Be Less Perfect. Lose More Fat!

The perfectionist mindset, black and white thinking and having high standards often come as a package! I can relate to them all and actually think there are many benefits to them. In fact I’d probably put some of my greatest achievements down to them!

I frequently see these 3 traits in my clients who are often successful and high achieving professionals and again, I can see how they are probably part of the reason they came to be successful and high achieving.

When it comes to fat loss however, the perfectionist mindset is unfortunatly not the one!! Particularly for people who’s lives are already very full and demanding. In my 15 years experience, I have seen it hinder rather than help the process of fat loss for clients.

Let me give you an example to demonstrate.

I’ve got a client called Jane and here is her weekly tick list of things to do in order to her achieve her goal of a 3 stone weight loss.

1. 10,000 steps a day
2. Drink 2 Litres of water a day
3. 1500 calories
4. 90g protein
5. 3 x 1 hour resistance sessions per week

Jane had a stressful start to the week with work and by Thursday, she hadn’t managed to hit most of her targets . So in her perfectionist head, she’d failed! The narrative in her head went a little like this;

‘Well I’ve not managed to complete or hit my target on anything so far this week. It’s been a complete failure and I might as well pack the whole thing in and just give up. I’ll never lose the 3 stone I want to.’

Steady on now Jane! Lets actually look at this a little bit more closely. My reply and discussion with her went along the lines of this;

• Yes you didn’t manage to hit 10,000 steps but you did hit 8,000 steps and you have the rest of the week to increase your movement, meaning your average will still be at least 8,000 if not more. Your starting point was 5,000 steps 8 weeks ago so you’re still making progress and moving a lot more then before.
• Your water was just under 2 litres everyday and you’ve still managed to drop down to 1 coffee a day from a starting point of no water and 5 coffees!
• Your calories are only over our average target for the week by 200 each day. But as you’re in a calorie deficit of 500 you are still on track to lose weight. And you didn’t react to your stressful week as normal by reaching for a bottle of wine and pizza each evening which would have been your reaction before and put you in a big calorie surplus!
• You still hit your protein target. Well done!
• Yes your haven’t managed to complete 3 x 1 hour sessions yet but you can still fit in 2 later this week which is much better than none!

Can you see how despite not being perfect, this is still a week full of positive progress and if Jane got to the end of the week with this mindset, she would no doubt have  maintained or lost some weight. This is not perfect but its certainly not failure. And it definitely doesn’t warrant giving up, even though her brain might tell her that.

It’s important to remember that a week doesn’t have to be either perfect or a failure. There is a middle ground, and as long as you are actively trying to make positive changes, they have value!

Just because we can’t do everything, we can’t conclude we should therefore do nothing!

So yes one week you might not be able to track your calories but you could still make sure you’re meals consist of nutritious sources of protein, veg and carbs. You might not be able to do 3 x 1 hour workouts but you might be able to do 30 mins. You might not get your steps in in the week but you could make sure you get two big walks at the weekend. All of these compromises are still better than doing nothing!

Although we have targets, perfect doesn’t really exist as life is constantly changing, moving and throwing curve balls our way. If its not extra stress at work, then its trouble with he kids at home and if its not the rain reducing your steps then its the gym being rammed stopping you from completing your workout. In fact I rarely see weeks with clients where they tick every box.

We have to adapt and aim to do what we can consistently over time and this is when results will come. If we take the perfectionist, all or nothing approach and give up as soon as we aren’t 100%, we basically guaranty that we will never hit our goals. Its just not realistic and often means we just get in out own way.

So ditch the perfectionism, shift your focus onto the parts you do well each week and watch your weight come down! If you’d like help with your own weight loss journey please CLICK HERE. I know I can help :)

Have a great week

Lizzie x