How to follow the 80-20 rule to lose weight

Many dieters successfully lose weight on the 80-20 rule. It's not technically a full-scale weight loss plan, but the 80-20 diet works. If you hate following strict eating guidelines, don't want to count calories or carbs, and just can't find the time to balance complicated macronutrients, then the 80-20 diet might be right for you.

What it is

The 80-20 Principle for Healthy Eating is one of the easiest ways to achieve and maintain a slim body. The simple plan requires you to eat a clean diet 80% of the time and then allow a few "fun foods" 20% of the time. The plan allows you to indulge in regular indulgences without feeling the kind of guilt people often feel when they "cheat" on a strict eating plan. This is often the foremost balanced approach to a healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle for many people.

Effectiveness

While the ease and simplicity of this plan make it a great weight maintenance diet, the 80-20 plan may not provide the calorie deficit necessary for weight loss for everyone. Whether or not you lose weight on the plan depends on a few factors:

• Your Starting Point: If your current diet involves consuming foods high in fat and calories every day, then the 80-20 diet is likely to help you lose weight, at least initially. Clean food (80%) days will require you to eat lower-calorie foods most of the time. You'll replace high-calorie snacks with healthier options and make better mealtime choices. The result should be that you simply consume significantly fewer calories overall and reduce. However, if your current diet is fairly healthy, you are not likely to see a calorie deficit large enough to produce weight loss. You may need to assess your caloric intake and adjust your energy balance to lose weight.

• Whether you practice moderation or not: The 80-20 rule is not an excuse to overeat or overindulge. On your relaxed 20% days, you still need to practice moderation. The only change is that you are not that rigid with your food choices. For example, on one of your 20% days, you may choose to have a slice of chocolate cake after dinner. It is reasonable. But if you eat three slices of cake, you are not really following the 80-20 principle and you will not really see any change in your weight.

• Your Activity Level: The 80 20 rule is perfect for people who participate in a balanced exercise program and are physically active on most (if not all) days of the week. Exercise helps balance the extra calories you eat in your 20% days. If you are not physically active and do not exercise, then the caloric deficit created by the diet may not be significant enough to create a change in the scale.

• Your agenda:. Many people who practice this eating plan eat a clean diet during the week and relax their food choices on the weekends. But if your weekend starts on Friday and ends on Monday, you're not really on the 80-20 diet. To lose weight you must make sure that your 20% is really only 20%. That equates to 1½ days a week or about 4 meals in seven days.

Tips to help you get results

To lose weight at a moderate rate of one pound per week, you need to create a caloric deficit of approximately 3,500 calories. If the 80-20 diet doesn't help you lose weight, make these adjustments to create a calorie deficit and see results:

• Exercise every day: Anyone trying to lose weight should do some physical activity every day. But daily exercise is especially important if you have an eating plan, like the 80-20 plan, that includes a little fat and higher calorie foods.
• Count calories if necessary: If the 80-20 diet doesn't work within the first few weeks, then keep a food diary for at least seven days. Assess your caloric intake and compare it to your caloric needs. Make adjustments to your eating plan or activity level to create a calorie deficit of around 500 calories per day.
• Practice portion control: The best way to create your calorie deficit is to practice portion control. On your clean food days, you may make good food choices, but if you eat too much of anyone's food, you gain weight or prevent weight loss. Portion control becomes even more important on your 20% days when you eat higher-calorie foods.
• Stick to a 90-10 plan: If you practice portion control and exercise regularly and still can't create the calorie deficit you need to lose weight, then adjust the 80-20 diet to a 90-10 plan. You still get a "break" during the week, but instead of relaxing your food choices for 4 meals, you eat two meals that allow for some indulgences.

The 80-20 rule does not work for everyone, especially people who are trying to lose weight. If the diet doesn't work even after making the adjustments, you may need a more structured weight loss program. Explore other eating programs to find the best diet for you.

Some tips

(1) You can walk 30 minutes every day.

(2) Listen to music and burn extra calories by moving the body alongside the rhythm of the song.

(3) Do 20 minutes of freehand exercise in the morning.

(4) You can swim for at least 10 minutes every day.

If you follow the process of 80% diet and 20% exercise every day, you will be able to reduce excess body fat without any harm.