There are times where you just need some strict, but simple, rules to follow.
The fitness industry has become very contrarian, and, currently there's a big push towards 1 of 2 approaches:
1. Everything is bad for you and everyone is lying to you. You must find a bubble, reside in it, and never come out.
2. Everything is fine for you, you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want, and train however you want. You'll make progress based on your genetics. Body acceptance rules. You're fine the way you are. It's unrealistic to look the way you want to look or like that person you want to look like, so forget that, stop worrying about being better (you're good enough), and accept mediocrity.
Obviously both polarizing approaches are flawed.
1 is flawed because it fear mongers and comes from a place of doom, gloom, and isolation.
2 is flawed because it provides zero guidance, rules to follow, or standards. This approach discourages doing hard things or having scary goals.
What's a better answer?
It's true that calories in, calories out, aiming for 0.7 grams (or more) of protein per pound of bodyweight along with strength training at least 2-3 times per week are the only factually true, general rules of progression for body composition changes.
But, I think it's beneficial to up the stakes, narrow the field of play, and provide a few simple, albeit challenging, rules to motivate individuals to hold themselves to a higher standard.
These disciplines – like 1 x 24 hour fast per week, for instance – definitely aren't necessary. In this example the 24 hours of no food just creates a weekly calorie deficit without needing to eat in a 500+ calorie deficit every single day.
Another discipline, such as walking (or doing dishes, cleaning, moving, etc) for at least 2-5 minutes after each meal, is also not necessary, but some evidence shows that it helps lower blood glucose (which I'm told by reliable sources is good for me).
There also is no magic to lifting weights 5 days per week for 30-40 minutes per session, but, it provides a standard of living that requires discipline to stick to.
All these things keep us focused on the goal. If I tell a client they can get to point B from point A any way they want at any rate they want, they run the risk of never getting to point B because they're lacking hard rules to follow and they're never developing their discipline and will-power muscles.
It may seem, initially, like having rules is restrictive. But, in actuality, rules allow us to have freedom. In, "Fat Loss Happens on Monday," Dan John says, "when we have rules or habits in place, it takes away a struggle. The rules are freedom." He goes on to say, "your plan means having some basic rules or habits in place. The rules are not to make you feel deprived in some way. It's exactly the opposite — these are your ticket to freedom. Once those habits are in place, everything else disappears. You don't ever have to struggle about food again."
I think we need rules. We need challenges. Not because it's the only way to reach our goals (it's not), but because it will streamline the process to reaching our goals while training ourselves to handle future challenges more successfully.
I am not sure if this is a fitting metaphor, but to me, this paradox—where seemingly restrictive guidelines make our lives easier—resembles the experience of learning, say, physics or mathematics. In the beginning, you must make an effort to remember various concepts, laws, formulas, or constants. However, once this knowledge becomes deeply ingrained in your mind, you can use it as a set of plug-and-play templates that save mental energy.