I often hear “I eat really well…most of the time”. The fact that they are there talking to me (usually about fat loss) indicates that there current “most of the time” isn’t enough.
I’m a big believer in consistency over perfection. Especially in nutrition. Perfection tends to end poorly, abruptly and usually results in an individual leaving with plenty of negative emotions after beating themselves up for not being able to follow the 'diet'. For this reason aiming to be consistently good will usually result in better progression.
However, if you do not see progression, and I mean a true stall (not just that you haven’t dropped weight in the past few days or even week, as this could be due to a number of other variables) then the first thing you need to investigate is those small bits and pieces that don’t fit into “most of the time”.
If the majority of your diet is built around whole foods and your energy intake is tailored towards your goals, but you're not seeing results, then it’s likely that the minority portion of your diet is sabotaging your results.
So let's say your total daily energy expenditure is around 2000 kcal/day. You’re taking a conservative approach to weight loss and aiming to consume 1,600 kcal/day. That equates to a 400 kcal daily and 2,800 weekly calorie deficit. During the week you may have the odd biscuit or two at work with tea (I'm a monte carlo type guy), or a few lollies of an afternoon to get you through to your next meal. Perhaps you snack on bits and pieces while prepping dinner, then you’re still a little hungry after dinner, so you have a teaspoon of peanut butter or some dark chocolate. Chances are you also forgot to account for the extra latte you had twice this week and that fundraising chocolate you bought.
These small bits and pieces that make up the “minority" can easily erase the deficit created over the course of the week and hinder/stop progression.
Fat loss comes down to energy balance. If the majority of your choices are nutrient dense foods that correspond to your goal intake, then that’s great, but if those few foods that make up the minority of your intake erase the energy deficit you're attempting to create then you won’t see weight loss, regardless of you making great choices ‘most of the time’.
Yes, it sucks but that’s the reality.
Unfortunately, if you’re a smaller female, somebody who’s already lost a lot of weight, or someone who is looking to get particularly lean, you will come to a point where you don’t have a lot of 'wriggle room' regarding calories.
This energy 'wriggle room' is why often your work colleague or teenage son can seem to eat what they want and not see consequences. It’s not that those foods are particularly fattening for YOU, it’s that you have less free calories/energy to play with.
Essentially the smaller your total daily energy expenditure, the smaller the energy deficit, the less wriggle room we have and the more accuracy needed to continue progression. Often this need for increased accuracy requires sacrifices in flexibility and increased adherence in order to further progression.