Are you focused on your Fatness? Stop it now! Here’s why

I had a friend in high school who worked for KFC. She would tell me stories about the person who came in and ordered a large popcorn chicken with ranch dressing and a Doublicious Combo — with a Diet coke.

We would giggle at the preposterousness of the last-ditch attempt at caloric restraint and maybe you just had the same reaction.

But I wonder if this sounds more familiar: the person who goes to the latest fashionable restaurant and is careful to send the bread basket away, order the grass-fed organic beef and trade the potato for a salad with the dressing on the side … and then orders three artisan cocktails – double shots in each with simple syrup and etc.

Don’t get me wrong — this makes a LOT of sense in a foodie/deliciousness kind of way.

But not really from a health perspective.

The truth is that people are more conscious and health focused than ever before. But they are focusing on the wrong things. Because the things you actually need to focus on are old news. Boring. They are like those posters they pin to the ceiling at the dentist’s office that say ‘everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten’. Like, eat your vegetables.

But imagine trying to sell magazines with a big headline saying: “Vegetables! Still good for you after all these years!”

Instead, it’s much more profitable to headline some breaking news about:

Ice cream is low on the glycemic index! (this is true BTW – the fat balances out the sugar load).

But investing your health efforts in the relatively low glycemic index of ice cream would be the wrong thing to focus on. Have you ever hear of the 80/20 rule?

It states that we get 80% of our results from 20% of our effort.

The trick is to figure out what that 20% that delivers is and do more of that.

So here are the 5 things you REALLY need to focus on to get healthy and lean…

5 Must-Do’s to be Healthy, Lean (and quite frankly, Awesome in life!)

1. Portion control and calories in/calories out

Straight up, if you have extra body fat you are probably eating too much.

Yup, you heard me.

It’s not that your Macros are off or you are sensitive to gluten. It’s just straight up more food than you need, my friend. Maybe you caught the news a few years ago that we are supposed to have 5 meals a day. What the news didn’t cover is the kindergarten lesson of OMG don’t eat if you are not genuinely hungry!

The portions these days are absurd. Here’s what your ideal plate should look like:

• half the plate should be covered in vegetables
• your protein is the size of your palm (not your hand. Palm)
• your fat portion is the size of your thumb (so – cheese, dressing? THUMB. Your tiny, insignificant little thumb)
• your starch is the size of your fist.
• If you are trying to lose weight and want to focus on that 20% of effort that really delivers when it comes to nutrition, focus on maintaining your portion sizes and forget all the rest.

2. OMG go to SLEEP

Guess what happens when we’re tired?

First, we crave sugary, high calorie foods to give us energy.

Then, our decision-making skills are compromised to the point that we might as well be drunk.

Then the body perceives that we are not sleeping because we must be in crisis, which releases the stress hormone, cortisol, which retains abdominal fat for when we need it.

Interestingly, most people who are chronically sleep deprived are in denial about how it affects them physiologically. If you think you function as well on five hours of sleep as you do on seven, you are being like that drunk guy at the party who is slurring and insisting that he’s OK to drive home. Don’t be that guy. Stop looking at Pinterest and go to bed.

Choosing low carb snacks to go with your late night Netflix binge is an example of the 80% that is getting you nowhere. Turning off the Netflix and going to bed is an example of the 20% effort that will give greatest rewards.

3. Don’t drink so much booze

I wish I didn’t have to type that. I really do. There is nothing better than a glass (cough, cough…bowl) of wine to unwind after the kids have gone to bed.

But the horrible, mean and stingy truth is that:

• no amount of alcohol is really good for you
• Many people – especially women – are drinking way more than is considered safe. Check it out: One 5oz glass of wine a night plus a cocktail or two on Saturday night = a ‘heavy drinker’ as defined by medical guidelines.

WHOOPS.

And listen – I know that alcohol might help you unwind and fall asleep but it reduces the quality of your sleep and contributes to overall anxiety.

Fussing over the relative sugar content in your wine is an example of the 80% that doesn’t really matter. Straight up reducing your alcohol intake is the 20% that will deliver maximum rewards.

4. Move more during the day

If you are reading this blog, you probably pride yourself on being active. Maybe you go to fitness classes and you run in the mornings.

And that is AWESOME.

But if you are a member of the human race now, you are actually probably pretty sedentary.

And it’s not your fault – EVERYTHING we need to carry out is done in front of a computer. Most places we need to go are by car. You get the point.

We know we need to move our bodies so we are conscientious to take an hour out of our day to go to the gym. The unfortunate thing is that one hour doesn’t make up for the other 23.

If you want to see weight loss results, you need to stay moving. All day. Stressing about whether your Spin class will burn as many calories as CrossFit is an example of the 80% that doesn’t matter. Getting at least 10-15K steps is the 20% that will keep you lean and healthy.

5. You’ve got to chill

At the end of the day, you probably don’t want to be thin.

No, really. You don’t.

What you want is to feel happy about your body. To feel at peace.

The trouble is – that you think that feeling will happen when you’ve lost 10 pounds.

…and so you stress about losing 10 lbs and whether you blew your clean eating diet over the weekend and whether your muffin top is visible in that shirt, etc etc.

And all this stressing is leading to emotional eating and more cortisol being released and abdominal fat being retained which leads to more stress, etc – you see where I’m going with this.

And the truth is that feeling – being happy with your body, being at peace – is available NOW.

Not in 10lbs.

…but in 10 deep breaths.

So in conclusion, how’s the 80/20 rule apply to your life?

Stressing about your body is an example of the 80% that will not deliver the results you are looking for. Managing your stress and maintaining a positive mindset is actually

Everything.

So don’t sweat the small stuff. That 80% of health-related news that is just click-bait and not really important. Manage your portions, go to sleep, ditch the drinks, get moving more and then….chill.

You’ve got this.

Author Bio: Oonagh Duncan

Oonagh Duncan is a fitness industry veteran famous for her sense of fun and was awarded Pro Trainer of the Year by the Canadian Association of Fitness Professionals for the past two years in a row. She is an Associate Fitness Editor for Chatelaine Magazine and regular Expert on the Steven and Chris show. She is the founder and head trainer of Fit Feels Good Inc, where she leads the legendary online weight loss program, The 28 Day Transformation Challenge. When she’s not training, she’s playing Star Wars with her three year old and five year old sons.

Be sure to connect with her on Facebook, Twitter @fitfeelsgoodto and Instagram.

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