Have you heard of the 80/20 rule?
Do something 80% of the time with full focus and then 20% of the time give yourself a little grace.
It’s one way many people attempt to organize their diets.
And it can work extremely well.
But many people get it wrong.
It works well because being too restrictive can backfire. You stick with your diet 100% of the time, having absolutely no fun foods. But then you go overboard and eat everything in excess.
So having a little balance, sticking with your diet 80% of the time, but allowing yourself some fun food 20% of the time, keeps you sane.
It is also much easier to maintain for the long-term and the consistency over time (months & years) will have a much greater impact on your health and physique.
But the 80/20 rule can backfire as well.
Most people don’t set parameters for what 80/20 looks like.
And because they don’t have guidelines, the 20% fun foods start to creep up to 30,40 or even 50% without you even realizing it.
Monday and Tuesday are spot on, you are the beacon of healthy eating.
Wednesday hits and you’ve been eating the same meals for 2 days and just not into eating the food that you meal prepped, so you decide to grab lunch on the go and although you try to make the best possible choice, the temptations are much harder to resist. You have some fun foods. XX
Thursday starts off great, you are back on track. While you are unwinding at the end of the day you decide to have a drink or maybe a sweet treat, afterall the weekend is almost here. XX
It’s Friday and you are almost through the week, but when you get to work someone has brought in donuts and bagels. You opt to just have ½ wouldn’t want to be rude. XX
After work friends are grabbing a drink, you need social time, but then there are the chips and guac that are in front of you. XX
Of course now you are getting home later than expected so you order out or eat something quick and easy at home, but that is not the most nutritionally dense. XX
Saturday you have plans to go out to dinner. You don’t eat much all day to “save” the calories for later. You reward yourself for eating so little all day by eating very caloric dense foods, more than the calories you “saved”. XX
Finally, it’s Sunday. You spend most of the day running around getting ready for the week. You never actually sit down to eat, you’re not even certain what you ate or how much. XX
Does this sound familiar?
Nothing about the week was crazy. You didn’t sit down and eat an entire cake. You had good meals that were aligned with your goals.
But the 80/20 slowly slipped away from you.
And although you may have thought you were eating really well all week, those few extra times you strayed from your diet, that’s what’s holding you back.
Here is the fix:
- Set guidelines – these are individual based on where you are right now. Take a good look at how often you have a drink, order out, have a sweet treat, or a bag of chips.
- Track it – Print out a calendar where you can visually see when you are going off track. Make a little X every time you stray…add them up and the following week aim to get less X’s
- Make adjustments – Not getting the results you want? Where can you make positive changes? Then make those changes, you need to take action.
- Need more accountability? We have a successful nutrition program where you meet 1-on-1 with your coach, you get the exact recommendations for your goals, and the accountability you need.
- Register for a FREE Consult