One meal can actually make or break your progress.
That may seem counter to what you’ve heard before. Even from me. So let me explain.
I’m on a mini vacation right now in Miami and the weekend was spent celebrating my friend’s 40th birthday. The alcohol has been flowing and the food has been abundant and delicious.
Mel and I will return on Wednesday unscathed.
So wait … did I just contradict myself already? Not exactly.
Here’s an analogy to illustrate the nuance.
The foundation you’re building on makes a HUGE difference.
Imagine you’re trying to chop down a tree. You grab an axe and head over to an oak tree with a massive trunk.
This oak tree is thick and sturdy. Like several feet in diameter.
You load up and give it your best swing.
Now, what type of damage did you cause on that one swing? Probably unnoticeable. Maybe a little chip. But nothing significant.
Why? Because that oak tree has a rock solid foundation. One swing from an axe is not going to cause any significant damage.
Now, imagine you’re trying to chop down a different tree. This one is thin and flimsy. Like only a few inches in diameter.
You take your axe and swing as hard as you can. Just like that, in one fell swoop you chop that tree right down.
Why? Because that tree has a weak foundation. It didn’t have the time to grow thick and strong.
This is exactly what happens when it comes to your nutrition.
In one context, you can over indulge, live your best life, and come out the other side with almost unnoticeable damage.
In another context, you can find yourself back at square one, trying to rebuild all over again.
What’s the difference?
The foundation.
Build healthy habits and routines that you follow most of the time.
The foundation is what you do most of the time. It’s the habits and routines that you’ve established and solidified. It’s the anchors that you can do … even on your absolute worst day.
When the foundation hasn’t been built and solidified … that one meal can create a spiral effect. You allow it to influence the next decision and the next decision until you pick yourself off the ground and vow to do better.
But doing better often looks like trying to be even more perfect. Instead of just building the foundation one brick at a time. Or in this analogy … one root at a time.
The foundational stuff isn’t all that sexy. Which is why many people ignore it or think it sounds too simple.
Walk more, improve food quality, stop dieting all the time, sleep, manage stress, drink water, eat enough protein, lift weights.
Do those things consistently for a long ass time without it being conditional on the external outcome.
That’s how the roots run deep. That’s how your trunk becomes so strong that a swing of the axe is completely irrelevant. Even multiple swings.
Those habits and foundational pieces should be the primary focus most of the time.
When you don’t know what to do … try to get 1% better at one of those foundational elements.
If you find that one meal or one decision has the ability to completely derail you … we’ve got work to do on the foundation.
At least we know where to start. Pick the thing that seems the most doable, even on your worst day. Start there. And once that becomes ingrained in you … add the next thing.
Rinse and repeat that process until your foundation is rock solid.
And then … keep going. Don’t ever stop building and solidifying that foundation.
It’s everything.
Hope this helps.
