The 80/20 Rule for Diet and Exercise (2024)

80/20 Rule? What?! You may have heard that abs are made in the kitchen…but just how important are diet and exercise?

Maybe you have eaten an extra piece of dessert because you exercised that day, so you feel like you “earned” it dammit!

In order to see results at the gym, lose weight or even maintain overall health, we’re told that it’s an 80/20 balance. Meaning 80% of your results comes from the food you eat, and only 20% of your results come from your workouts.

But is this actually true? Is food THAT much more important than exercise when it comes to our health and our results in performance?

Well, it all depends on your goals. Hang in there with me now, because it’s going to get good!

Health Goal: FAT LOSS

THE VERDICT? 80/20 Diet to Exercise ratio

Have you ever eaten a cookie or other sweet treat after your workout and thought “I earned this, so I’m going for it!”

So many people assume that just because they’re exercising, they can eat whatever they want. This simply isn’t true if your goal is FAT LOSS. While exercise has tremendous health benefits, nutrition plays a bigger role in helping you shed the extra weight and inches.

Most people eat at least 21 times in a week. And if we’re regularly exercising, that means we’re working out between 3-6 times a week. (Look at me with the math!)

Just looking at the numbers alone, it’s obvious that WHAT we eat is going to have a bigger impact on our waistline. You can’t outrun the end of your fork! (80/20 rule: 80% of our diet, and 20% of our activity helps to determine the results we see on the outside.)

Now that doesn’t mean we should simply stop exercising! It just means you’ve got to get reallyserious about HOW and WHAT you’re fueling your body with.

So, if your top priority is FAT LOSS, exercise is still important. But if you’re eating fast food and candy because you think you’ve “earned it”, you’re just not going to see the results you want to achieve in terms of changes in body composition. This means that diet & exercise are important, but what goes in your mouth is moreimportant!

Health Goal: OPTIMIZED HEALTH & LONGEVITY

THE VERDICT? 50/50 Nutrition to Exercise ratio

It goes without saying that BOTH diet and exercise are important factors for overall health status. The food that we eat most certainly has an impact on our overall health and longevity.

As a matter of fact, exercise has been proven to boost mental health, reduce risk of chronic diseases, strengthen your bones and muscles, andhelp you live longer(to name a few!). [ 1]

One study, in particular, found that a combination of exercise and nutrition provided the best results for achieving long term fat loss. [ 2]

But, on the whole – whyisfood & nutrition more important in the bigger health picture?

The reason that a healthful daily diet is so much more effective than exercise on the whole, is because it takes a ton of activity to create a 500 to 700 calorie deficit through working out.

Essentially, you’d need to run 7-10 miles a day to lose one pound a week, says Holly Lofton, M.D., an assistant professor of medicine at New York University’s Langone Medical Center. [ 3]

As you can imagine, the average person simply can’t keep this up, especiallywithout increasing their caloric intake. So, then you’re simply back where you started.

So, we should just stop exercising and focus all of our energy on our daily diet?

No. Of course not! Remember that 80/20 rule?

What’s most important is that you’re moving your body andeating nutrient dense food on a regular basis. You can’t go wrong with this strategy for overall health.

However, if your goals change, it may mean that you focus a little more on one or the other in order to achieve the individual results you want. But, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing!

You can still achieve results, maintain good health, andenjoy delicious tasting food. It’s best to focus on single ingredient whole foods as much as possible. You can even create your own “healthified” dessert or high energy snack!

These 2-ingredient Almond Butter Stuffed Dates are the perfect way to satisfy a sweet tooth without adding processed sugar. Plus, they are high in fiber and healthy fats, andthey taste decadent! Diet and exercise work together to your benefit. You just need to know your goals to see which approach is the best for you.

RECIPE

Almond Butter Stuffed Dates

Ingredients

12 Medjool Dates (no sulphites)

12 tsp Almond Butter (no added sugar or oil)

Optional Toppings: unsweetened shredded coconut, pomegranate seeds, chia seeds, hemp hearts, cinnamon and/or a pinch of sea salt.

Preparation

Create a vertical slit in the center of the date, remove pits, if necessary. Spoon one teaspoon of the almond butter into the center of each date.

Add optional toppings like coconut or a dash of sea salt to suit your taste buds.

Enjoy these sweet high fiber treats as they are, OR freeze them to enjoy later. Just remember that 1 or 2 is a serving. 😉

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