the 4 non-negotiable habits that set my clients up for success

Let’s talk about a question that comes up all the time when I talk to clients: “What healthy habits will actually help me see real progress?”

Spoiler alert: it’s not about doing everything perfectly. (I mean, who has time for that?) 

Instead, it’s about focusing on 4 healthy habits that are simple, sustainable, and effective. Whether your goal is losing weight, gaining strength, or just feeling amazing in your own skin, these lifestyle habits can make all the difference.

Here’s the kicker: you don’t even need to nail all four every single day. If you hit at least 3 out of 4 most of the time (hello, 80/20 rule), you’ll still make real progress. Let’s dive into these healthy habits to start today!

1. get at least 8,000 steps a day

Let’s start with the easiest of the 4 healthy habits—walking! Why does it matter? It’s all about Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT), which is a fancy way of saying all the movement you do outside the gym. NEAT helps burn calories, boosts metabolism, and keeps your body moving without extra stress.

Walking can also:

  • Reduce stress by lowering cortisol levels (yes, walking helps you chill out).
  • Support digestion and stabilize blood sugar levels (try a short walk after meals!).
  • Be done anywhere—no gym required.

This habit is so accessible and impactful that it’s a non-negotiable. Want a simple way to burn more calories and feel good? Start walking and aim for 8K steps a day.

2. strength train regularly

If you’re not strength training yet, this is one of the most important healthy habits to start now. Strength training is one of the most important habits for losing weight, and is a game-changer for anyone looking to build muscle, boost metabolism, and improve overall health.

Here’s why it’s one of the top habits for losing weight and keeping it off:

  • Muscle growth: Builds lean muscle, helping you look sculpted and toned.
  • Metabolism boost: More muscle = more calories burned at rest.
  • Bone health: Especially important for women as we age to maintain bone density.
  • Confidence: Strength training makes you feel like a total badass—inside and out.

Strength training isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s one of those lifestyle habits that helps you become stronger, more capable, and ready to take on life’s challenges with ease.

3. hit your protein targets

If you’re wondering what healthy habits you should be focusing on when it comes to macro tracking, it’s protein. 

Protein is the MVP of any fitness and nutrition plan. Whether you’re trying to build muscle, lose fat, or maintain your current weight, protein plays a critical role.

Here’s why this habit is a must:

  • Muscle repair: Helps rebuild and strengthen muscles after workouts.
  • Satiety: Keeps you feeling full longer, making it easier to stick to calorie goals.
  • Fat loss support: Protein helps you lose fat while preserving muscle in a calorie deficit.
  • Thermic effect: Digesting protein burns more calories than carbs or fats.

Pro tip: Start small. Add a high-protein snack or swap in a protein-rich option at one meal a day. Over time, it’ll become second nature to prioritize this powerful macronutrient.

4. stick to your calorie goals (within 10%)

Just like the other 4 healthy habits, it’s not about perfection, but being consistent with the small actions is where you’ll see results. 

Calorie consistency is where the magic happens. To lose fat, your body needs to burn more calories than it takes in. To build muscle, it needs a surplus. Hitting your calorie targets ensures your energy intake aligns with your goals—without obsessing over every single bite.

Here’s why this works:

  • Flexibility: Staying within 10% of your goal allows for life’s natural fluctuations (and yes, a slice of pizza).
  • Prevents overeating or undereating: Both can sabotage progress.
  • Realistic progress: You don’t need to be perfect, just consistent.

It’s not about restriction—it’s about balance. When you focus on calorie goals without guilt, you make progress and enjoy the foods you love.

why these 4 healthy habits work

You’ve probably heard all kinds of trendy advice—detoxes, fasted cardio, keto—but these lifestyle habits rise above the noise. Why? Because they’re simple, proven, and flexible.

  • Backed by science: Decades of research support these habits, unlike quick-fix trends.
  • Sustainable long-term: You can stick to these habits without burnout.
  • Empowering, not restrictive: Build your body up instead of tearing it down.
  • Measurable progress: Steps, protein, and calories are all trackable, so you know exactly where you stand.

These habits meet you where you’re at and grow with you. Whether you’re a beginner or a fitness veteran, they provide a strong foundation for success.

how to get started with these 4 healthy habits

Here’s my challenge: Commit to hitting at least 3 out of these 4 healthy habits most days for 30 days. You don’t need perfection—just consistency. Track your steps, strength train a few times a week, add a little more protein to your meals, and aim for your calorie goals.

At the end of 30 days, take stock of how you feel. Chances are, you’ll notice more energy, better mood, and visible progress toward your goals.

These 4 healthy habits aren’t magic, but they work like magic when practiced consistently. Forget about perfection. Focus on progress. By starting small and showing up regularly, you’ll create a routine that fits your life and delivers real results.

Ready to take the first step? Reach out and tell me what healthy habits you are going to focus on first—and let’s crush this together!

If you loved this breakdown, don’t forget to tune in to episode 41 of the Macros Made Easy podcast for a deeper dive into these habits and how to make them work for you.

CONNECT WITH EMILY FIELD RD:

Emily Field 00:00:00  Welcome to episode 41 of the Macros Made Easy podcast. In this episode, I’m sharing four simple habits that I recommend to every single client. And trust me, these are not complicated or trendy. They’re straightforward, powerful, and effective for anyone looking to get strong, fit, and lean. And the best part? You don’t need to be perfect in order to see progress. By consistently nailing just three out of these four habits most days of the week, about 80% of your time, you can expect to make real, measurable changes. These habits are easy to integrate into your life and are designed to work with you, not against you. So you can finally stop spinning your wheels and start seeing the results you’ve been looking for. Unlike trendy advice like detoxes, fasted cardio, or endless restrictive diets, these four habits we’re talking about steps, strength training, protein and calorie consistency are simple, sustainable, and scientifically proven. They focus on building your body up rather than depriving it, delivering measurable progress without the burnout or confusion of quick fix approaches.

 

Emily Field 00:01:04  These habits work for a variety of goals and empower you to create lasting change, making them the foundation of success for anyone who wants to get lean, strong, and fit. Welcome to Macros Made Easy, the podcast that takes the confusion out of tracking macros. I’m your host, Emily Field, a registered dietitian that specializes in a macros approach. In each episode, I help you learn how to eat in a way that supports your health, body composition, and athletic performance goals. We’ll cover the basics of macronutrients, how to track for various goals, the role of macros in your health, and how to make sustainable changes to your habits. I’ve helped hundreds of people experience more food freedom and flexibility while navigating their nutrition. So whether you’ve tried macros and it just didn’t stick or you just heard the word macros yesterday, I can’t wait to help you too. Okay, so the first non-negotiable habit I’m going to talk about today is that non exercise activity thermogenesis or neat? Neat is one of the most underrated tools for improving overall health and driving.

 

Emily Field 00:02:06  Fat loss and steps are the easiest way to increase your daily movement and calorie expenditure without putting extra stress on your body. Neat includes all the movement you do outside of your formal workout your formal exercise. So this can include things like walking, cleaning your house, taking the stairs and all of it adds up and plays a massive role in your daily energy expenditure, making it a key factor for fat loss. Beyond fat loss. Increasing your daily movement through neat can also boost your metabolism by keeping your body active throughout the day, ensuring you burn more calories overall. Additionally, Neat has significant benefits for digestion and glucose management, so consider taking a short walk after your meals that you can improve your digestion and help stabilize your blood sugar levels, which is something you say you want when you come into coaching. You say you want better energy. You say you want better digestion. You say you want to prevent chronic conditions. You don’t want to age like your parents did or your grandparents did. And this is the time to make changes.

 

Emily Field 00:03:11  Consider that non exercise activity that neat is going to be a really powerful tool for accomplishing all of that. So on top of the physical benefits, walking is just a powerful way to reduce stress by lowering cortisol levels and improving your mental wellbeing, which spills into plenty of other healthy habits. I don’t know how many times I hear from you that stress is the main reason, like a full plate or poor boundaries. You know, stress got the best of you and it derailed your progress on many other habits. So why don’t we tie two habits together? Why don’t we get more exercise through walking while also working on our stress, taking an intentional break away from work and setting stronger boundaries there? They’re getting up off the couch instead of doomscrolling or watching trash TV. Why don’t we try to hit two birds with one stone by reducing stress, by being outside, by walking? I’m not saying that there’s no benefits available. If you’re doing your walking on a treadmill or if you’re getting your steps inside, but you can absolutely hit two birds with one stone, and you could probably gain more benefit here by going outside and seeing nature, seeing the sky, seeing the grass, seeing the trees.

 

Emily Field 00:04:24  It’s going to do wonders from a stress management and cortisol management perspective. That’s probably one of the reasons why I love meat so much, and I find it to be an appropriate goal for most clients. It is accessible to everyone. It requires no fancy equipment, no gym memberships. It can be easily woven into your day. We’re not saying you have to go out for a 4 or 5 mile walk. We’re saying maybe even just three ten minute chunks, or finding creative ways to take laps around the soccer field when your kid is at practice. Or maybe you’re parking farther away at the grocery store in that parking lot and taking more steps there. Maybe you’re doing taking the long way through them all to return something that you needed to return. So it’s one of my favorite things to try to look creatively at someone’s week and help them increase that non exercise activity, because it is so powerful. So our general recommendations for clients is to try to get at least 8000 steps per day most days of the week.

 

Emily Field 00:05:29  Okay, so remember that this episode is all about the needle moving habits, the non-negotiable habits that I love to see my clients engage in, and what I would really say drives success for becoming leaner, stronger, and fitter. And not every day are you going to get 8000 steps, but if on average you get about 8000 steps over the week, or we have a couple of high days. Most of the days are high and maybe some of them are low. It’ll still come out in the wash. So our general recommendation is try to aim for at least eight K steps per day. And I will just lastly add that this is less about the number of steps and more about the fact that you are not sitting. You’re not chronically sitting, okay. It may come as a surprise to you, but if you are active 3 to 4 days per week and that one hour of formal exercise, but sedentary all the rest of the week or all the rest of the day, outside of that one hour, you’re a less healthy or a more unhealthy position than the person who is up and moving and not sedentary.

 

Emily Field 00:06:34  So this is again, less about the number of steps per day, and more about encouraging you to move throughout the day. When we are sitting hunched in our seats at our desk or watching TV or whatever it might be, it’s affecting almost every single system of the body, including your joints and your bones, your digestion, your endocrine system, your lymphatic system. You’re really not getting the oxygen to your brain and to your body the way that you could. Really, the Neat is here as a certainly a checkbox on the habits that you engage in on a daily and weekly basis, which is really helpful for some people. But really the underlying message here is that we just want to see you be less sedentary, and that really does drive improvements to your metabolism, to your hormones, and to your body composition as well. All right. So the second non-negotiable habit that I love to see my clients engage in that really helps them set up for success is strength training regularly. Strength training is one of the most effective ways to transform your body and your overall health.

 

Emily Field 00:07:39  By building and retaining muscle, you improve your body composition, helping you look leaner and more toned as muscle takes up less space than fat and gives your body that sculpted or firm appearance. But beyond aesthetics, adding muscle provides significant metabolic benefits. So you get a metabolic boost. Your muscle tissue burns more calories at rest than fat mass, meaning you’ll increase your resting metabolic rate or your metabolism and make your body more efficient at burning calories throughout the day. Strength training also plays a vital role in bone health, especially for women. As estrogen levels decline during perimenopause and menopause, bone density decreases and that increases your risk for fractures and osteoporosis. Strength training, on the other hand, prevents that or counteracts that. It helps stimulate bone growth and obviously helps you maintain your strength, which make it an essential part of your goals to be healthy, long term, healthy into your older years. But on a functional level, strength training builds confidence in your physical abilities. It empowers you to handle everyday tasks like lifting heavy groceries or moving furniture, or playing with your kids with ease.

 

Emily Field 00:08:52  It’s not just about looking strong, it’s about feeling capable, energized, and ready to take on whatever life throws at you. Most of my clients are looking for results around the way their body looks. They want to look strong, but they also actually want to be strong. They don’t want to age like their mothers or their grandmothers did. They want to have confidence. They want to be vibrant as they age. And I cannot stress enough that strength training is the answer to all of those things. It’s all of those outcomes are possible with strength training. Now, I will say that strength training can come in many different forms, so I’m not going to get really picky here. If someone’s coming to me and they say they do some sort of resistance training with a trainer, or maybe they’re with a group class, or maybe they’re doing Pilates or yoga or lacrosse or, you know, they lift weights. There are plenty of ways to engage in strength training. My goal is for you to be doing it most days of the week.

 

Emily Field 00:09:49  Okay? You’re challenging your body through strength training most days of the week. That’s 3 or 4 days a week. I never said that all of these habits have to come together every single day. In fact, we’ll talk about it. But I’d love to see you getting maybe three of the four of these habits most days of the week. Like 80% of your time. That’s what’s going to really drive change in the way that you look, the way you feel, the way you perform. You probably knew this was coming. But the third non-negotiable habit that I would love to see my clients engaging in in order to set up for the most success, is hitting their protein targets. Okay. This has to do with macros. Protein is the cornerstone of building a strong, lean, and healthy body. It plays essential roles in muscle repair and growth. After strength training, your muscles experience tiny tears that need to be repaired to grow stronger and more resilient so that they can handle the load that you’re giving it.

 

Emily Field 00:10:44  And that process relies on adequate protein intake, But that is not where the benefits of protein and protein. Benefits go far beyond muscle building. High protein meals are incredibly satiating. They keep you fuller longer, so that helps reduce the likelihood that you’re going to overeat, which can make it easier for you to stick to your calorie goals or to your meal plan, or to, you know, whatever eating pattern it is that you’re trying to stick to. Protein also has a unique advantage in its digestion. It has the highest thermic effect of food or teff of all the macronutrients. So this means that your body burns more calories digesting and absorbing protein compared to carbs and fats, which does give your metabolism a slight boost. Now, this is a small boost, but it still is measurable. A person who has a higher protein diet is going to typically be leaner and have a higher metabolism than somebody who has a low protein diet. I mean, there’s many reasons for that. And I’m not going to go down the rabbit hole, but just understand that thermic effect of food for protein is a part of that.

 

Emily Field 00:11:51  Lastly, I will say that protein does play a crucial role during fat loss. So if your goal is fat loss and weight loss, it is in your best interest to really nail your protein targets. We’ve done a lot of episodes on this, but I’ll just iterate that when you are in a calorie deficit. So your goal is to lose weight or to lose body fat. Your body risks breaking down muscle for energy, but consuming enough protein helps preserve that hard earned muscle mass. So when we eat to our protein needs and our calories are a little bit lower than what we need because we’re trying to lose weight, we’re trying to lose fat, we will more likely hold on to our muscle mass and prioritize that fat loss instead. So again, when our protein needs are met, it better ensures that the weight that you lose comes primarily from body fat. So that’s going to help you achieve a leaner, stronger physique while maintaining your metabolic health because remember muscle drives our metabolic rate. It has a big role in supporting our metabolic rate.

 

Emily Field 00:12:52  So the more muscle we have, the higher metabolism is. It should be a high priority for you to build and maintain muscle because that’s what is going to drive your metabolism. Eating enough protein and strength training are going to help preserve or build muscle, which is what we want to see. This is about the time when I usually hear from people. Wow. That is why I never achieved what I set out to achieve before my past dieting. You know, stints have been fairly low protein. You know, I’ve never really prioritized strength training. No one ever talked to me about moving my body more through meat. If that sounds like you, I’d love for you to give me a review on the podcast player that you’re listening to. Give me a five star rating. It really does help this podcast reach more people. People just like you who need a little bit more guidance, a little bit more personalization for their macro journey. So I would so appreciate that if you take a minute either now or at the end of the episode to rate and review the podcast.

 

Emily Field 00:13:53  Okay, so the last habit that I recommend to my clients as a non-negotiable, setting them up for success, setting them up for results, is to hit their calorie goals within about a 10% range. So what this really is touching on is energy balance. Energy balance is the foundation of achieving those body composition goals, whether it’s fat loss or muscle gain, or maintaining your current physique. Calories really drive your weight, but it also does play a role in body fat gain, muscle gain, fat loss. Okay, so to lose fat, your body needs to be in a calorie deficit, meaning you have to consume fewer calories than what you burn. On the other hand, building muscle requires calories in a surplus to provide extra energy so your body can support muscle growth. Many times, we can see muscle growth or muscle gain when we’re eating at maintenance, but this is for a select few people who have typically never trained in their life. They’ve never checked macros in their life. They’re going to see those newbie gains.

 

Emily Field 00:14:53  All right. So most often we need to be in a deficit to see fat loss. We need to be in maintenance or a surplus to see muscle gain. Consistently hitting your calorie targets ensures that your nutrition is aligned with your specific goals, giving you a very clear path to progress. So the beauty, though, is that this approach is flexible. It’s not about perfection or precision. You do not need to be on the nose with your calorie count. I recommend that you try to just stay within 10% of your target calories, allowing for those natural day to day fluctuations like rounding on food labels, the small inaccuracies, and tracking. Some days you’re up, some days you’re down. If we are able to land within 10% up or down of your calorie goal most days of the week, 80% of the time for weeks and weeks, months and months. You are absolutely going to set yourself up for success, for your goal of fat loss, muscle gain, you know, whatever it might be. This precision helps prevent the pitfalls of both overeating and under eating, both of which can derail your progress.

 

Emily Field 00:16:00  Obviously, overeating is going to stall your fat loss progress while under eating is going to lead to low energy. You might see some muscle loss or even a slowed metabolism, which can make future fat loss a lot more challenging. So by staying consistent with your calorie range, you create the balance your body needs to achieve goals without sacrificing your well-being or your sanity. So why do I call these habits non-negotiable? Why do I encourage them in some form? With each and every client that I work with. These four habits form the backbone of nearly every fitness nutrition body goal that someone might have. They work seamlessly together to support long term success. These are the things that I’d love to see you coming back to. If you find yourself off track, or you find yourself not really eating or moving in a way that respects yourself. For example, you can always come back to these four habits. They will root you, they will ground you. They will form the foundation that you need to move forward. Strength training is the catalyst for muscle growth and improved performance, providing the necessary stimulus to build and maintain lean muscle mass.

 

Emily Field 00:17:10  Okay, that in turn boosts metabolism and enhances your overall strength. Protein plays a complementary role by supporting muscle repair and recovery after strength training, ensuring your muscles rebuild stronger and more resilient. Meanwhile, calorie targets or calorie ranges keep your energy intake aligned with your goals. Whether you’re aiming for fat loss, muscle gain or maintenance, and that allows your body to function optimally without compromising your progress. And then lastly, incorporating daily movement or steps helps maintain a high activity level without adding stress to your body. Aiding in fat loss, boosting metabolism, and supporting your overall health. Together, all of these habits create a well-rounded, sustainable approach to fitness and nutrition that don’t rely on complicated or restrictive strategies. They’re easy to track, maintain, and they make them the perfect foundation for anyone looking to make lasting progress towards their health and fitness goals in the nutrition and fitness space. There’s an overwhelming amount of noise, fad diets, trendy workouts, quick fix promises that claim to deliver life changing results. But I really firmly stand on these four non-negotiable habits.

 

Emily Field 00:18:22  I recommend them above the rest, and they really do deliver real progress. For several reasons. Number one is that they’re backed by science, not hype. Many popular strategies, as you know, like detoxes or juice cleanses, they’re built on marketing gimmicks rather than scientific principles. Detoxes, for example. Promise to, quote, cleanse your body. But your liver and kidneys already do that very efficiently. The habits such as steps, string training, protein, calories are all grounded in decades of research on energy balance, body composition, and long term health. Next, I would say that there are much more sustainable long term. We’ve got quick fixes like fasted cardio or restrictive dieting that might deliver short term results, but they often lead to burnout, yo yo dieting and frustration when we try to keep them up longer term. These other four habits are realistic, and they can be integrated into daily life without upending your routine, for example. Getting 8-K steps doesn’t require extra gym time, and hitting a calorie goal doesn’t necessarily mean giving up your favorite foods.

 

Emily Field 00:19:26  I would say that these habits empower you. They don’t restrict you. We see all too often that diets are extreme. Fitness trends leave people feeling deprived, exhausted, or like they’re constantly failing. Detoxes restrict food. Endless cardio makes you dread exercise. But these habits, on the other hand, are empowering. Strength training makes you feel strong and capable. Protein fuels your body and recovery. Tracking steps and calories gives you measurable feedback without being restrictive or extreme. They’re also measurable and actionable. Many other approaches are really vague or arbitrary, like just eat clean or work out harder, and that doesn’t offer any clear steps or measurable outcomes. And that makes it hard to know if you’re actually making progress. Alternatively, the habits I’ve just described are very specific and trackable. You can count your steps, you can log your protein intake. You can monitor your calorie consistency. This provides data to reflect on and adjust rather than guessing whether you’re on track. Next, I would say that these four non-negotiable habits balance, effectiveness, and simplicity.

 

Emily Field 00:20:32  When we have strategies like keto, intermittent fasting, or training six days a week. It might work for some, but they’re complicated, rigid, and difficult to sustain for most. The non-negotiables stripped down to the essentials. They’re simple, but don’t mistake simplicity for ineffectiveness. They’re incredibly powerful when done consistently, delivering results without unnecessary complexity. They also work for a variety of goals. These four habits aren’t tailored to just one specific goal, which is why I love it for the range of clients that I work with. They’re adaptable for fat loss, muscle wielding, improved fitness, better health. Whether someone wants to lose weight, gain strength, or feel more energetic. These habits form a universal foundation. They never go out of style. In contrast, trends like fasted cardio might only suit a specific niche or require a specific schedule that not everyone can follow. Lastly, I’ll say that they focus on building, not depriving. Many approaches in the fitness industry are focused on removing things less food, fewer carbs, fewer calories and this scarcity mindset can feel restrictive and demotivating.

 

Emily Field 00:21:44  These habits, on the other hand, are about adding value. Building strength. Eating enough protein to fuel your body. Increasing movement. They’re positive, growth oriented and encourage abundance rather than deprivation. So by choosing these habits, clients are opting for a method that’s proven, sustainable and powering one that sets them up for long term success without falling into the traps of trendy but ineffective advice. So the next question that most people have around these habits is how much or how often, or how consistent do I need to be? And let’s talk about that. How do we track consistency here? What does consistency actually look like when it comes to these four habits? I typically encourage clients to aim for hitting at least three out of those four habits most days of the week. This does not mean that you have to be perfect every single day, but rather striving to make these habits a regular part of your routine is going to be what yields the most success. So that might be on a Monday. You’re hitting steps, strength, workout, and protein, but you were over or under your calories.

 

Emily Field 00:22:48  Maybe Tuesday you’re hitting strength steps and calories, but you didn’t hit your protein goal. Maybe by Wednesday you’ve really got your food down and you’re hitting protein calories, but you didn’t get a formal workout in. You just got your steps in. That’s what it can look like across a whole week. And when we look at a whole week, we’re looking at maybe five of seven days. You had three of the four of those on that checklist. Okay, out of a whole month, that’s about 24 of 30 days that you’re hitting three of four of those things. If you’re able to get that level of consistency 80% of the time, you got the 8020 rule you’re rocking. Absolutely. You should be expecting results. And if you are not seeing results even while doing that, it means that we might need to change something up. This is a perfect measure or gauge for us to make that call about whether or not we need to adjust your macros or your calories, or we need to switch up your workouts in some way.

 

Emily Field 00:23:44  If you’re able to tell me that 24 of 30 days or let’s say 48 out of 60 days, you’re nailing three out of four of those non-negotiable habits and you are not seeing results. Yeah, that would be a perfect opportunity for us to make some changes. Usually we can make that call a lot sooner than 60 days. But if you’re able to nail those four needle moving habits, I’m positive that you’re going to start to see some changes in the way that you look, the way you feel, the way you perform, you’re going to be on the right track. But if we do need to make a call, we do need to make some adjustment. We’ll know very quickly where and how and how much. I want to remind you that the way that you feel, the way that you look, the way that you perform, is all a result of the habits that you engage in. Most often you are a reflection of the habits that you do most often. Sometimes it can get really, really difficult to set goals that are three months, six months, nine months, 12 months away.

 

Emily Field 00:24:41  Stuff that’s going to take us a really long time to get to. It’s much easier for us to focus on what we can do right here and now. Today, maybe this week, maybe just two weeks ahead and we will get these four needle moving habits. This is a very easy checklist for many of us. A very easy checklist to be like, yep, I nailed it. Or no, I didn’t. I can try better tomorrow. I can pivot, I can adjust, you know, I can see my four priorities. These are my four priorities that I have to nail. Making that list very simple. You’re kind of stripping away the complexity here. It’s much more realistic. And I would argue it’s much more sustainable than expecting perfection on a very complicated diet plan or complicated fitness plan. That simplicity, that realistic plan, that simple plan is really where the magic happens. I would also stress that progress comes from what you do over many weeks and many months. It is absolutely not about perfection.

 

Emily Field 00:25:40  Some days are going to be better than others, but as long as you stay committed to hitting your goals on most days, you’re definitely going to see progress over time. I want you to build in that flexibility. So when I say three of four of these habits most days of the week, there’s some built in flexibility there. I also built in flexibility when I said, you know, hit your calorie goals within 10% on either side or hit your protein targets. I really mean with five grams up or down on either side or a strength training workout. I’m saying you can get strength training in any way you want. It does not have to be the way that I’m imagining it, or the way that I like to do it. There is some flexibility there. The steps. Same thing. You have some flexibility in the way that you achieve that, the way you go about it, the way that you build it into your day. That’s what I think is what’s missing from some of these prescriptive plans and programs? I know you say you want that.

 

Emily Field 00:26:32  I know you say you want the plan. I know you say that if you just give me a plan, I can follow it and I’ll do it. But I promise you, you know, it doesn’t work. You know it doesn’t work because you’re still here and you still haven’t achieved those goals. Okay, you say you want the plan because you don’t want to think. And I totally resonate with that. I’m trying to get on your level here with these four non-negotiable habits. These are so simple. They’re so achievable. There’s built in flexibility. It’s very realistic and it will absolutely lead to results. I think what many of you need to hear, especially at this time of year, we’re middle of January 2025, inundated with a lot of diet talk, fitness talk, all of that. Many of you need to be reminded that perfection or striving for perfection has never worked. It’s never worked. You have set the bar so high many, many times, and you consistently fail to get there and it’s keeping you stuck.

 

Emily Field 00:27:27  You’re blaming yourself for not hitting your extremely high bar. Why don’t we lower the bar? Why don’t we make the bar very realistic? Let’s set a realistic bar. Let’s set a bar that’s, you know, just a couple feet ahead of us so we can bridge that gap, feel awesome about ourselves, and then set a bigger goal, reach that goal, feel awesome about ourselves, and then set a new goal. I would argue that following through on something that you said you were going to do is what actually builds real confidence, build self-confidence, build self-efficacy. It makes you feel jazzed and and it spills into other areas of your life. But if we’re setting the bar so high that perfection or very complicated plans, lots and lots of rules, you’re setting ourselves up to fail very easily. You’re never going to follow through. You’re never going to be able to be successful there. We got to lower the bar. We got to simplify the plan, make it much more realistic so that we can pivot and adjust and be flexible with what life throws at us.

 

Emily Field 00:28:25  You’ll be much more likely to follow through with steps or string training, workout or protein or calories or whatever it is that’s going to build that confidence. That’s what’s going to bleed into our self-efficacy. We’re going to feel so good about ourselves, and that is going to bleed into other areas of our life. I could go on forever about that follow through, but just keep that in the back of your mind when it comes to these like New Year goals and new Year habits that you’re trying to develop. To wrap up the four habits we covered today, getting in more neat. We’re striving for eight key steps a day most days of the week getting in a formal string training workout, whatever that looks like to you, hitting your protein targets, landing you know, five grams up or five grams down from where you’re prescribed, or staying within 10% of your calorie goals. That 10% up 10% down of your calorie goal. These are the foundational habits for nearly every fitness and nutrition goal you might have. They are simple, practical, and highly effective when practiced regularly.

 

Emily Field 00:29:29  And the best part is you do not need to be perfect by focusing on three out of four habits most days, or about 80% of the time, that’s enough to see real progress. By prioritizing these key actions, you can cut through the confusion of overcomplicated strategies and create a routine that works. I’ve given you a lot to chew on here, but if you’re the type that really wants to measure themselves, you may consider a 30 day challenge. Why don’t you try tracking these habits for 30 days with no judgment? How many days out of 30 are you able to get three out of four of these non-negotiables? That is your starting point. And then in your next 30 day chunk, you can push for a little bit more a higher average if you will. And again and so forth and so on. We are taking a non-judgmental approach to our habits. You know, you can’t change overnight. And some of these might be very much out of reach. You’re not in a strength training habit, you never get outside to walk.

 

Emily Field 00:30:26  Maybe you’ve never started tracking macros. All of that could be true. So consider a judgement free zone where you just simply track the habit and see where you average, and then push for a little bit more in the next 30 day chunk. So whether your goal is to build strength, shed fat, or just feel healthier, these non-negotiable habits will absolutely guide you there. I want you to start small and keep showing up for yourself and watch how much you can accomplish. Thank you so much for listening to the Macros Made Easy podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the one you’re listening to right now to share it on your Instagram Stories, and tag me @emilyfield so that more people can find this podcast and learn how to use a macros approach in a stress free way. If you love the podcast, head over to iTunes and leave me a rating and a review. Remember, you can always find more free health and nutrition content on Instagram and on my website at emilyfieldRD.com. Thanks for listening and I’ll catch you on the next episode.

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