The Pareto Principle for Fat Loss

So you’re trying to lose fat and improve your body composition.

However, it seems like things are more complicated than you initially thought they would be.

Why?

Well, mostly because your Google search on how to lose fat came up with, literally, an endless number of results.

You went through lots of it. You also got advice from friends, colleagues, and family, despite not even asking for it.

You’re feeling overwhelmed.

One guy at work told you about the keto diet.

Don’t eat carbs so that you get into ketosis – sounds simple enough!

How do you properly measure ketone levels, though, to make sure you’re in ketosis? Also, how many grams of carbs are you allowed? 20 grams? 50 grams? And is that net grams of carbs (carbs minus fiber) or total grams of carbs? Also, what do you do when the weight loss stalls? Eat keto-er? And will drinking bulletproof coffee help you bust through that weight loss plateau? Wait, won’t butter increase LDL cholesterol and clog your arteries, though?

Okay, nevermind. Keto sounds hard and too complicated.

But you’ve also been told about intermittent fasting.

Which protocol is the best one, though? The 5:2 one? Alternate day fasting? Maybe you should just go with Martin Berkhan’s daily 16:8 protocol. Or the Eat Stop Eat protocol by Brad Pilon. Or you could maybe try the Warrior Diet. On a related note, can you have a few calories while fasting? If yes, how many calories can you have? And does a little cream break your fast? What about apple cider vinegar? What about vitamins? Do those break a fast? Hold on, are vitamins even properly absorbed if you take them without food?

This intermittent fasting thing also seems pretty complicated. Skip.

Maybe you should just try to eat clean foods instead.

What’s clean and what’s dirty though? Are fruits clean? I’ve heard that they have a high glycemic index. Yes, but some of them have a low glycemic load. Wait, what’s the difference between glycemic index and glycemic load? Not sure. Better just stay away from fruits altogether. You know, just in case. Hold on, is it the glycemic index what determines the “cleanliness” of foods to begin with? Also, are artificial sweeteners okay? Are those clean?

Arghhh!

Okay, one thing at a time.

First, you’ll start drinking some green tea every day, since you’ve heard that it burns fat.

Does it though?

Okay, screw green tea. You’ll just avoid gluten since it makes you put on belly fat (?) and switch from normal salt to Himalayan salt. That should do the trick…not!

Okay, I’ve tormented you enough.

I hope I’ve managed to make my point though.

What’s my point, you ask?

My point is that YOU ARE UNNECESSARILY OVER-COMPLICATING THINGS!

And it’s not doing you any favors. Instead, it’s just holding you back.

Thankfully, I have a principle you can follow that may help. You may have heard of it before.

It’s called the Pareto principle.

The basic idea of the Pareto principle is that roughly 80% of the effects of an event come from 20% of the causes – this is, of course, why it’s also called “the 80/20 rule”.

Now, what does that mean for someone like you who is trying to lose fat and improve their body composition?

Simply put, it means that roughly 20% of what you do will give you 80% of the results you’re after.

And what’s the 20% I’m talking about?

As you would expect, it only involves a handful of things:

1. Make sure you’re eating fewer calories than you’re burning consistently over time.
2. Get enough protein.
3. Lifts weights and do a little cardio 3-4 times per week.
4. Find a way (any way) to do the above that’s as easy, convenient, practical, and sustainable for you as possible.

Aaaaand that’s pretty much it. Simple, right?

This is how you would apply the Pareto principle for fat loss and get the 20% effort that will give you 80% (if not more) of the results you’re after.

And no, to get good results, you don’t have to purchase my book (I haven’t written one yet, anyway), buy a custom training and nutrition plan, or sign up for online coaching.

You can get great results for free by making sure you’re doing the above handful of things.

At the end of the day, if you still have questions or if you want a little extra help, you can feel free to shoot me an email!

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