The Pareto principle says that 80% of outcomes come from 20% of inputs. The core idea is to prioritize the 20% to produce the best results.

Many health and fitness experts reference the 80/20 rule to eating healthy and weight loss, but they don’t know how to use it effectively.

Their basic idea of the 80/20 rule is, to eat healthy and balanced; you don’t always have to make 100% healthy food choices. 80% is enough. The remaining 20% you can choose less healthy food and indulge yourself.

While I don’t entirely disagree with this approach to healthy eating and long-term weight loss, this is NOT the Pareto principle.

To use the 80/20 rule properly you would identify most critical or high value tasks and use them efficiently to create maximum value.

Example:
Plan your meals for the week. Write them out. What you’ll eat and what time you’ll eat. It may change as your schedule changes but get a plan in place anyway.
Go and do your grocery shopping and buy only foods you’ll be eating.
Prep your meals for the week, portion them out and keep them in the fridge or the freezer.

The return you get on this investment is huge. It’s a paint by numbers system. You’ll not have to waste any mental energy figuring out what to eat. No discipline required. You’ll stick with the plan. Who would want to waste all that good food and hard work?

Is too big of a project. Let’s 80/20 the 80/20 – Maybe your breakfast, and dinners are generally good, but lunch is a problem. Then focus on making packed lunches for the week ahead.

You can apply the same to workouts. Compound exercises will give you the biggest bang for your buck. Focus on Squats, Push-ups, Pull ups, Deadlifts.

Starting on a weight loss or fitness journey can be a daunting prospect. So many challenges. Eating the right meals, doing the right workouts, scheduling it all into your life, having the right mindset and staying focused on the project.

Using the Pareto principle, you can go from feeling overwhelmed to focusing on just one or two tasks in minutes.