We’ve all been there — meticulously planning every meal or bringing a scale out to eat only to have one “bad” meal send us into a spiral of guilt and abandonment of our nutrition goals. This cycle of perfectionism followed by complete derailment is more damaging than never starting a diet at all.
There’s a better way, and it starts with optimizing for consistency, not perfection.
The Three Pillars Method®: A Framework for Sustainable Nutrition
A sound nutrition plan rests on three fundamental pillars to meet physiological needs:
- Quality – Ensuring adequate intake of nutrient-dense whole foods, particularly fruits and vegetables (targeting 800 grams by weight daily). This foundation helps ensure you get essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber, while naturally managing hunger since the volume is so satiating.
- Protein – Maintaining sufficient protein intake (0.7 grams per pound of body weight) to support muscle. Of course, we like muscle for pull-ups, but preserving enough muscle mass is also essential to live independently and improve the quality of life.
- Quantity – Managing total caloric intake to determine your weight is essential for body composition changes, which impact weight, health, and fitness outcomes.
Like movement progressions in CrossFit, I coach people to take each of these pillars one at a time. One needs to demonstrate proficiency at each step before adding additional complexity (e.g., we do not do weighted overhead squats if you can’t keep your heels down in an air squat).
Why Consistency Beats Perfection
The body doesn’t change as fast as we would like, which means it’s more about what you do on most days than on any one day. And if an “any one day” derails you for weeks and months, you don’t have enough good “most days” for your goals.
As you will see, I’ve built the lesson of consistency over perfection into every step of the Three Pillars Method. Clients need to grasp this consistency mantra because it is how they drive long-term progress.
Quality: The #800gChallenge®
We measure quality with the #800gChallenge, which is to eat 800 grams by weight of fruits and vegetables of your choice each day. Then you can continue to eat whatever else you want.
Within these basic rules, two elements promote consistency:
- You pick the fruits and veggies you like.
- You don’t have to give up any foods.
You aren’t being held to some notion that a healthy diet is only berries and kale. In fact, the “fruits and veggies” allowed on the #800gChallenge include potatoes (not fried), beans, avocado, olives, corn, and more, such that it’s a huge strike zone.
Many people worry about only eating the “best” fruits and veggies, while the #800gChallenge teaches them that the “best” are the ones they eat.
Also, because you haven’t eliminated anything, you’re less likely to stop your diet when you indulge in snack food. With no off-limits food, you can’t “fail” the diet.
Finally, practitioners are encouraged to use hand-eye measurements, especially when eating out. Perfectionists tend to struggle with this, but it’s more about achieving a close enough volume each day versus hitting an exact gram count.
Protein: Lazy Macros®
The combination of doing the #800gChallenge and eating 0.7 grams per pound of protein is known as Lazy Macros®.
Like the #800gChallenge, it focuses on adding foods to the diet (not elimination). Again, this helps people stick to the plan since there is no failure to be had by overeating some food.
It also encourages using various estimating techniques when eating out. This is because we need the nutrition plan to fit into your life, not have you reorganize your life for the diet (like turning down social events).
And it doesn’t require a specific type of protein food. All too much online information insists everyone eat only whey protein and chicken breast as the “best” sources of protein, forgetting that a key part of diet sustainability is enjoyment. It’s really up to you to choose the best protein sources to meet your overall target.
Quantity: The Three Pillars Method®
The Three Pillars Method® then has the person establish the appropriate overall calories for their goals.
Unlike many apps and trackers that try to shoehorn people into low calories for “quick weight loss,” the Three Pillars Method starts with your current diet and makes minor changes from there (hello, sustainability).
It is also not macros.
Gone are the days of tracking your carb and fat count obsessively. When you take a somewhat typical approach to the diet (do not try to eliminate anything), your macros will fall in a middle ground that is perfectly good enough for CrossFit training. This enables you to “flex” your calorie budget how you want it. Some days are more ice cream, some days are more whole grains; both can be “on” days.
Also gone are the days you need to worry about “triple zeros.” That is, eating ridiculously odd serving sizes and food pairings to perfectly “zero out” your carb, fat, and protein targets. The body is not a robot; your metabolism isn’t perfectly static each day. What matters more is consistency in hitting your targets within reasonable ranges. Being within 100 calories of your target, or 10 grams of your protein goal, counts as an “on target” day.
The Power of “Good Enough”
You ultimately optimize for consistency by having a lot of flexibility.
The Three Pillars Method gives enough flexibility to be consistent with the chaos of life (yet rigid enough to drive results). Most diets (and practitioners) overly rely on the rigidity of aggressive targets, massive eliminations, and perfect tracking, thinking they need these for success. Yet, this inflexible mindset often leads to disordered eating patterns and ultimately causes people to abandon their nutrition goals entirely. It’s simply impossible in the long term and, therefore, impossible to stack enough good days.
Consistency, however, allows you to string more days together without the mental stress of making perfect choices or negative self-talk about failure.
To get yourself to realize this anti-perfectionist mindset fully, here’s what to do:
- Focus on weekly averages rather than daily perfection.
- Expect some imperfect days as part of the path to your goal (not as reasons to stop).
- Follow the Three Pillars Method to maximize flexibility every step of the way.
You’ll find you have much less stress about your diet, and yet, likely more results. This is because you can enjoy the diet due to its freedom in rules and food choices.
Then you can stick to the plan and realize the results in the long term. You won’t lose 20 pounds in a month, but you can lose 50 in a year.
This is what consistency over perfection can do.
Learn more about the Three Pillars Method® here, and get a five-day free trial to the #800gChallenge® program. Gyms can also learn more about bringing the Three Pillars Method to their clients.
About the Author
EC Synkowski, BS Biochemical Engineering, MS Environmental Sciences, MS Nutrition & Functional Medicine, Certified Nutrition Specialist®, Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist, and Certified CrossFit Level 4 Coach, runs OptimizeMe Nutrition and created the popular #800gChallenge® used by thousands to achieve sustainable weight loss and improved health without restrictive rules. With over 20 years of experience in training and nutrition, she hosts the top 1% podcast “The Consistency Project” and specializes in translating evidence-based science into practical, everyday nutrition solutions through her B2B/B2C digital education products and corporate wellness programs.
CrossFit Nutrition: Consistency Over Perfection