August 2025 Newsletter

{{contact.first_name}}, time for some real talk:

Your 80/20 might be 50/50—or worse.

You’ve probably heard of the “80/20 nutrition rule”—it’s the simple idea that you can find success with food if you eat well 80 percent of the time and indulge in your favorite treats 20 percent of the time.

In theory, this idea works well.

For example, if eight of 10 meals are healthy dishes filled with vegetables and lean protein, you probably don’t need to worry about the occasional burger night or pizza dinner.

Same deal in the gym: If you train on eight of 10 days, you’ll get a lot of exercise and need to sprinkle in a few days off to rest and recover.

This flexible plan works for some people, but it’s a disaster for others because we tend to throw the equation out of whack with poor estimations.

Many people who target 80/20 actually end up below 50/50, and that derails their progress toward goals.

You can probably guess what happens.

Researchers have found that people generally underestimate how much they eat, and the error can be up to 2,000 calories a day—a huge amount.

Similarly, people generally overestimate their movement by up to 72 percent.

These errors can blow holes in a nutrition and fitness plan.

Common Estimation Errors

Here are just a few common nutrition mistakes that change the 80/20 math significantly:

 People don’t account for sauces, condiments, spreads and dressings.

 People forget about a few “handfuls of X”—nuts, chocolates and cookies are often

culprits here.

 People snack absentmindedly and totally forget they ate some foods.

 Fitness trackers, nutrition apps and smart watches can produce inaccurate data, and

logging errors are very common.

 People think certain foods are healthy because of marketing.

 People don’t measure serving sizes, so they have no idea how much they ate.

 People ignore “liquid calories” or “a few sips” even though some beverages pack a huge

caloric punch.

 People assume some restaurant choices are healthy when they’re actually loaded with

fat.

These issues can add up fast, and suddenly you’re moving backward.

The Solution

Don’t get me wrong: The 80/20 approach has merit if you implement the plan properly. But if you’re not getting any results, you’re probably in the 50-50 range.

Don’t worry—I have a solution: A coach.

A coach can help you set up a plan that will get you the results you want.

Perhaps you need to track your food in a journal or app. Or maybe you need to remove poor choices from your house completely. Maybe you need to create your menu a week in advance.

Lots of solutions exist, and a coach ca help you find the one that works for you—in the kitchen and the gym.

If you’re using the 80/20 plan—or any other program—but aren’t getting results, let’s get together to go over your goals and progress.

We’ll make a plan together and answer any questions you have. Then we’ll put you on track and provide the accountability you need to get results.

To book a chat about nutrition or fitness, click here [LINK].

[NAME]