Life Happens...20% of the Time

For anyone who’s ever adopted a new diet plan for weight loss or overall health, it’s a familiar nightmare. The backdrop varies (an all you can eat buffet, holiday party, dark and silent kitchen in the middle of the night), but the suspense is universal. The temptation, a mental struggle, the cautious scanning of the room. A subliminal background track climbs in crescendo. You give into the slightest slip, a minor indiscretion, really, and suddenly there you are, dropping through a trap door, plummeting down a dark, cavernous shoot, screaming in terror, only to fall into a sorry heap of shame at the fiery center of the earth (or other subconscious setting for doom and/or disgrace).

Though the vision itself is imaginary, the performance anxiety is often real. "No Sugar?" “Will I measure up?” “Can I hack it?” “How can I be that strict 100% of the time?” Questions (and doubts) abound as you contemplate a diet and lifestyle overhaul. Perfectionism, the letter of the law, looms large in these moments.

Enter the 80/20 principle….

Don’t let the 'perfect' be the enemy of the 'good'. And for good reason. The target of clean eating is to build habits for the long haul of a healthy, well-balanced life, NOT a brief stop off for 'quick' fixes. The necessary approach, then, is centered around sustainability. 100% compliance to clean eating is ideal, sure, but not realistic. So the baseline is this: if you align your life with the clean eating principles 80% of the time, and account for a few obstacles the other 20%, consider yourself on course.

However…even though 100% compliance isn’t the exact everyday expectation, 100% commitment is the intention. While we concede that real life happens, the acknowledgement is a necessary reality check, not an excuse! The 'Clean Eating' lifestyle does require steady commitment, genuine effort and daily dedication. But the key here is personal commitment – you develop and learn to view decisions through. Think of your clean eating transition and continuing evolution in terms of process-oriented goals rather than the rigid commandments of typical diet plans. Give your 'clean eating' plan 100%, and understand it’s O.K. when daily life moderates the overall picture. An 80% end result will have you well on your way to success and sustainable health.

As you continue the Clean Eating transition, you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised. Taste buds have a strange way of adapting themselves. Once you’re off the physiological sugar roller coaster, the psychological habit has a way of falling by the wayside. You find recipes, workouts, stress management practices you genuinely enjoy. In fact, you miss them if you have to or choose to skip a day. You actually look forward to getting back to the routine. Earnest perseverance facilitates compliance, which begins to come naturally. You see and feel the benefits. Going backward seems unrewarding.

Rest assured, in the course of the transition you’ll make the pieces fit comfortably into your own life. As a lifestyle and process-oriented plan, clean eating inherently cultivates an internal compass. Clean eating will become less about regimen and more about natural gravitation toward the style of living that offers vitality and balance. Eventually, the process will take on its own momentum and actually require less effort and thought over time.

The take home message is this. Clean eating is not a white knuckle ride. Loosen the grip, look for smart adjustments, absorb the overall vision and weave it into your life instead of nailing it over top your old habits.


And remember, it’s less about what you do at any one meal or single bout at the gym and more about what you do over the course of a given week or month. Think of where full commitment and full life intersect – that’s the logic of the 80/20 principle.

Have a Happy and Healthy Day, Cheers:)