The Key to Fitness + Weight Loss Success: Progress Over Perfection

If you’ve ever felt discouraged by your fitness journey or guilty after giving in to a craving, or you're seeking a more effective strategy for getting in shape or managing your weight, this article is for you.

Optimal health requires a holistic, mind-body approach. 

Achieving your desired fitness, weight loss, nutrition, or lifestyle goals does, too. 

When planning how to reach your targets, be sure to consider not only which muscle groups you’ll target, how many calories you’ll take in, and what number you want to see on the scale, but the mindset you’ll apply to your new regimen, as well. 

Read on to learn how your frame of mind could be blocking your success, and gain actionable, real-world strategies for fitness and weight loss results. 

While discipline is an important part of building the new habits we need to meet goals, striving for perfection is the number one reason most new year’s resolutions fail. About 80% of resolutions, research says, are forgotten before the end of January each year.¹

This rigid outlook is also one of the main reasons diet and fitness plans fall by the wayside.  

Why? The standard of perfection, fueled by all-or-nothing thinking and often accompanied by harsh self-criticism, simply isn’t realistic. When we set unrealistic targets, the inevitable failure of meeting them (or even just the fear of failing) leads to discouragement and, in turn, abandoned plans for growth and improvement.      

Inside such a black-and-white perspective, where even the smallest perceived failure is not allowed, we set ourselves up to lose. 

According to research, perfectionism can actually work against your efforts toward better health by contributing to feelings of stress, depression, and anxiety, experts suggest.²  

Shift your focus: A more flexible, forgiving approach wins.  

Instead of starting with lofty, unattainable goals and critically zeroing in on every behavior, workout, or meal, try making slower, smaller, more manageable changes, and track your progress over time.  

Consistent, sustainable progress beats extreme effort every time.

Making incremental progress can rewire our brains for success. Celebrating what you may think of as minor achievements can help you begin to radically shift the tides.  

How? Through neuroplasticity.  

Over time, focusing on smaller victories begins to forge paths in your brain’s neural network. With each repetition, the release of the feel good chemical dopamine is triggered, rewarding the brain with positive reinforcement.  

With consistent behavior, as this reward system continues and pathways grow stronger, mindsets become more positive, beneficial behaviors are reinforced, and long-term success habits begin to form.³  

So bask in the excitement of seeing the scale go down one pound every couple weeks! Call your best friend to gush when walking an extra mile starts to feel easier than it did last Monday!

Where viewing change through the lens of perfectionism can be detrimental to mood and achievement, studies show that focusing on the strides you are making – even if you stumble a bit along the way – can help boost mood, confidence, energy levels, and overall wellness.⁴ 

One off meal, workout, or day doesn’t ruin anything– even if it feels like a setback.  

Missed a workout? That’s okay.  

Indulged in a favorite food that a trendy new diet says is “off limits”? Yep, that’s alright, too.  

Evidence points to sustainable practices – not extreme measures – as the key to successful fitness and weight management plans.

In a study out of Sweden, researchers set out to identify a framework for helping women overcome barriers to success and achieve postpartum weight loss goals. They slowly introduced healthy changes in behavior in gradual stages. After 12 weeks, the women who completed each of these stages were successful in weight loss, showing continued, sustainable improvements after nine months, while the others were not.⁵ 

>The takeaway? Successful weight loss and healthy long-term weight management isn’t solely dependent upon factors like willpower or support, but on cumulative changes that build more beneficial habits over time.  

Following restrictive, unsustainable diets will only fail in the end. Start slow, embrace behavioral shifts that are a realistic fit for you, and build toward your milestones over time. 

Evidence suggests that tracking fitness progress can mean a greater likelihood of success.  

A German study followed 1.4 million users as they tracked their fitness and weight loss progress in the popular app MyFitnessPal. 

Women, they found, were more likely than men to set ambitious targets, as were younger individuals. Behaviors, eating habits, and frequency of exercise, but overall, easier goals were more likely to be achieved.  

While habits often take months to be formed, and some goals can take years to accomplish, those who observed progress within the first seven days of tracking their journeys were significantly more likely to achieve their desired results.6   

Skipping a workout isn’t the end of the world, and won’t stop you from seeing long-term success. Tracking progress helps acknowledge the small successes we need to fuel momentum; staying consistent drives us toward positive outcomes.

Take small, purposeful steps to transform your efforts into meaningful, long-term success.

Small, repeated actions drive momentum and deliver big results. 

By breaking lofty goals down into more achievable, bite-sized changes, this practice can help you reduce overwhelm, strengthen confidence, and make healthy new behaviors easier to stick with.

• If walking a mile feels out of reach, try starting with five minutes each day for a week.
• If giving up sugary sodas seems impossible, try swapping one a day for sparkling water. 

Intentional tracking helps you see real progress and keep motivation high. By focusing on meaningful measures instead of every detail, you can avoid getting discouraged by minor fluctuations or the pressures of perfection.  

Try not to get hung up on the number on the scale or unrealistic expectations for what you see in the mirror. Instead, pay attention to increasing strength, energy, and a sense of accomplishment. Consider using a fitness tracking app or journal, or leveraging an accountability partner, like a friend or coach, to help shine a light on how far you’ve come.

• Note the total time you move each day, or track the distance you can walk or run over the week to see gradual improvement.
• Keep a simple log of how many healthy meals or snacks you choose each day, or track consistent water intake to reinforce healthy habits.

No matter how small!  

Over time, even the smallest victories compound, driving real improvements in both fitness and weight management. Recognizing and rewarding progress (instead of just focusing on a larger, less attainable end goal) strengthens the neural connection between action and reward, helping you stay engaged and consistent by positively reinforcing new behaviors.  

Meaningful rewards help cement new habits and make every step forward feel worthwhile.

• Treat yourself to a new workout playlist or fun fitness accessory after completing your weekly activity goal.
• After a week of healthy meal swaps, reward yourself with something that sparks joy, like a bath, book, or hobby-related item.

Make sure your fitness and nutrition plans are designed to work for your life, and flexible enough to adapt to life’s inevitable unexpected circumstances.   

Flexibility gives you room to make choices that fit your day, so small interruptions don’t derail your efforts. When routines can bend instead of break, it’s easier to maintain consistency and keep making strides.  

• Swap a gym session for a short at-home workout or a brisk 15-minute walk if your schedule unexpectedly changes. 
• Prep easy, nutritious meals or keep healthy snacks on hand for busy or unpredictable days.

Reframe challenges as opportunities to learn and grow, not reasons to quit.  

When you treat setbacks as feedback, you gain insight into what’s working and what isn’t. This approach encourages simple course corrections instead of all-or-nothing thinking, helping you stay consistent and build habits that last.  

• Can’t stick with your morning workouts? Use that insight to experiment with lunchtime or evening sessions instead.
• If you intended to prepare meals for the week but opted for processed, convenient foods when you couldn’t find the time, try simplifying your meal-prep approach. Instead of making full meals in advance, try prepping just a few key ingredients to lighten your load.

If you’re making moves to support your health and well-being, no matter how small, we see you. 

Be sure to target realistic goals, and focus on taking your next step forward. If it’s your first step, getting started could be as simple as implementing one small habit today that will help you begin the journey to reaching your goals. 

Progress over perfection.