80/20 Fat Loss Rule

The 80/20 Rule (known as the Pareto Principle) states that 80% of your results will come from just 20% of your efforts.

In a business it means that 80% of the revenue will come from 20% of the clients.

It is a simple yet profound principle… and it also applies to fat loss.

I often talk on this site about some pretty advanced fat loss methods. I’ve written about cheating days, intermittent fasting, metabolic resistance training, workout finishers, carb timing, etc. However, I never forget that these advanced methods are in the 20% side of the 80/20 rule. None of them are needed to lose weight. All of them are, as I termed them, advanced.

What this means is that you don’t have to buy any advanced fitness or nutrition plan to lose weight. I’m not saying that these plans are useless because they can be highly effective. All I’m saying is that you shouldn’t believe that without them it will be impossible to burn body fat or get lean. As long as you make sure to keep the 80% part of the 80/20 rule, you will lose weight.

What Is the 80%?

Let’s talk about some of the ways you can get 80% results just by getting 20% of the things right. As you’ll see, this is not complicated or hard. All it takes is the will to do it and to give it some thought.

Fitness

What are the main parts of the 80/20 rules for fitness?

1. Show up

It’s really that simple: most people just don’t show up for their workouts. They may have a gym membership or expensive fitness equipment at home, yet they don’t use it as often as they should. I don’t have the exact statistics of how many people do this, but you can bet they’re many.

There are also those who do visit the gym on occasion, but do so very rarely. These people are also not doing enough.

So, you need to show up for your workouts and show up often.

2. Give It Time And Effort

Once you’re in the gym, it’s important to give your workouts enough time and to make an effort in them. Notice that I’m not saying that you need to follow any specific fitness regimen (although some are more effective than others) or do specific exercises. I have my own recommendations about the sort of workouts that you should do, but the main thing is to actually do something, do it often, and do it enough.

This is why when someone asks me which cardio workouts they should do, I always ask them what they like doing most. I know that running is better than swimming for weight loss purposes, but I also believe that the main thing is to find an activity you enjoy doing. This way, you’ll be sure to do it often enough.

3. Train Your Entire Body

Whether you do cardio, strength training, or both (as I recommend), you need to work on your whole body. As spot reduction is impossible, you should keep your whole body in shape. Regardless of how you do it, this will help you get better results.

So, the 80/20 rule of fitness is:

1. Show up often enough.
2. Do enough when you do show up.
3. Work on your whole body.

Nutrition

What are some of the simple things that you can do with your nutrition to give you 80% of your results?

1. Cut Your Calories Down 10%

It doesn’t have to be an exact figure. All you should do is aim for a good but not exaggerated reduction in calories. Simply watch what you eat, start to read product labels, eliminate high calorie and high sugar foods from your diet. This should be enough.

2. Eat Breakfast

Is eating breakfast required to lose weight? No. Does it make it easier? It seems so. Research shows that most people who manage to lose weight and keep it off eat breakfast regularly. You should too. Make sure to include some fiber and protein in your breakfast.

3. Drink Plain Beverages

This is probably the easiest way to cut down your calories is to drink plain beverages. Otherwise, you may be consuming a load of calories without evening knowing it. Just check the calorie contents of some popular coffee and you’ll see what I mean.

Lifestyle Tips

Some extra, simple tips to help you lose weight faster include:

1. Sleep 30 – 60 minutes more. You have no idea how effective this can be.
2. Do some form of relaxation activity to help you reduce stress.

In Conclusion

You don’t need to follow complex methods in order to lose weight and get lean. You can achieve fantastic results with just a few minor changes in the way you lead your life. You may not get a perfect physique, but you can certainly lose weight, burn fat, and get leaner and healthier.

So, don’t focus on the 20% results. Do the small things that give you 80% of perfect results. They should be enough to change your body completely.