We’ve all heard the saying “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,” well it applies to fitness as well. How? Why? Well, let’s get it on!

IT’S NOT ALL OR NOTHING

I spend a lot of time crawling around Reddit instead of doomscrolling my way through the apocalypse and someone posted this in xxfitness a few months ago: “I’ve been here many times before… I’ll get somewhere where I have 3-4 weeks of consistency and progress in the gym and with my nutrition. And then, I skip a workout or don’t hit my protein goals or eat two extra servings of dessert… so then, I give in: ‘well, I might as well just give up because it wasn’t perfect’.”

1. Fitness and nutrition are games of the mind, we’ve talked about this before. If you’re struggling with a certain mindset in or out of the gym, try re-framing how you think about said topic. It’s easy to fall into the same mental holes over and over again, so don’t let yourself.
2. Someone in the comments suggested changing your thought process from “I need perfection” to “I need to show up.” And that’s a great tip. Focus on showing up, being present, and doing the work at hand on that day. Like Sausha says, “Be where your hands are.”
   • It’s so easy to focus on the PERFECT program and your PERFECT nutrition because social media has made us think if we do anything but perfection, we won’t see the results we want. Well, my dear, frankly that’s bullshit.
     • If all you had to give yesterday was 70%, then guess what, you gave all you had and still showed up to do the work. 
     • LIFE IS MESSY AND IMPERFECT, YOU SHOULD EXPECT YOUR TRAINING TO BE AS WELL. It’s okay to fuck up, we all do. You get back on the horse and keep going. If you drop something on the floor, you don’t just say fuck it and walk away, you clean it up and go on with your day.
3. Fitness and nutrition are sciences, but not exact ones. Why? Because everyone’s physiology is different, so it’d be silly to think the exact same thing is going to work for every single person that seeks it out.
   • This is why coaching is important. I know it can be expensive, but having someone help you tweak things that aren’t working and keep track of things that are, can help you a shitton on your journey. Especially if you’re new.

FITNESS ISN’T AN EXACT SCIENCE

1. The thing about science is that most of it isn’t exact. Science always wants understanding and accuracy, but your findings won’t always be perfectly accurate or definitive for that matter. THAT’S OKAY! You’re gaining understanding and experience while you throw spaghetti at the wall, and that is worth a lot.
   • Scientists redefine their criteria and rework their hypotheses constantly. If they’re constantly tweaking and reworking their findings, why would you hold yourself to an unrealistic higher standard than that? 
2. We’ve talked many times about how you shouldn’t really ever work with extremes in the health and fitness realm, because it’s really easy to let that extreme turn into disordered eating or something worse. It’s a trap! Don’t fall into it.
   • You could focus on how many calories are in that cookie, OR you could focus on how fucking delicous and satisfying that cookie is. I know which one I’m picking, because savoring a cookie isn’t a bad thing and we are all allowed to indulge in a little treat from time to time.
3. When you drop the expectation of perfection, your fitness journey gets a hell of a lot easier.
   • Bye bye negative nagging thoughts! We don’t got time for youuuu!

WE ARE ALL OUT HERE JUST DOIN’ THE BEST WE CAN

1. Sometimes the fitness stars align and you have everything you need to have a fantastic week of nutritious meals… and sometimes you forget to order groceries and it’s 7:30 on a Monday night and you still don’t know what the fuck you’re gonna eat. IT HAPPENS. Shit doesn’t always go according to plan, and when it doesn’t, you shouldn’t let it wreck your progress.
   • So you ate a frozen pizza for dinner once this week, that’s not something that you should give up over. It was one fuckin’ pizza, and pizza is a pretty balanced meal when you think about it, so keep on keepin’ on!
2. Mental flexibility is required if you’re going to go far on your fitness journey, because if you hold yourself to “all or nothing” you’re going to end up starting over. Again. And again. And again. Ask us how we know!
   • I can’t tell you how many times I had fallen into the trap. “Well, I didn’t do my five workouts this week, I did three and I guess I need to start over because I didn’t stick to my plan.” Well, I did work out three days this week and that’s better than none, so that’s something!
3. Social media has really driven the idea into a lot of people that perfection is always required in all aspects of life and that’s just not true. Reminder: social media is a curated collection of moments that someone decided they wanted you to see. It’s not real life.
   • You get to see a few minutes of someone’s day at any given time on social media, but you’re getting zero context surrounding what happened off camera before and after their photo or video was taken. Don’t let that fabricated moment of their day control how you live your day. That’s not fair to you.

GOOD ENOUGH IS GOOD ENOUGH! Now, my darling meathead go forth and crush the next week of your fitness and nutrition goals!

https://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/comments/1gi6vg7/how_to_get_rid_of_all_or_nothing_mindset/
https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/blog/articles/all-or-nothing/