80% GOOD/OK foods and 20% GOOD/BAD foods
Dieting can get boring and challenging when it is done long-term. Building lean muscle and losing fats is all about consistently eating the right amount of quality food within your daily calorie intake (surplus for size up, a deficit for fat loss).
To make your diet more effective and sustainable for the long run, I do not recommend you to go for 100% healthy food.
SUSTAINABLE is the keyword here I am sure you may have heard someone say that “I am going to start the such and such diet again on Monday “
Well, you have to ask yourself if you have to start it again has it worked?
Most people remember when they first started dieting, they are taught that to see the results, you must strictly eat only “100% clean and healthy” foods.
So a lot of people go through this so-called 100% clean eating diet method where they will eat ONLY steamed chicken breast, steamed fish, steamed veggies, and zero carbs.
If you do this you may well be constantly filled with strong cravings, mood swings and lack of energy and focus.
They put themselves through hell for months! Honestly speaking, they will say they did not enjoy the process AT ALL, and what bothered them the most was MAINTAINING THE WEIGHT LOSS.
What you don’t want is to start putting the weight back on and all the hard work to go to waste. So what do you
After months, years of diet experiments from studies and researches, I finally discovered the elements which are more important than “clean healthy food” – variety and the food that one can easily prepare.
At the end of the day, building muscles and losing fats are all about the calories in and out. So why not eat what our body needs and fulfill our daily nutrition needs at 80% and eat something that makes us feel great at 20%.
Sounds better?
And no, I’m not telling you to eat junk food for every meal but I find this 80/20 dieting strategy to be effective for me.
The rule is to consume 80% of low calorie, rich quality food and 20% of “OK/Bad” category food once a day, or once every 3-7 days depending on your adherence and goals.
Using The 80/20 rule doesn’t eliminate any food groups and you have the flexibility to have treats. BUT for it to be effective for weight loss you must still use the principle of moderation. You need to be conscious about portion control and do not approach the 20% with a cheating mentality.
Few would disagree with an approach to eating with balance and moderation. But some might argue whether it is really helpful to call such a way of eating a ‘diet’? The 80:20 principles are in stark contrast to the rules and restrictions generally associated with the concept of a diet. Instead, the 80:20 rule should be thought of as a lifestyle approach – eat healthily and mindfully most of the time, but don’t be afraid to enjoy treats without any guilt.
With this, I guarantee that your diet will be more fun and you will get more satisfaction from your meal so that it’s easier for you to sustain your diet.