The 8020 Rule Of Weight Loss - 1 Simple Strategy To Finally Take It All Off

The 8020 rule is often referred to as the Pareto Principle.  It was discovered by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed that 80% of the wealth in Europe was owned by 20% of the population.  The rule simply put states that a majority (80%) of success or results in life will come from a few (20%) of actions or efforts.  It's not always 80% to 20% but the idea is to shift your focus from the trivial many to the vital few efforts which will bring you the greatest results.  For example, did you know?

• If you are in sales, 20% or a few of your customers account for 80% of your sales.  Question is should you then treat everyone equally? Hmmh...
• 20% of your products account for 80% of your profits.  Should you marketing budget be allocated equally?
• You wear the same few clothes and shoes 80% of the time.
• A few or your bills account for 80% of your expenses in a month, such as mortgage, car payment etc
• Look at your most recent cell phone bill. You dial the same few numbers on your most of the time

The List is endless, but you get the idea.  The secret to success is to focus on the vital few (the 20%) and not on the trivial many (the 80%)  So what does this have to do with weight loss.  I think it's everything.

The 8020 Rule of weight loss is simply burning more calories than you consume.  I'm not the biggest fan of counting calories because I believe what you eat also matters.  I preach healthful nutrition but if you have ever struggled with losing weight, you need to be aware of how many calories you are consuming.  There was a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that discovered that people who started keeping a food journal and wrote down everything they ate realized that they had been underestimating their calorie consumption by an average of 1,053 calories a day which is a lot.  Most people are shocked when they find out that a single bagel with cheese and coffee can be close to 600 calories.  So if you are on a 1200 calorie diet that's half your caloric requirement gone in one single meal.

There is a great calorie calculator available at http://www.foodfit.com/tools/w8calc/default.asp 

Get your recommended caloric requirements to achieve or maintain your ideal weight and spread these in 5-6 small meals per day. It's really that simple but very powerful. Add a little exercise and you have yourself a brand new body!

Move Your Body, Move Your Life

Kenn Kihiu

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