80/20 for fat loss success
If you’ve been alive in the past century, chances are you’ve seen a multitude of fat-loss diets, books, and methods – and have probably tried one or more yourself. It seems that every few months there’s a new way to lose fat fast (usually in a way that’s been done 20 years ago and has simply been recycled) – sometimes it’s a high-fat keto diet, sometimes it’s a no-meat vegan diet. This month it could be stomach wraps to ‘burn stubborn belly fat’, next month it might be cryotherapy to ‘freeze the fat off’.
And the month after it might finally be time to punch the fat away.
For the vast majority of people who want to lose fat, you generally don’t need (or want) to make things any more complicated than they absolutely have to be; and this is where the 80/20 rule comes in.
“What’s the 80/20 rule?” you ask?
Simple. For your weekly meals, aim to have 80% ‘healthy’ – we’re talking each meal having the following:
whole food based
containing lean protein
has plenty of veggies and/or some fruit
some starchy carbs
a small amount of fats.
The other 20% are your ‘treat’ meals – if you want to go out for dinner or order some takeout, these are your opportunities to relax with your diet so you can avoid feeling overly restricted with your food choices. This is generally what I recommend for people who want to keep things simple and are happy with a slightly slower rate of fat loss that’s more sustainable.
Let’s break down what this looks like:
3 meals a day x 7 days = 21 meals
80% healthy = 17 meals
20% treat = 4 meals
Using the 80/20 rule, this would break down to 17 healthy meals and 4 treat meals over the course of the week. Without using any calorie/macro tracking apps and just building your healthy meals around the plate I mentioned earlier, if you were to stick to this then you should have weight loss. THIS IS DEPENDENT ON A FEW FACTORS:
Alcohol will tend to throw this off for a few reasons – the calories within the alcohol itself (regardless of whether or not it’s low-carb) and the food choices most people make when they’ve had a few drinks (as well as the morning after). As a rule of thumb, think of every 4-5 beers as 1 treat meal (if you’re having hard liqour mixed with sugary drinks think of 3 of these as 1 treat meal)
Any beverages you have that you don’t include in your daily meals – if you have two large milky coffees every day, the calories in the milk (and sugar you might add) will all go towards your daily total but can be easy to miss when thinking about your daily meals. Think of every 3-4 milky coffees/juices/sugary drinks as 1 treat meal
If you’re having snacks in between your meals, this will also add to your daily total. If it’s on the healthier side (i.e. whole food based, low calorie) then think of every 2-3 healthy snacks as 1 health meal. The same is true for treat foods – every 2-3 treat snacks as 1 treat meal
This is based on your meals having an average size – if you’re having a giant fast-food banquet on a Saturday while you’re watching the footy, this could account for 2 (or more) treat meals
Using this as a basic framework, you can start to build your weekly meal plan with a rough idea of what to have. It allows you to mix and match with what you want to have each day, as long as you stick to the basic 80/20 rule for the week.
But what do I do if I want faster fat loss, or if I’m not seeing results yet?
If that’s the case, aim for 85/15 instead of 80/20. Based on our previous example of 3 meals a day, 7 days a week, this would give you 18 healthy meals and 3 treat meals for the week.
Want to take it a step further for even faster fat loss? Go for 90/10, which using the previous example would give you 19 healthy meals to 2 treat meals (this can feel unsustainable long-term for a lot of people).
Whilst tracking your macros/calories would give you a more precise picture of the food you’re having so you can better control your results, for some people it’s just too much to deal with; and I totally get it. Don’t feel like that’s the only way to achieve your fat loss goals – there are other options you can use depending on what you prefer and where you are in your health and fitness journey.
Long-term success with weight management is about finding what gets you results, nourishes your body and feels sustainable – cut away everything else and just focus on those, and you’ll be fine.
Talk soon,
Alex
