The Reason You Can't Stick to Strength Training Was 'Decision Fatigue' | How to Regain Consistency by Standardizing Your Meals

Hello! I'm Torimune, and I've been doing home workouts for seven years.

"What should I have for lunch today..."

Don't you find yourself thinking this every time your lunch break arrives?

This decision of "what to eat" might be draining the willpower you need to continue your strength training without you even realizing it.

"I can't stick to body recomposition," or "I can't make home workouts a habit."

The reason for this might not be the strength training itself, but rather that your willpower is being sapped by small, daily decisions.

Today, I'd like to talk about the "foundation for consistent home workouts" that I gained by standardizing my breakfast and lunch.

The invisible enemy called decision fatigue

Take a look back at a typical day for an office worker.

You wake up and choose what clothes to wear. You decide what to have for breakfast. You choose what to watch on the train. At work, you are forced to make countless decisions, and you worry about what to eat for lunch. After getting home, you think about dinner...
You wake up and choose what clothes to wear. You decide what to have for breakfast. You choose what to watch on the train. At work, you are forced to make countless decisions, and you worry about what to eat for lunch. After getting home, you think about dinner...

It is said that we make about 35,000 decisions a day. When you repeat this many decisions, your brain definitely gets tired.

And then, at night, when you finally try to do your strength training, you end up thinking, "I'm just too tired... I'll skip it today."

This is a phenomenon known as decision fatigue.

Willpower is finite. This creates a risk where you can no longer fully dedicate your physical energy and willpower to strength training.

The struggle of worrying about every meal

During my second year of strength training, while in a cutting phase, I used a meal tracking app to record the contents of every meal.

I'd wake up and worry, "How many grams of rice should I have for breakfast today?" During my lunch break, I'd calculate, "What should I do about the calories for lunch?" At night, I'd enter data into the app, thinking, "I've already consumed XX kcal today, so..."

Every day, I was thinking only about food.

What was the result?

I became exhausted from thinking about meals, and my actual strength training became half-hearted. Days continued where I'd think, "I'm already tired from meal management, so I'll just do a light workout."

It's strange, isn't it? You're managing your diet for the sake of strength training, yet that very diet management ends up preventing you from training.

At that time, I had completely put the cart before the horse. And because of the stress, I quit my weight loss plan halfway through and my weight went right back to where it started.

It was because of this failure that I arrived at a method called 'Scheduled Recording.' It's a method where you decide what you're going to eat tomorrow on the day before.

While practicing this method, I realized something: 'Isn't it a waste to think about the menu every single day in the first place?'

The decision to standardize meals

So, I decided to take the plunge and completely standardize my breakfast and lunch.

Breakfast (the same every day)

• Protein shake

• Toast

• Banana

Lunch (as a weekday office bento)

• Boiled chicken breast

• Broccoli

• White rice

• A moderate amount of miso pickles

Why only breakfast and lunch?

Because dinner is precious time with my family. I didn't want to sacrifice the time I spend eating with my wife and children for the sake of strength training.

*However, during serious weight loss periods, I would eat a separate menu from my family.

Even just standardizing breakfast and lunch can significantly reduce the number of decisions you make in a day. Out of 35,000 decisions, you can reduce at least two-thirds of those related to food.

The selection criteria for a fixed menu are simple.

• Keep fat intake low

• Ensure sufficient protein intake

• Secure energy for strength training with carbohydrates

• Easy to prepare

• Flavors that are hard to get tired of

Whether in a cutting phase or a maintenance phase, the menu is basically the same. The only things that change are the portion sizes and perhaps adding some powdered maltodextrin.

This makes it easier to understand that changes in body weight are caused by factors other than diet (sleep, stress, training content).

Three benefits of standardizing your meals

1. Freedom from decision fatigue

You don't need to worry about what to have for breakfast when you wake up. You won't find yourself standing in front of the open fridge wondering what to have for lunch.

Having a set menu for every breakfast and lunch is a source of peace of mind that is greater than you might imagine.

Since you don't have to use your mental resources to choose meals, you can redirect that energy toward work, strength training, or time with your family.

2. Dramatic reduction in shopping and cooking time

The time spent standing in the supermarket wondering what to make today becomes zero.

Your shopping list is set: bread, bananas, chicken breast, broccoli, rice, etc. You just buy these in bulk.

Once you get used to the cooking, you can boil the chicken breast in bulk on the weekend and just pack your lunch box on weekdays. Morning preparation takes less than 5 minutes.

3. Improved accuracy in health management

When you eat the same meals for breakfast and lunch every day, you can tell that changes in weight or physical condition are due to factors other than those meals.

"The weight gain yesterday was because the dinner menu was different." "Maybe I'm feeling off today because yesterday's strength training was too intense."

In this way, it becomes easier to identify the causes of changes in your body. The accuracy of your health management will improve significantly.

Tips and Precautions for Successful Meal Standardization

The Importance of Flexibility: 'Don't Seek Perfection'

Even if you standardize, there is no need to be 100% perfect.

If there is a company drinking party, I will attend, and I also eat out with my family. I also change the content when I am not feeling well.

What is important is having a 'basic foundation.' It is precisely because that foundation exists that you can enjoy occasional changes.

How to Gain Understanding from Family and Those Around You

Sometimes people worry, 'Is it okay to eat the same thing every day?'

In such cases, I was able to get their understanding by sharing my strength training goals and changes in my physical condition. Showing them that I am actually living healthily is the best way to persuade them.

Techniques for Changing Perspective to Avoid Boredom

I am often asked, 'Don't you get bored eating the same thing every day?' but basically, I don't have the concept of getting bored with food. I have summarized the details here 👇.

Points to Be Careful About Regarding Nutrition

Since the diet becomes simple, there is a possibility of a lack of micronutrients, so I utilize multivitamin and mineral supplements.

The Foundation for Continuing Home Training Built Through Meal Standardization

The success of strength training is not determined solely by the quality of the training itself. The environment surrounding the training, especially the 'allocation of willpower,' is extremely important.

What you gain by standardizing your meals is not just time savings. It is the mental space to be freed from decision fatigue and focus on what is truly important.

Willpower is finite, so it must be protected. Instead of using valuable willpower on the decision of 'what should I eat,' let's use it to improve the quality of our strength training by deciding 'how hard should I push myself today.'

I am convinced that meal standardization is a good choice as a foundation for making home training successful.

Thank you for reading to the end this time as well!

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