a 180 lb man puts in to maintain his weight. The ability to sustain, while still seeking self-improvement mentally and physically, is a trait reserved for champions. The same level of dedication it takes to lose weight initially, requires even more dedication to maintain long term when progress slows down.
The key to losing and maintaining weight loss isn’t extreme changes, but just small changes made consistently over time. Consistency over extremism. This concept applies to nearly any endeavor. Put weight loss aside for a second. Let’s take academics for example. Is it better to study for five hours one day per week, or for one hour every day of the week? One hour every day of the week is the answer! Why? The reasons are numerous. For most people, attention span drops over time so there is a law of diminishing returns. Additionally, the consistency of studying every day keeps the material in the forefront of our minds. It keeps the information fresh! And finally, the sheer numbers are important to consider. One hour a day every day is equal to seven hours. And compared to the five hours for only one day per week, seven hours is obviously more beneficial. The same can be said for working out. A five-hour workout session is unnecessary and fatiguing. And to go another six days without training does not provide the body with enough consistent strain to grow and increase in strength or endurance. One hour per day is all that is necessary to see a dramatic change. The key isn’t necessarily the one hour, but the fact that it is done daily. For some people, it may be a 30 minute workout or for professional athletes, 2-3 hours. But the point is that consistency is the key to long term success.
Nutrition is no different. Eating one salad will not make you skinny just like eating one donut will not make you fat. But if you began eating more vegetables consistently and kept your calories slightly below your daily requirement, you will see weight loss over time. And if you continued to eat donuts most days and consistently consumed more calories than you needed, you would gain fat over time. The key isn’t necessarily the one salad or the one donut, but the repetition over time that gives you the results. Many people want to hear “the secret” to getting lean or how to “speed up” their weight loss. But the truth is that the only real key to short term and long term success is to do the “right thing” the vast majority of the time. For me, that means eating healthy, fresh foods for 90% of my meals. That translates to one snack or meal every three days or so, can be whatever I want (within reason) and without going overboard on the quantity. For example, if I ate well for the last two days and I want a donut this morning, I can eat it as long as I eat my typical, healthier foods for the rest of the day. Additionally, I make sure to keep the quantity within reason. Just because I allow myself the opportunity to eat a donut, doesn’t mean that I eat a dozen of them! That would certainly blow my progress and it would take a couple days for me to get back on track. Discipline is key in maintaining consistency in our lives.
Like many of my posts, this may not be the most popular because it may point out flaws in some of your current habits. However, I have seen way too many people go from one extreme to the other and it rarely works out well for them in the end. The vast majority of successful people I have met who lost weight (and kept it off), were those who made the mundane, boring, but consistent choices every day. Perhaps they weren’t eating as little as 500 calories every day nor were they doing marathon 3-4 hour workouts. But they found a pattern that worked for them in their lives and they did it over…and over…and over again. That consistency over time creates a habit and that habit literally becomes a part of that person’s character. And once a habit is created and is instilled in someone’s character, then that ability to consistently do what is necessary will transfer over into other areas of life. So stop letting excuses get in the way and create some consistency in your life!
Action + consistency = progress
Have a blessed week!
Coach Rich
Richard Fitzgerald 