What is the 80/20 rule and what are the benefits?

In todays society, looking ‘good’ has become more important than taking care of your mental health. Yes I just went there. And there is nothing wrong with wanting to look good. The flip side of the coin is just, we have been taught that being skinny is being pretty. Growing up and romanticizing child like bodies, on grown women. Doing everything in our power to stay skinny. But no one ever told us, it is normal to have fat on your body. You came here to enjoy yourself, not just diet and pay rent.

Now of course we want to take good care of our bodies, we want to eat as healthy as possible, we want to work out. But we forgot the balance, we forgot that we can look good, eat healthy, and treat ourselves with some ice cream without having to ‘make up for it’ the next morning.

And this is where the 80/20 rule comes in. Now the 80/20 rule is all about balance. What it means is 80% of the time, you eat healthy, you workout, take your supplements, eat your greens, fuel your body. And the other 20% of the time, you treat yourself. You have some dessert, you have chips while watching a movie, you take 2 big bowls of ice cream on a holiday in Italy, all of it. And with that, you create a balance.

The reality

Now why is it the best ‘diet’ out there? Because it works. A lot of people become so stressed because of their strict diet, that they either

– quit the diet overall, and eat their entire fridge in one night, and become sad afterwards.

– or they keep going and feel miserable and empty.

What halts us

Now the reason for this is, we want to see results. And we are afraid that if we eat some dessert, all the lost weight will be gained immediately. Now this is just a fear, and it very far from the truth. Because the last time that did happen, you probably either had a lot more than one dessert, or you became so stressed that your body went into survival mode and held on to all the food that was in your system. ( both make you gain weight ). Now this is completely normal to happen.

But when we regularly have some dessert (20% of the time, so like 2 a week a small bowl of ice cream), we don’t feel the need to go crazy once we do let go. And we relieve ourselves from the stress and help our bodies lose the weight.

Efficiency

Now why do we lose more weight when we follow the 80/20 rule. Because you take away the stress. When we are overly stressed on a diet, or feel prisoned. Our body goes into a state called ‘the survival modus’. Back in the day, this was used for upcoming wars. The body would store all the food that was in the system at that time, and make it into fat. This way if it would have no food, it could still survive ‘the war’. But, spoiler alert. There is no war, for most of us. And so when we take a way the stress from the diet, our metabolism can do its work, the body can gradually lose its fat. And you will have fun while you’re doing it! Because it will not be like a punishment. Rather it will be a way of thanking your body for the hard work it is doing every minute of the day. Because the body does not need a lot of fat, now it does need some, which is why balance is so important. But when we give our body the opportunity to lose weight, without stress, overindulging nor starving yourself. You will lose a lot more weight, a lot faster, and for a whole lot longer.

So why don’t you try it. Eating healthy, through out the day. And treating yourself to some dessert, or your favorite meal, once or twice a week. Not going all out and eating whatever you see, but just taking a small bowl of ice cream. This way, it will be far better, and you will not lose the progress.

Now if you know anyone who could benefit from this post, please share it with them.