The Three Things That Finally Made Me Consistent

I am writing this from the sofa, still in my pyjamas at four in the afternoon. My son has been sick for twenty-four hours, my daughter joined in halfway through yesterday, and I was up most of the night with a toddler bouncing off my head. It is a strange day. So naturally, this is the day I am going to answer the question I get more than any other: Ami, how do you stay consistent?

Here is the honest answer. Three things. And none of them are willpower.

1. I stopped restricting starch

For about five years I knew about this way of eating and could not make it stick. And the biggest reason, looking back, is that I was unconsciously restricting. I was eating loads of fruit and veg and being ever so good, and quietly skipping the potatoes and the rice because some old diet voice told me they were the risky bit.

So I was hungry. All the time. And hungry people binge. Every time I fell off, it was after a run of days where I had not eaten enough starch. I was not truly trusting the process. I was not surrendering to the starch.

The day I started eating proper big portions of potatoes, rice, oats and beans at every meal, the falling off just stopped. Are you including loads of beans and lentils? Because that is next-level satisfaction. That is the thing that keeps you full until the next meal without a single thought about the cupboard.

2. I fixed my environment

If you are struggling to stay consistent and there is a box of cookies in your kitchen, that is obviously not going to help you out. I know that sounds blunt. But it is the truth, and it has nothing to do with how strong-willed you are. If it is in the house, on a day like today, I would eat it. So would you. We are human beings.

So my kitchen has nothing in it that resembles a packaged treat. Whole foods only. If you live with people who want their own snacks, have an honest conversation about keeping them somewhere that is not the shared kitchen. Their room, a locked box, whatever it takes. Most of not being consistent has to do with the environment, as opposed to you.

Here is a little exercise. Keep a food journal for a week, not for calories, just for context. When did you drift? Where were you? Who had what out on the counter? You will find a pattern, and the pattern will be about places and situations, not about your character.

3. I fell in love with my food

Do you love your food? Genuinely? Because if you do not, why is that? You only need about ten recipes on rotation. Ten meals you get excited about. When I am excited about what is for dinner, I have zero interest in "other stuff." I get so excited about my food that I sometimes cannot believe I get to eat it.

And have special treats up your sleeve. Cookies, cookie dough balls, a chocolate pudding, all made from whole foods, ready for parties and birthdays and rubbish days, so you never feel like the one going without.

The fourth thing, which is really part of the second

Be prepared when you leave the house. That is when a lot of people struggle. A banana in your bag is the difference between staying on track and grabbing a meal deal.

What I actually ate today

Because it matters that you see it is not perfect. A kale smoothie I made for my son, bulked out for me with defrosted beans, oats and chopped apple so I had to chew it. Chewing helps you register fullness far more than chugging a liquid. A warm carob drink. Frozen mango slivers and cucumber, mostly to get some hydration into the kids. A massive fresh platter of oranges and cucumber and mango. And a Mexican bowl for dinner: rice, black beans, sweetcorn, tomato, frozen mango, an entire bag of lettuce, with a coriander and soya yoghurt dressing.

Food is medicine. When you feel rubbish is the most important time to give yourself the most nourishing food you can. Not the oily comfort food that would make me feel worse, but the fresh, hydrating stuff that actually helps.

Watch: Me in my crazy get-up, the smoothie bowl, and the full consistency chat is in What I eat when I'm sick, and how I stay consistent.

Trust the starch, lovely. Clean the kitchen. Love your food. That is consistency.

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Topics

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