The # 1 Thing Tripping You Up on Better Nutrition
When it comes to eating well to lose weight or change body composition, most people don’t struggle because they don’t know what to eat—they struggle to choose healthier foods consistently.
When I ask new clients what’s held them up from making progress in the past, the number one answer is lack of consistency.
So, let’s get into this today - why is consistency so hard, and what can we do about it?
Why’s it gotta be so hard?
So many of us are drawn to extremes—30-day detoxes, 75 Hard challenges, or "get shredded in 6 weeks" programs because we think we need “rules.” And we think that once we start the new program on Monday, we’ll make only healthy decisions because now we have a strict plan to follow…”
I’ll let you in on a little secret: Monday, the first of the month, the start of the year, etc…isn’t any different than today. Life is busy. You have things to do that conflict with your health goals and that isn’t changing any time soon.
The intense approaches can create short bursts of motivation and get you started but usually they fizzle out because they ignore the reality of life: stress, work deadlines, family demands, travel, unpredictable hormonal symptoms (I see you my mid-life ladies) and low-energy days.
Consistency is hard not because we’re lazy or lack discipline. It's hard because:
We overcommit. We try to change too much at once.
We underestimate the time things take. Project goals change, decks need revisions, spreadsheets need double checking, the kids baseball schedule changes…then changes again.
We tie success to perfection. One “off” meal becomes a reason to quit entirely, or restart on Monday.
And the big one lurking under the surface…
We don’t really believe we can do it. Too many failed attempts in the past has us questioning our ability to follow through and our confidence has hit the floor when it comes to nutrition and fitness changes.
Do you believe you?
Our brains are storytellers. Sometimes, those stories are helpful: “I’m getting better every week.” Other times, they’re limiting: “I’ve always been bad at this. I just don’t have willpower.”
These internal narratives shape how we act. If you believe you're inherently inconsistent, you'll likely act inconsistently. That belief becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Instead, question the story you’re telling yourself:
Is this story helpful?
Is it true, or just a pattern I’ve repeated?
If it is true, do I want to stay this way?
What evidence do I have of times I was consistent?
Shifting the story doesn’t mean pretending it’s easy. It means choosing a more empowering frame: “I haven’t always been consistent in the past, but I’m learning how to be.”
Who do you think you are?
Behavior change sticks when it aligns with our identity. If you see yourself as someone who is “bad at sticking to diets,” your actions will often follow that belief. Conversely, if you begin to identify as “someone who makes healthy choices most of the time,” your brain starts to look for ways to live up to that self-image.
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you want to become.” -James Clear, Atomic Habits
Looking for ways to “act” like someone who eats healthy will open your eyes to more opportunities to make the small choices that stack up to big results.
When you find these moments and take action, you begin to prove to yourself that you are capable of making changes. And when you string these together and find ways to take multiple small actions over the course of the day, you begin to build momentum and consistency for the entire week.
So how can we build more consistency (and reinforce a new identity)?
Like any other skill, consistency can be developed and strengthened. In fact, I’m willing to bet you already show signs of consistency–like the way you show up for other people or the way you complete work projects–but you just haven’t yet applied those skills to your health or self care–yet.
Let’s change that.
Here are four ways to build consistency, and get that inner critic to stop telling the same tired story:
✅ Start ridiculously small. Take the size you’re thinking of and cut it in half. Then cut it again. Instead of a 60-minute workout, do 10 minutes.
Instead of cutting all sugar, focus on drinking one glass of water first thing in the morning and an extra 8 ounces at lunch time.
Set the bar low enough that it feels super easy to get it done.
🧠 Use "if-then" planning. Anticipate obstacles and create a plan B.
“If I have to work late, then I’ll order a protein-rich takeout option from [insert healthiest option nearby].”
“If I don’t have time for the gym, I’ll take a 20 minute walk when I’m done working.”
Creating a specific backup plan makes it more realistic, and it gets you thinking through different scenarios that could throw you off…giving you more space to prevent the derailment or at least plan around it.
🗓️ Track success with a “consistency calendar”. Instead of tracking weight or macros, try tracking your consistency. Did you start the day with water? Did you get to the gym? Take an extra walk? Check it off! Give yourself the gold star.
The simple act of making your progress visible helps build consistency and a visual also makes it easier to spot patterns and notice where you may be tripping up (e.g., forgetting to drink extra water with dinner every Saturday, never getting a walk in on a Monday, etc.).
Once you see the trends, you can decide what to do about it.
🚧 Change your environment, make the healthy choice easy. Don’t rely on willpower and don’t expect the motivation you felt Monday to be there by the time Wednesday rolls around.
Create an environment that makes nutritious food easy and convenient and junk food harder to access. Set up your physical space the way you assume a healthy eater would.
Chopped veggies in the fridge…a few precooked or easy to cook proteins…yogurt or cottage cheese for a zero prep option…very few bags of chips or cookies in sight…chocolate bars hidden in the back of the cabinet. You get the gist.
Smooth the path to better choices, and throw hurdles and potholes between you and the snack food cabinet.
You know my style, progress over perfection. Always something beats all-or-nothing.
Consistency doesn’t mean you do the healthy thing every time, it means you come back after the off-days and off-moments and choose the healthy thing most of the time.
It means doing something—even something small—over and over again, until it becomes part of who you are.
If you’ve struggled with staying consistent, you’re not broken. You’re not doomed to repeat the same false starts again and again. You just need to create a new experience so you have a new story, a story of the identity you’re stepping into as you become the healthier, more consistent, still ridiculously amazing you.
Catch yourself on your consistency stories this week and let me know the new story you want to tell instead.
