Many rumors exist about diets that help with weight loss and weight management. Both media and other people are telling you what is right and what is wrong. Everyone is talking about their magic fix. Mine fix is not magic but it can last forever – 80/20 Diet Rule.
Common for all these rumors is long lists of things you are not allowed to eat, ready-made daily meal plans, and restrictive thinking. It may be that some ingredient is abandoned entirely from the diet or the daily meal plans present the only correct choices to eat. Usually, these given meal plans are altogether one-sided. The most dangerous aspect of these miracle diet rumors is that many times they are presented to you as the truth. The 80/20 philosophy is not a magic fix – but it works.
Willpower versus permanent balance
Very few people have the willpower to eat the same thing day after day or abandon one ingredient forever even it would be beneficial for weight loss. The problem with these kinds of restrictive plans is that once you make a “mistake” it creates a feeling of failure. Once you fail, you’ll end up giving up on all good intentions about a healthy lifestyle. Sound familiar?
For this reasons, the 80/20 Diet Rule is very warmly welcome to the world of dieting.
The simplicity of 80/20 diet rule
The fundamental principle of the 80/20 diet rule is simple. To get all the health benefits you do not always have to make the 100 % best choice. It’s enough if 80 % of your meals are balanced. The rest 20 % can be whatever you fancy and not so healthy.
It’s enough if 80 % of your meals are balanced. The rest 20 % can be whatever you fancy and not so healthy.
80% balanced diet is good enough
80/20 principle is flexible and has mercy on you. The most challenging aspect of this rule for many is the flexibility of the concept. To help you to get the hang of it, think about the following:
Your workmate is having a birthday and offers cake at the office to celebrate. You take a piece of cake even if you’re on a diet and cake is not part of the diet plan. Afterward, you think the whole day is ruined so you think you might as well eat a pizza in the evening and have a feast. So you go home with a bag full of treats.
On the other hand, following the 80/20 rule, you’d end up thinking like this:
“This birthday cake was my 20 % for today, and the rest of the day I keep making balanced choices”.
Most of the time a healthy lifestyle is not ruined by one piece of cake, but by constantly thinking about what’s right and what’s wrong.
My Plate Coach -app calculates your weekly 80/20 score. It counts the ratio of four and five-heart meals of all meals. With the help of the score, you’ll find out that a piece of cake every now and then does not ruin the otherwise balanced big picture. You’ll still lose weight (or manage your weight) when you just keep eating smart most of the time.
You are welcome to give it a try!
Smart choices for your day!
Marika Venäläinen
Authorized Nutritionist, Master of Health Science
Over ten years of experience guiding people in creating balanced eating habits
