Dieting advice is everywhere. If you want to find out how much protein, fats and carbs you need to eat for optimal body composition, a quick Google search can throw up thousands of suggestions.

In fact, our own RNT Education section has all the information already. Information isn’t the problem. It’s how we interpret, channel and adopt it that’s critical.

After guiding 100s of clients through body transformations, I’ve noticed the similarities between those who are most successful.

In the article, ‘The 5 Pillars of Body Transformation Success’, I discuss the steps highly effective dieters put in place in their lives to create the greatest possibility of success.

They can be summarised as:

1. Planning and preparation on a daily basis
2. Hiring a professional for accountability
3. Surrounding yourself with positive social support
4. Having a powerful ‘why’
5. Creating a big deadline

In this piece today, I’d like to dissect the daily habits that highly effective dieters use to transform their bodies.

Habit #1: They're Ruthlessly Consistent

I know it’s boring, and you hear us all say it everyday, but this really is the number one habit of all highly effective dieters.

If you want to build muscle or lose body fat, consistency will trump all the fancy ratios of macronutrients, all the magic supplements and any obscure training program.

Highly effective dieters will find something they can buy into and get excited about, and then put the blinders up and stay focused on consistently executing the plan. Day in, day out…

Consistency wins, and the most successful dieters will be the ones who stay the course, tick the boxes and show up everyday.

Habit #2: They're Proactive

Highly effective dieters are proactive, not reactive.

They’re organised, will always plan and prepare ahead, and don’t let small things throw them off course.

They’re in full control of their diaries, and if they have social events around food or drink, they’ll know the game plan ahead of time.

Highly effective dieters maintain excellent structure in all aspects of life, and this allows them the freedom to control what’s happening.

Habit #3: They Don't Chase Perfection

One of the most common mistakes you can make before starting a body transformation is to expect everything to be perfect from day one.

Highly effective dieters know that doing something is better than nothing. They know there will be good and bad days, but as long as they’re maintaining consistent momentum steps towards their goals, they’ll get there.

For example, if you’re an office worker that typically only takes 3-5,000 steps a day, aiming for 15,000 may be a little too ambitious, and set you up for failure. But if you set a target of 6-8,000, you’ll be more likely to succeed.

Highly effective dieters focus on creating as many small wins as possible and know each one is a step closer to ‘perfection’.

Habit #4: They Keep The Goal The Goal

In an age of distraction, it becomes far too easy to lose focus on your goals. Highly effective dieters keep the goal at all times, and stay patient.

They don’t train for fat loss for 2 weeks, then switch to muscle growth for 3 weeks, before deciding to run a marathon. They pick one goal and follow through.

Their goals follow the SMART principle (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time), and they apply tunnel vision until they’ve achieved them.

Habit #5: They Follow Key Principles

Highly effective dieters avoid program and diet hopping.

They don’t follow German Volume Training for 2 weeks while eating a ketogenic diet, and then switch to DC training while following intermittent fasting.

Instead, highly effective dieters focus on three key principles.

They focus on:

• Getting stronger over a wide variety of rep ranges
• Maintaining perfect form at all times
• Executing a diet that works for their lifestyle

Highly effective dieters know that training effort will dictate their results in the gym, not a set and rep protocol.

They know that having a diet that works with their lifestyle is key, and not any specific macronutrient ratio.

Habit #6: They Educate Themselves

Highly effective dieters know that education is critical in making the right decisions.

They know that if they’re well educated on nutrition and different foods, they can make wise choices when faced with difficult situations.

Training and nutrition education is empowering, and highly effective dieters use this to their advantage to succeed in transforming their bodies.

If you’d like to improve your own knowledge, start digging deep into our Education section – our primary aim with this is to empower you to make good decisions!

Habit #7: They Focus On The Big Picture

Highly effective dieters apply the 80/20 rule across the board.

They focus on the bigger picture and don’t get bogged down in the minutiae.

They know they should be focusing on high quality foods within their calorie requirements, not scrambling with a calculator to ‘fit in’ a specific treat.

In the gym, they focus on progressive overload in the big compounds lifts, not novel ways to ‘shock the muscle’.

They focus on executing what matters, rather than worrying about meaningless details.

Highly effective dieters are patient and trust the process.

80/20 Your Habits

Habits are things we do automatically everyday.

The problem is that in adults, it’s hard to develop new habits from scratch. It takes time and effort to develop the necessary neural pathways.

Trying to implement all of the discussed habits may be tough to begin with. So instead of chasing perfection, try applying the 80/20 rule. Focus on 20 percent of the actions that will yield you 80 percent of the results.

Commitment to implementing well-intentioned and designed habits is what separates those who succeed in a body transformation, and those who are left spinning their wheels with no results.