Healthy Nutrition Habits

My 80/20 Challenge

I snack too much. So although I do one workout and one activity per day, I’m not shredded at the moment. It’s that crap food that holds me back from feeling and looking much better than I could. That’s annoying. And so unnecessary. That’s why I want to get back to that 80/20 balance. Meaning 80% of my food is healthy and nutritional, while allowing myself 20% of whatever I’m craving.

This is the concept that has helped me over the last years to stay in shape, without restricting myself. It’s the perfect fit for travelers and all those who want to have both – fitness and freedom.

However, I lost balance over the last weeks. And I’m not alone. Most people are far from eating at least 80% healthy. And I know from my very own experience that working from home and traveling makes it hard to eat healthy. So if you also think you should improve your nutrition, let’s do something about it.

Here are the 3 habits I want to bring back into my life.

Habit 1: No Sugary Drinks

The first step to eating better is eating less of the bad stuff. That means first of all no sugary drinks. Replace Sprite and Co. with Mineral Water with a splash of lime. Or in the worst case order a Coke Light or Zero. That’s easy.


Habit 2: No Packed Sweets
What’s not so easy for me is resisting cookies, chocolate, and all that sweet stuff. Especially after eating lunch or dinner, I feel the urge to continue with something sweet. But that’s where the scales tip. So what do we do about that? A no-sugar challenge is too restrictive.

I rather start getting rid of the most unnecessary sweets. The ones that are wrapped in plastic and only serve to satisfy short-them cravings. Fruits will be my go-to from now. Although they contain a lot of sugar, an apple is still better than a chocolate bar.


Habit 3: Flexible Intermittent Fasting

I’ve been fasting for at least 14 hours daily over the last months and years. This habit had become so automated that I almost forgot to mention it. However, I think together with daily exercise it’s the one thing that guarantees that, while snacking so much crap food, I’m not overweight. To boost my weight loss this next weeks, I’m going to up the hours a little and aim for a minimum of 16 hours of fasting, before getting back to 14 hours. Playing around with the length of my fasting phases has helped me to gain or lose weight almost effortlessly over the last few years.


These are the three nutrition habits that will get me back in shape. And I’m convinced these are a great baseline for every fit remote worker out there.

Depending on your lifestyle and current habits you might want to add one or two habits, maybe regarding fast food or alcohol. The idea is to find out what holds you back from eating 80% healthy, and eliminate or at least limit it.


Ready?


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