Consistency beats perfection. Research by Polivy on ‘false hope syndrome’ shows unrealistic expectations about the speed, ease, and extent of change set dieters up for repeated failure. The person who eats well 80 percent of the time for years outperforms one who eats perfectly for two weeks then quits. Consistency means recovering quickly from slips, not flawlessly avoiding them.
This companion covers the perfection trap, the consistency alternative, what it looks like, measuring it, and planning this week specifically. (3 min read)