Progress Over Perfection: The Correct Mindset for Sustainable Fitness

Ever missed a planned workout and feel like a failure after? Or ate a unplanned ‘cheat meal’ only to feel utterly guilty for the rest of the day? Maybe even looked at instagram models and compare yourself with them, believing that you’re not doing enough?

Well, you’re not alone. In fact, many people view training and nutrition in this manner. They think that everything has to be perfect in order to be successful in losing weight or gaining muscle. But the truth is quite the opposite. Expecting things to go flawless can actually get in the way of accomplishing your goals. It can take the joy away from working out. It can make dieting so painful. It can make the whole fitness journey extremely stressful. More importantly, it can make you feel guilty when you’ve actually done absolutely nothing wrong.

Fortunately, there is a much better way to think of fitness. That is choosing progress over perfection. Instead of leaving you guilt-ridden, progress can inspire, excite, and sustain the way you eat and train. You’ll feel happier because there is more to celebrate and enjoy. And in this article, we will look at some ways to focus on progress instead of perfection.

It is okay to miss a planned workout or overeat once in a while. Just get back on track after!

1. Consistency Over Intensity

The fitness industry now is all about hyping up high intensity trainings, the all-or-nothing mindset, and giving everything you got. And I’m sure you get that from the videos and advertisements you see all over the internet. It seems like if you don’t follow that mindset, you won’t be able to accomplish your goals. But how true is that? Must you operate at 100% intensity in all your training sessions?

Training at a high intensity is great. You get more out of the training, you burn more calories, and you’ll probably feel more satisfied too. But must you do so every time? And if you don’t, is your training not a good one?

If you can train like that consistently for months or years, good on you. But if intensity is going to compromise your consistency, then you’re doing it all wrong, because inconsistency is the enemy of success.

Consistency is about showing up each day in ways that work for you, even in the smallest means. Because over time, these small things can accumulate to big outcomes.

For example, if you’re going to workout at 100% intensity 5 times a week, but get burned out every week, then a better strategy is to reduce your workout frequency to 3 times a week but doing so consistently for 3 months. And if you feel ready, increase the frequency to 4 times a week. This will greatly increase the chances of you staying consistent with your workout plan in the long run. Consistency is only possible if your body has sufficient rest and recovery.

Do not compromise consistency with intensity. Consistency always comes first!

2. Moderation Over Elimination

Complete elimination of certain foods from a diet can result in a craving-driven binge or excessive stress, which is unsustainable in the long term. It can also be unrealistic especially when you’re out with friends at a restaurant or attending a birthday party with not much choices to make. Instead, occasional and moderate amounts of such foods is a better and more realistic option.

Furthermore, there are no foods that if eaten once or twice, will measurably harm your body or cause you to gain significant amount of weight. Yes, some foods offer little nutritional value, like trans fat and artificial food. But these foods will only cause issues if they start to dominate your diet. This is great news because you can lose weight while enjoying the food that you love. So yes, you can have your cake and eat it too!

A good rule to follow is the 80-20 rule. Eat a balanced meal 80% of the time, while occasionally indulging in less nutritious food 20% of the time. Follow your workout plan at least 80% of the time, while allowing some flexibility to rest or relax 20% of the time.

However, if you are the type of person who cannot stop at 1 oreo cookie or one scoop of ice-cream, elimination might be the better option for you. In such a case, going cold turkey can help jump start long term changes.

Remember the 80-20 rule - eat nutritious food 80% of the time, and ‘fun’ foods 20% of the time!

3. Something Over Nothing

“I can’t commit to working out 3 times a week, so I’ll just start my workout regime when my work is less busy.”

“The holiday season is almost here and I’ll be eating a lot of junk food, so there’s no point starting my diet now.”

Does these 2 thoughts sound familiar? When we want to start something, we typically tend to think that the change has to be huge and abrupt. The plan has to be perfect, if not, there is no point starting it.

The good news is that a perfect plan can never exist. You do not need the best workout plan to start exercising. You do not need to commit to eating 100% healthily to start dieting. Striving for the perfect plan will only keep you to where you are. A day spent procrastinating is a day delayed from achieving your goals. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good!

Sometimes we do not start because the plan can seem too overwhelming. But your plan does not have to be one with a big time commitment. Small changes to your food habits or workout routine count. Choosing whole foods over processed foods is better than not doing anything about your diet at all. Working out at home for 30 mins is better than not working out at all. And as you progress, make adjustments to your plan. Learn from your mistakes to help you along as you move forward. It is all part of the journey.

Don’t let the idea of perfection stop you from doing anything. The only time you fail is when you choose to do nothing about it.

Even a short walk in the park is better than lying in bed scrolling through social media!

4. Restraint Over Restriction

Restraint and restriction are different in subtle yet significant ways. The end product might look the same - avoiding certain foods, but at their core, they are completely different.

Restriction is telling yourself you cannot have certain foods although you love them because you are on a strict diet, and these foods are forbidden and bad. By doing so,

1) You actually tend to want it more.

2) It has shown to lead to binge-eating behaviours.

3) It can lead to issues with mental health, mood, and energy.

4) You start to develop an unhealthy relationship with food.

5) Most importantly, it is not sustainable because restriction does not ignite long term behavioural change.

But is the answer to eat whatever you want? No, neither should that be the solution, as it is difficult to do so while losing weight at the same time. And this is where you practice restraint.

Restraint is knowing that you can eat certain foods but choosing not to, because you want to make healthier food choices, or because you rather fill your stomach up with more satiable foods. Restraint is withholding certain foods because you want to take care of your body, not because you cannot have it. You choose to stay away from those foods because you want to lose weight, not because you can’t eat it. You are still in control of your choices, and therefore you will feel less deprived.

What are some practical ways you can take? Change your self-talk to “I can eat that, but I choose not to” or “I am just going to have a little of that, and fill myself up with other more filling and nutritious foods”. One way to know that you’ve transited from restriction to restrain is when you no longer feel like you resent your diet plan, or no longer dread your next diet because of all the food you need to give up.

Restraint is knowing that you can eat certain foods but choosing not to.

5. Momentum Over Motivation

Having motivation is great. It is a positive, uplifting feeling that pushes you to achieve your goals and desires. You get kick-started to take a good diet and start regular exercise. You feel happy because it is aligned to your values at that point in time. But one fine day, you feel lazy and spend the whole Saturday watching Netflix instead. You indulge in ice cream and beers throughout the night. You decide to slack off the following week as your motivation dwindles. Excuses come crawling back as your work life starts to overwhelm you. Yes, your motivation dies off. A few weeks later, you feel the need to get back on track and motivation surges again. And the cycle continues. But as this cycle continues, you get less aligned with your grand plans and goals. Sooner or later, the reason why you wanted to this in the first place becomes blurry and giving up seems to be a tempting option. This is the reality that happens to most of us.

But what is the better option? In most of the cases, you are not lacking motivation, but momentum. While motivation is a feeling, momentum is an action. When we take action, we create momentum. With momentum comes progress, and with progress comes a sense of achievement, which in turns creates motivation. Thus, action and momentum actually inherently creates motivation.

And so it goes like this:

Motivation -> Action and Momentum -> Progress and Achievements -> Motivation

And the cycle continues.

As we constantly create actions and momentum over and over again, we build a habit loop. Yes, the initial effort may be tougher than motivation, but once habits are created, it becomes a part of our subconscious routine, which means no more motivation required!

But how do we create momentum?

Instead of hoping motivation will fall from the sky, start by simply take one small step every single day to create action and momentum. Do something everyday, no matter how small they are, and how unmotivated you feel. Even if it is taking a walk in the park for 20 minutes, or preparing something in the kitchen instead of ordering in, that is progress! You are one step closer to creating momentum.

Another way is to not commit to something that you can’t see yourself doing for the next year. Planning to workout 5 times a week, or promising to cut out all alcohol and sugar for the next 3 months? You’ll only find yourself overwhelmed and doomed for failure. Instead, do something small and sustainable at first, before venturing out for something more grand.

I cannot stop emphasizing the power of momentum and habits.

Conclusion

All goals take time, and fitness goals are no exception. Day to day fluctuations can be mentally challenging, especially if you focus on perfection instead of progress. Learn to let go of trying to be perfect. Instead, take one step at a time, be patient, and trust the process. Remember - you are making progress even when you don’t see it.

P.S. - need help with motivation and mindset shift? Drop me a message!