Striving For Perfection In Our Actions and Results Make Us Unhealthy

I commonly bring up this principle in many of my articles, but I never really dive into it. One thing I’ve learned in my life between getting my bachelors degree in exercise science, working in the healthcare industry for 14+ years, and coaching people for weight loss and muscle building is that it is unhealthy to expect perfection. Sure, perfection is a motivating factor, but it can be discouraging when we don’t reach it. That discouragement can lead to a lack of motivation to continue going. Consistency and persistence is the key to staying healthy, not sporadic actions of extreme highs and low.

Goals should be set up in a way where we are motivated to try harder than last time and then happy with the results. When setting your goals/expectations, make sure you’re using the S.M.A.R.T. principle:

Specific — Set real numbers with real deadlines, not a vague undefined statement as a goal

Measurable — Make a goal that can be tracked/measure so you can see your progress

Attainable — Select a goal that is both challenging AND possible, I think that this is where “Zero Fatalities” is off mark

Realistic — You know your situation, be real with yourself. Don’t go too low because you’re shy or too high because you’re trying to copy someone who realistically can achieve that goal

Time-bound — Give yourself a deadline, then don’t procrastinate!

My biggest problem with striving for a perfect outcome is the feeling of defeat that comes along with falling short of your goal. Some people can take that as fuel for the motivation to go again and try even harder, but others can easily fall into the trap of being discouraged to the point of giving up.

Let’s say you spend good money on a 5-day juice cleanse with the goal of losing a quick 10 pounds, then you suffer through the 5 days of torture and weigh yourself at the end only to see that you lost 2 pounds. Why would you spend that good money and skip all those good meals and spend half you’re week in the bathroom!? You then binge eat for the next two days in both a ravenous need from the lack of food or out of the depression of only losing 2 pounds and you see that you gained 3 pounds, now you’re worse off than you were from the beginning! Many juice cleanses are very good for your body, but would you ever spend your money on another one? Probably not! You’ve been defeated!

One of the many problems with the endless advertisements for products that claim to make you lose fat easily and quickly is that people pay money for these products with the expectation of losing fat easily and quickly and then keeping it off forever. Its a common story to hear of someone who tries a new diet only to see a lack of results, then quit dieting altogether until the next big thing comes along. This isn’t healthy! Dieting shouldn’t be up-and-down, back-and-forth, in-and-out; healthy eating and exercise should be a consistent habit.

It may sound weird that I’m telling you to “embrace” imperfection with intermittent fasting, but bare with me here! Social Media is hurting us, come on people, we’re human, we’re not perfect! The ever-so-coveted magic weight loss pill seems like the perfect plan. Step 1: take this pill. Step 2: lose all your fat. Step 3: be happy. Our minds have been trained to have these expectations because we think that others are easily getting perfect results.

My favorite method of intermittent fasting is the 16:8 method. I strive to fast for 16 hours each day, then I have an eating window of 8 hours. At first, when I began intermittent fasting over three years ago, I tried my best to be as strict as possible to hit EXACTLY 16 hours. With this mentality, it made intermittent fasting a chore everyday. It wasn’t a simple lifestyle, it wasn’t natural trying to count up 16 hours day-after-day. This is one reason why diets don’t work, you torture yourself or put too much effort into it and it’s not sustainable. Then, remembering a lesson that I learned while running Track in college (read about that lesson in my article HERE), I decided to stop worrying about staying strict to a specific schedule. I knew that there were days when I was absolutely starving at about 13 hours and it was painful to continue on for another 3! I also knew that there were days when I was at 16 hours and I could have gone longer, but I wanted to stay strict to the rules. I decided to listen to my body in these cases. On the days that I felt hungry before 16 hours, instead of torturing myself and teaching myself to hate intermittent fasting, I just ate. On the days when I could easily keep going past 16 hours, I would take advantage and go longer. This made intermittent fasting bearable, doable, and sustainable. Don’t torture yourself and train your body to dislike it!

Before becoming an intermittent fasting coach, I ran Track and Cross Country through High School and College, I have a Bachelors’ degree in Exercise Science, I’ve worked 14+ years in the healthcare industry, I went from being fit to a chubby dad then back to fit, and I’ve written over 100 articles on intermittent fasting (to date — I’m still going!). My hobby is coaching people to lose weight, build muscle, and stay fit through intermittent fasting and I hope to turn this into something that can financially support my family. I am not a physician. Do not try fasting without consulting first with your physician to know if it’s right for you. All advice on my blog is not medical advice.

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