Day 12...The 80-20 Rule

The 80-20 Rule...it's used in a variety of contexts.  The most well known however, may be the Pareto Principle, which states that 20% of the people possess 80% of the wealth.  Well, that's not what this 80-20 rule is about!  This one is about eating for sustainability.

In the realm of nutrition and healthy eating, one can also find a variety of complicated 80-20 rules which cover things such as food quality, acid-base balance, blah, blah, blah...but the one that I will be speaking of here is very simple.  It simply refers to the practice of eating with one's health in mind 80% of the time, and eating more for pleasure the remaining 20% of the time.  There are those who take the liberty however, to turn the 20% opportunity into feeding or drinking frenzies, effectively destroying the benefits of eating for sustainability.

You see, whether we like to admit it or not, the majority of us love junk food!  I'm not necessarily talking about fast food, although this is what our culture typically thinks of as junk food.  I'm referring to things like cakes, pies, ice cream...you see where I am going, right?  Foods with little or no nutritional value...empty calories.

I've talked about the dangers of eliminating these things from our diets all together, and how (for the most part) it is not sustainable.  The 80-20 rule serves to reduce the chances of cravings, and the resulting binges, to occur.  Is it magic?  Does it guarantee success?  Nope.  We actually have to practice self control...just as with any diet.  In my opinion however, far less self control is required to practice this rule than that which is required to stick to many of today's fad diets, here's why...

Most diets require the dieter to make significant changes in their normal dietary intake.  These changes often come in the form of elimination.  We've talked about the issues with that already, so I will put down the stick, and quit beating the horse...yes, I know it's dead.  All too often diets require these new eating habits to take place every day!  Diets that have a greater chance of providing successful results are those that allow the almighty cheat day.  Everyone's heard of the cheat day, right?  Hello 80-20 rule.  One week consists of seven days...bear with me here!  A single day is roughly 15% of the total week.  While it is not exactly 80-20, it is very close.  With the 80-20 rule, an individual can do what I do...pick a day, or even a day and a half, and ease up on the nutritional guidelines a little, and enjoy some things that aren't on the training table.  Or...the individual can spread the 80-20 out over the entire week, eating 80% of daily meals from the training table fare, and 20% from somewhere else.  A good example of this is dessert.  Many people are used to eating dessert with every meal.  So what's to say that a healthier dessert couldn't be consumed, that contained less empty calories than normal, but still serves to satisfy both sweet-tooth and caloric demands?

The final method, in which the 80-20 rule can be used, that I will share with you involves the feeling of satiety or fullness.  Quite simply, when you feel about 80% full, stop eating, and perform an elbow extension exercise known as the push-away.

Thanks for reading!

"Before one can lead, one must first follow."

So please become a FOLLOWER!