When it comes to progressing towards and achieving our goals, regardless of what they are, consistency is key. Whether that’s paying off debt, completing a degree program, health-related goals like weight loss or building muscle…we don’t achieve any of those things overnight, but rather build toward our goals with small moments over days, weeks, months and years.

When it comes to macros, we always bring it back to that consistency over intensity/perfection. So if consistency is key, that means perfection is not a requirement! We will never be able to be 100% perfect at a long-term pursuit, so we have to have some built-in grace for the journey.

That being said, there are seasons when we may want to ramp things up a little. I heard someone a while back say regarding nutrition “be consistently good, but sometimes excellent” and that really stuck with me. If we keep consistency as the baseline in how we live, that gives us the groundwork and foundation for leveling things up every now and then to speed up progress or hit some short term/smaller goals.

You might be thinking “this sounds like she’s talking about a cut” and that certainly could be one option when you’re feeling motivated to work a little harder. But even if we are focusing on maintenance (maintenance is life, you guys!), it can be easy to let complacency slip into our days and let our nutrition get sloppy. 

The Bikini Bod and Back to School challenges are a perfect example of “sometimes excellent!” While we focus on body composition/picture progress in these challenges, a lot of women use these challenges to bring some fire back to hitting their numbers. The fast track to progress with macros lies in hitting those numbers 7/7, and it can get easy to live in the 4-5/7 world. By committing to hitting your numbers 7/7, you are targeting excellence and will see momentum for progress!

Another time it really pays to be “sometimes excellent” is when you are just starting out with macros. This is exactly when you want to strive to hit your numbers every day, avoid alcohol, and maximize your movement and recovery. You are paying a coach to give you a road map to your goals, and we can give you the most accurate road map when we have all of your biofeedback as you hit your numbers consistently.

The third example for being “sometimes excellent” is when you are in a slump. Here’s the scene: you’ve been tracking macros for awhile now. The new and shiny has worn off. It’s just day-in, day-out with the same set of numbers. You are bored with your food choices. Progress feels slow. You hit your numbers a decent amount of the time, but the days you don’t pay attention, you fall behind on protein and may skip a workout or two. THIS IS EXACTLY WHEN YOU WANNA BRING THE EXCELLENCE!!!! Recommit to yourself and your goals and put some fire back in your journey! Find a few new recipes, pick a new strength training program, phone a friend to be your running buddy! I always tell clients to give it three weeks of 7/7 to let that momentum start to build back. If you’ll hit those numbers for three weeks, you’ll be amazed at the difference you see and feel!! 

Keep consistency as your baseline- and every now and then when you sense the timing is right, ratchet it up to sometimes excellent!!!