Does it matter what you quench your thirst with?
There are hundreds of different weight loss diet plans to choose from. Usually they have a few things in common: ready meal options and a list of foods that aren’t allowed. These diets are often nutritionally unbalanced and very restrictive. Very few of us can eat the same food every day for long, even if it would be good for our weight loss goal. Inability to follow the diet leads to a feeling of failure and disappointment, and giving up.
The 80/20 diet rule is more than a diet, it’s an approach to healthy eating teaching you balance, moderation and indulging without a guilty feeling.
Flexible diet plan makes it possible to succeed
The basic idea of the 80/20 rule is very simple. In order to gain health benefits you don’t always have to make 100% healthy food choices. 80% is enough. The remaining 20% you can choose less healthy food and indulge yourself.
The 80/20 rule is a flexible approach to weight loss. If you have tried several diet plans, this can be difficult to adopt and accept. The 80/20 diet is all about balance and moderation, a concept that never exists in a crash diet. Think about this example:
Your work mate has a birthday and she has brought a cake to celebrate that. You’re on a diet but decide to take a piece, even though your diet plan doesn’t include a cake. Afterwards you feel guilty and the day is ruined. You go to a grocery store on your way home and buy some more treats. In the worst case you give up the whole diet.
Following the 80/20 rule, your approach can be different. The piece of a cake is your 20% on that day. That in mind you decide to enjoy the delicious cake and note that you have to make healthy food choices rest of the day.
No diet is doomed because of a piece of a cake but because of a too strict plan. 
Follow the 80/20 rule easily
In the latest version of the Nordic Diet Coach app there’s a new 80/20 score. It calculates the share of the meals rewarded a green heart (healthy, balanced meals) from all the meals you have logged. You know immediately whether or not you are going towards your goal. It allows a little bit of indulging and eating healthy feels more doable making it possible to achieve suistainable results.
The 80/20 rule has been popular and successful also among celebreties. As Miranda Kerr puts it: “Food is my friend, and consistency is the key. I believe that everything in moderation is best.” We definitely agree.
80% is good enough.
Marika
authorized nutritionist
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