The 80:20 rule

When I was discussing the food thing with Gina, she gave me loads of useful information, including a sheet titled The 10 Principles.
I'm not sure whether she wrote it, or if it came from a book or the internet, but I'm sure she won't mind me sharing it with you.

Principle 1. Eat protein with complex carbohydrates.
Principle 2. Stay hydrated.
Principle 3. Eat a wide variety of foods.
Principle 4. Fuel up frequently.
Principle 5. Eat breakfast.
Principle 6. Avoid sugar.
Principle 7. Exercise is essential.
Principle 8. Follow the 80:20 rule.
Principle 9. Make time to eat.
Principle 10. Eat fat to lose fat.

This afternoon, I'm going to stray a little bit as I'm going to a charity garden party where there will be lashings of tea and cakes. Principle 6 is definitely going to be temporarily ignored! However, I like no.8 which tells me that it's perfectly normal to stray from time to time. If I eat healthily for at least 80% of the time then I can stray for 20% of the time. Which means I can enjoy this afternoon without feeling bad.

The last thing I want is to tie myself down to a diet where I can't eat cake! And, I believe Pat's cakes are the best I've ever tasted.

I'll blog about the other principles over the week but I thought I'd better add that Principle 10 is talking about eating essential fats not saturated ones!