Weight Loss: Here's how 80:20 rule can help you to lose extra pounds

80/20 diet, which is also known as Pareto diet, is one of the flexible and easiest diet plans one can follow. In this diet pattern, one has to eat nutritious food items 80% of the time. Veggies, fruits, and lean protein among others should be included during the same and for the rest 20% of the time, one can have the cheat meals or whatever you wanted to have, for example, pasta or the chocolate cake. So, considering 21 meals of a week including breakfast, lunch and dinner,  ideally one should have 17 meals healthy and the remaining 4 ones can cheat meals. However, you can not overdo the unhealthy food intake.

This particular diet is very popular as there hardly any restrictions as one can eat whatever they want of course one has to keep in mind moderation and small portion sizes. As mentioned it is also very flexible as one can adjust their 80-20 percent any time of the day and there are no hardcore rules on what food items should be included and should be excluded like in other diet plans, for example, Ketosis.

How it works?

With the help of the 80/20 diet, one can easily avoid saturated fats and this way one can lose a good amount of pounds. As per MedlinePlus, high-fat foods are some of the biggest offenders for weight gain. When you are 80/20 diet, you should only be consuming these foods 20 percent of the time, which should greatly reduce your overall fat intake.  However, there are some downsides to this diet as well. Many of us can take this diet for granted and if you are not committed and disciplined then you may not eat the healthy food items and keep eating junk or processed food often than required. So, if you are not practicing this diet on a daily basis and keep on cheating often then you won't see the results.

One should religiously follow the pattern to become habitual and of course, soon you will see the results. As per studies, one requires 10 weeks of pf repeated behavior to form a habit. Also, instead of following weekly, one should do it daily as this will curb the intake of unhealthy food items more. If you cannot follow daily, then you can practice this on a weekly basis. For example, you can eat healthy through the weekdays and can go on cheat meals for the weekends. However, in the weekly one, it can easily overindulge during the weekends which will eventually nullify the healthy intake that you did throughout the week.

What to eat during 80% of the time?

It is very important to stick to just healthy food items during an 80% period of time.  Vegetables that are high in nutrients such as fiber, potassium, vitamins, folate, iron, thiamin, niacin and choline among others. Legumes and beans are also great sources of nutrients. One should also include nutrient-rich fruits such as apple, banana, oranges and pomegranate among others. The addition of protein-rich food items is also important to be added to the daily diet. Ideally, one should have a balanced diet which includes macronutrients and vital micros too. 

Bottomline

So, if you have good will power, can work on portion control and have well-balanced menus during 80% of the time, then this diet plan is for you.