The 80/20 Rule

If I had a nickel for every-time I’ve heard… 

“What do you eat, chicken and broccoli?” 

(I’d probably have like $47 but I could buy a lot of ice cream with that )

Something shockingly hard about being a nutrition coach is trying to get clients to eat more food. It’s really crazy how we all have believed, (at one point or another) the only way to loose weight or have visible muscle definition is starvation and pledging to never eat sugar again 

To function alone, without any activity, you need calories. If you are adding exercise and your normal daily movement, the amount increases even more.

Turns out you need lots of food to maintain your muscle, keep your metabolism healthy and moving, and have the fuel to do the workout, or the day in general. To function alone, without any activity, you need calories. If you are adding exercise and your normal daily movement, the amount increases even more. 

More often than not, my clients are not eating enough, and not enough of the right things. (Spoiler alert, there is not enough macros in broccoli and rice alone to get you to the finish line) If you have believed this myth before, take a deep breath and get excited! You can eat a ton of different kinds of foods, ( and even enjoy sugar) without sacrificing your body composition goals.

Am I saying you can eat whatever you want and reach your goals?

No, but also kinda…

What you put in your body will result in how you feel and how you function. Just like your car, if you put bad gasoline in your car, it will not run well. The good news is, you don’t have to be 100% perfect to reach peak functionality. In fact, all or nothing nutrition is most likely not sustainable long term resulting in burnout and inconsistency.

To FEEL our best and get the most out of our food, we want to try to eat as many clean, whole foods as possible. 

To feel UNRESTRICTED and create longevity in your nutrition lifestyle, you want to include some fun stuff to keep things exciting. 

I LOVE the 80/20 rule of thumb. 80% of your meals are coming from clean, non processed, whole foods. Fruit, veggies, meat, eggs, nuts seeds, rice, potatoes, etc. The rest (20% ish) is a free for all. Whatever you love to eat or wiggle room you need to keep yourself from feeling restricted, and to create lifestyle flexibility.

So no, it’s not all chicken and broccoli. Isn’t that refreshing?! Your nutrition should fuel your life, not shrink it. Focusing on eating nutrient dense foods most of the time, gives you room for the others foods you enjoy that may not be fuel filled. You don’t have to be perfect, just consistent. Trust your body, fuel it well, and give yourself grace along the way.