How Strict Do I Have to Be with My Diet? Finding Balance in Healthy Eating

How "good" do I have to be with my "diet" to see progress?

Before I answer I'd like to point out that I HATE the terms "good" , "bad", "clean", "Cheat", "better" or "worse". But for the sake of conversation and using phrases I feel most will resonate with I will use them here. But know that looking at food as either "good" or "bad" may not be helpful for many because the truth is food serves different purposes and means different things to different people.

Okay, now on to the question...

Naturally, it will depend.

What are you eating now?

How much?

How active are you?

Do you sleep well?

Let's keep it simple for a moment. For many working there way up to 80-90% "clean" eating may be ideal for most. This will consist of meals that are higher in protein, fiber and water (meat, veggies, water.) Think of this as the foundation. The bedrock for you fat loss success. This will ensure you're food is likely:

1. High nutrients

2. Highly filling

3. Naturally lower calories

These are 3 necessities to long term weight loss. You may be thinking "So all I can eat is chicken and broccoli?"

Not exactly.

Lets say you eat 4 meals per day, 7 days per week. That'd be 28 meals per week. To be 80% "clean" (meaning higher protein, fiber based meals) you'd need 22/28 of those meals to be clean. That allows you 6 meals per week that don't have to be "perfect". If you wanted to be 90% clean you'd still have 3 meals per week with flexibility. Now this doesn't mean going crazy on these meals with disregard to portion because you still want to adhere to #3 and that is naturally low calorie. But this does allow you to NOT have to eliminate certain foods or meals that you love. Which leads me to #4.

4. It has to taste good.

Of course, clean eating CAN taste good but so does the occasional slice of pizza or BBQ. It's about finding how much of those things you can have and NOT sabotage your results going forward.

If you are currently 50% "clean" then even being 60% will be progress. You can bump up weekly, or monthly from their depending on your goals.

Hopefully this can ease your mind and give you some grace and understanding as you navigate your fat loss journey.