Recently I signed up to receive daily e-mail updates from Hungry Girl (if you haven’t already you should check out her site – it’s a lot of fun!). Yesterday’s HG missive included her explanation of a strategy that I seem to have unknowingly adopted – the approach that has been largely responsible for my weight loss success over the past number of months – the 80/20 rule.
Hungry Girl explains the 80/20 rule (scroll down to the second question).
Go ahead and read it – I’ll wait!
Though I wasn’t aware at the time that it had a name, the 80/20 rule brought me through Christmas and New Year festivities, dinners with friends, Sunday brunches with my husband, special events involving special food, and a girls’ restaurant-of-the-month group. I have fully participated in and thoroughly enjoyed myself at all of these events over the past eight months, not once feeling deprived, or that I was missing out on anything… yet through it all I have managed to lose 46 lbs.
The 80/20 rule works!
My weight loss may seem slow to some… but in my mind, adopting the 80/20 concept offers me the best of all worlds: the opportunity to live a good, healthy, fun life, enjoying and appreciating special occasions and treats without allowing them to derail my day-to-day efforts towards health and wellness. It’s such a simple concept, and I’m not sure why it took such a long time for the practice to click into place in my own life… nevertheless, I’m glad I’m here, and plan to carry on learning and growing in this direction.
To a person who has never struggled with weight and food issues, the 80/20 rule may seem like a no-brainer. If that’s the case, you are very fortunate indeed! For me, and I daresay for many others who battle these issues, loosening the hold perfection and “all or nothing” thinking has on you can be powerful and life-changing.
Please share your thoughts!
