We asked Woodside’s Director of Wellness Dr. Amanda Chaney what she was eating this year to stay in shape and maintain a healthy diet, here is her response:
“I do not focus on things to cut out, but instead focus on things I can add more of to fuel my body. I can’t live without my green tea or chocolate. Being 44 years old, it’s getting harder to bounce back from eating badly for a number of days in a row. I like to set my New Year’s resolution to be realistic and achievable, so my nutrition plan is based on the 80/20 rule: stick to eating healthy 80% of the time and save 20% for splurges. It’s a great nutrition concept because it stresses how eating is not about perfection, it can be pleasurable too. That might mean having a daily ‘cheat’ treat or saving it all up for a few big meals out on the weekend.”— Dr. Amanda Chaney, Naturopathic Doctor and Woodside Wellness Director
We all deserve a reward every now and then, and the 80/20 diet is the perfect response to keeping realistic goals for a healthy lifestyle. So how do you figure out what percentage of your meals to dedicate to 80% vs. the 20%? The answer is actually a lot simpler than you think, according to Daily Burn’s 80/20 Diet Decoded article:
‘Write down how many times you eat a meal and a snack in a day. Then, multiply that by seven (to account for a week) and calculate the 20 percent based on that. In other words, if you have one snack between breakfast and lunch and another one between lunch and dinner, you eat five times a day, or 35 times a week. One-fifth of those is seven, so you can devote seven of your weekly meals and/or snacks to the 20 percent treat-yourself category.’
In addition to the 80/20 diet, it’s important to maintain moderately intense workouts at least 5 times a week, mixing it up with strength training to improve metabolism by building muscle strength while burning fat.
