80/20 Rule For Womens Weight Loss!

WTF IS THE 80/20 RULE?

The 80/20 rule is a practical approach to following a healthy lifestyle, losing body fat and is the basis of The Pineapple Fitness Challenge.

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The 80-20 principle means that you eat a healthy, nutrient dense and portion controlled (using the hand portion guide) diet 80 percent of the time then relax a little and celebrate life the other 20 percent. Sounds great, right? In fact, Blake Lively recently credited the approach with helping her get in shape before film roles, with the help of her trainer, Don Saladino.

Diets fail because people can’t sustain the strict eating regime for long periods of time, so they give up. This is why the 80/20 principle works so well – you eat a variety of nutritious and delicious foods and still get to indulge on occasion. Sustainable, effective and good for your mental health too!

However, we need to be clear! It works but only if you are honest with yourself. It won’t work by doing a minimal amount of exercise and only eating healthy 1 meal a day.

Sometimes we take a look at our weeks and realise our 80/20 looks a little more like 60/40 or 50/50 which results in feeling sluggish and the jeans feeling a little tighter. This is when we get out the pen and paper, write our week out and start prepping in order to get back on track!

So, how does it work? Here is the 80/20 in action:

It’s 80% of each week, not each day. As represented in the picture below!

21 Meals A Week (3 meals x 7 days)

80% = 18 meals per week

20% = 3 meals per week

You’ve got to think of this as a lifestyle. Follow it, enjoy the foods you eat in the 80% and it will become a healthy sustainable lifestyle and second nature.

Foods that fit into the 80%?

Everything in the Shopping List in the back of the Pineapple Method Action Workbook:

  • Whole or plant-based foods (like fruits and veggies)

  • Lean animal or plant based protein (red meat, chicken, beans, tofu)

  • Seafood

  • Eggs

  • Nuts, seeds, and olive oil

  • Grains and Beans

Foods that fall in the 20%

  • Takeaway or eating out - pizza, burgers, pasta, a pub meal!

  • Ice cream, store bought cakes and cookies, breakfast cereal

  • Alcohol

  • Bread. Save the sourdough for the weekend brunch dates or stick to 2 times per week.

REALLY IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are having a meal which falls in your 20%, it is not a free ticket to eat ALL THE THINGS and drink ALL THE DRINKS. “Learn to relax a little and celebrate life” does not mean “throw everything out the window." Overindulging in your 20 percent, like eating fast food for every meal in your 20%, won’t help you with your weight-loss or your ‘feeling good by Spring’ goals. For example, enjoy your fav breakfast at your local cafe, a couple slices of pizza with a side salad plus one drink for dinner, and either the potato based side dish or the slice of cake for dessert (not both). Not 5 wines, a cheese platter, a whole pizza, and then a burrito on the way home ;)

Want to see results quicker?

Once you get into the swing of things or to really accelerate your results, take it to a 90/10 ratio for a week. This means only 1-2 meals treat meals. This will accelerate your results, leave you craving less of them and you many even find you don’t even feel the need to have more than 1-2 per week going forward!

Post any questions you have in the challenge Facebook group!

Brittany Ashman