Consistency > Intensity

“Most people need consistency more than intensity.

INTENSITY = run marathon, write book in 30d, meditation retreat

CONSISTENCY = don't miss workout in 2y, write weekly, daily silence

Intensity makes a good story. Consistency makes progress.”

-James Clear

I couldn’t love this thought more. Unless perhaps, I had thought of it myself!

How does this apply to our nutrition journey? Well, Mr. Clear makes it crystal...I won’t do that to you.

Most of us, if we were truly honest with ourselves, act as if intensity is the ticket to great results.

We get up a ton of motivation to crush a P90X workout or start a couch to marathon program.

Or we start that super restrictive diet in order to drop the weight.

These are intense steps.

Now let’s be clear. If you were able to sustain these, they could lead to the results you wanted.

For some people it works.

But as James Clear says, MOST people need consistency more than intensity.

Unfortunately, consistency isn’t very interesting. Nobody posts on Facebook about how they take a 30 minute walk every day (consistency). But you better believe they will post, tweet, snap, IG story about the marathon they ran. (intensity).

So I guess here’s the decision. Do you want a good story? Or do you want results?

3 problems with INTENSITY:

1. It’s too hard - We can’t keep up with the demands.

2. It’s too time consuming - We don’t have time to sustain it

3. It leads to injury - Either physical injury through over training or internal injury through restrictive dieting.

3 ways to be CONSISTENT

1. Choose a goal, or even better an identity. Write it down. Pick one small step that you can do daily to move you toward that goal or identity.

- Drink ___ glasses of water daily

- Walk daily

- Eat vegetables daily

2. Keep track of your progress - I know you have heard me say this before. Get a streak going. Make it visible. Don’t break the streak.

3. Go Small or Go Home - Don’t focus on big changes. They rarely work. Find small, doable actions that you can do on any day...even your worst day.

- Walk daily: This could be a 60 minute hike on a great day or a 1 minute walk around the house on your worst day.

- Eat vegetables daily: This could be 2 fists at each meal on your best day and carrot on your worst day.

4. Bonus: Let the momentum build - As you are successful, your small habit will become second nature and you will want to add a new small habit. Like a snowball rolling down a hill, small actions start small, but quickly build into massive change.

So today, let’s replace intensity with CONSISTENCY.

If you want someone to help you get back on track, encourage you, and help you achieve your health goals, contact me about becoming a coaching client.

If you are new to the blog, I want to encourage you to go back and check out my previous posts, as they serve as the foundation for what we talk about each week.

Here's to the best version of you!