Pick ONE and Excel
August 8, 2012 // Fitness, Nutrition, Wellness
The most important word in the health industry is consistency. Consistency is the best approach to making effective changes. Consistency is the determining factor that separates short-term results from lifelong improvements. Take dieting, for example. Consider how many diets are published each year (more than 3,000 last time I checked) and what they all have in common. While each diet has its own unique methods, all structured eating plans have a basic minimum to be successful: Follow the method. That’s it. That’s how you succeed. All a person has to do is follow the method that has already been (supposedly) researched/formulated, tested, and proven effective. Follow the method and BOOM! You will achieve your goals. So why do people fail to comply with a structured plan that will provide everything they want? Excess.
Paralysis By Analysis.
Watch you fat intake. Beware of sugars. Stay away from white flour. Don’t eat at night. Avoid fruit drinks. Drink water. Drink green tea. Don’t drink alcohol. Look at serving sizes. Measure portions. Count the calories. Write this all down. Do this everyday. Go!
Paralysis.
If you dare to follow all the recommendations floating around the health and fitness industry, you’ll wind up on a couch in an office staring at a ceiling and recounting the last moments before your nervous breakdown. No one should be burdened with a laundry list of rules to follow when eating. Eating is supposed to be a calming and soothing experience that replenishes our bodies and minds. The experience should not be compromised because of radical methods in order to create a change to our health.
Have you ever seen what happens during a 21-day extreme diet? Participants experience a figure transformation. What happens on day 22 and thereafter? Life still continues and the transformation begins to regress to the original shape and figure. Dieting is a great way to mask unbalanced eating habits. Short-term results with little to no education create misperceptions of successful improvements and modification of habits. Health strategies are long-term and are only truly successful when they are unconscious.
90% to Success.
With structured eating habits, the best way to stay compliant is to simply reduce the rules until a realistic approach is established. Reduce the “rules” governing your eating habits until you find a set of guidelines that you can stick to 90% of the time. Even if it’s just one guideline, you need a 90% compliance to achieve any sustainable changes. Being compliant at such a high rate allows you to integrate that specific guideline into your default decision-making process.
In short, you’ll do _____ without conflict. That’s success.
Focused.
Every person responds differently to structured eating. Some people enjoy making decisions through education and not be limited to a set list of approved foods. Others want the decision process removed from their eating experience and need a very structured program. Regardless of the person or the eating program, consistency is the determining factor in the results.
So here’s what you need to do:
Write down ONE goal.
[Example: I want to lose 5 pounds.]
Write down all methods to reach that goal.
[Example: Exercise 3 times a week, Cut back on sugars/grains, Increase protein intake, Add veggies, etc.]
Pick ONE method that you can comply with 90% of the time.
[Example: I will add veggies to every meal.]
Once that method is second nature, add another method.
[Example: Now I will reduce and eliminate sugars from all foods and liquids.]
With all the excess information about health and wellness, it is easy to get distracted and confused. Ignore everyone around you and everything you read. Stay focused on your one task and master it.
Ignore Him.
Give one method your full attention, and you will excel at the biggest issue in health: consistency.