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The gradual, often unnoticed loosening of structure — portions growing, logging becoming less accurate, fasting windows shortening — that erodes a deficit over time.
## Drift
Drift is the slow, incremental return to old patterns that happens without a clear moment of failure. Unlike a dramatic cheat day or an obvious binge, drift is invisible in the moment. It only becomes visible in the trend — when the scale stops moving despite feeling like you are still following the plan.
Common forms of drift: - Portions that grow by 10-15% over several weeks - Snacks that stop getting logged - A fasting window that shortens from 18 hours to 15 - Walking that drops from daily to three times a week - "Rough estimates" replacing accurate food entries
Each of these changes is too small to trigger alarm on any single day. But compounded over two to four weeks, they can eliminate a 500-calorie daily deficit entirely.
The antidote to drift is periodic honest check-ins with the data. Not daily — that creates anxiety. But weekly: Is the trend still moving? Is my average intake where I think it is? Am I actually walking as much as I believe? If the answers do not match, drift has probably started. And catching it early is far easier than restarting from scratch.
