The 80/20 Rule: Your Diet for Life

You may have heard of the 80/20 rule in business, but did you know that you could use this same principle with your eating.

For so many people losing weight is about an endless cycle of yo-yo dieting. Dieting can feel like a death sentence as it symbolizes the end of your love affair with food. No more weekend binges, instead they are replaced by a strict regimen of healthy eating and exercise.

We all know that nobody's perfect, this is especially true when it comes to what you eat. When you become obsessive about every little thing you eat, trying to consume every meal on plan, you're setting yourself up for failure.

The time is surely going to come when you want to enjoy a piece of cake to celebrate your child’s birthday. Or maybe you just want to taste a small piece of chocolate when the craving strikes.

So this is where the 80/20 rule will come into play. You can even some of your favorite foods and still stay on a healthy meal plan. A good rule of thumb is to try and stay on track 80% by eating healthy, whole foods and the other 20% of the time eat foods you truly enjoy regardless of whether they are healthy or not. Now, if you are trying to lose weight, you may want to follow more of a 90/10 rule and reserve the 80/20 rule for maintenance. No weight loss program will succeed if you feel like you're being deprived.

At MindBody FX and with our program we strongly recommend consuming 80 percent of your diet from healthy foods and 20 percent from foods you love. We suggest that for 80 percent of your food, you eat lots of vegetables, have a lean protein with each meal as well as a good fat. You can also include some whole grains and fruits. The other 20 percent of the foods you eat should come from those foods that you really enjoy. Some of my favorites are dark chocolate, low-fat frozen yogurt, popcorn and baked chips.

When you enjoy your some of your favorite treats in moderation, you won't feel deprived, which will make it far easier to lose weight and keep it off.