80-20 Rule- It Rules!

In this weekly E-newsletter you'll find tip and clips, winks and links to keep you focused on your goals of fitness and weight management.

This is a reprint of my August 17, 2008 issue of my weekly e-Newsletter- Please find the sign up form on the front page of this blog if you are not already receiving this valuable resource.

You can find past issues http://community.icontact.com/search?q=palmettofitnessfocus&in=all&age=all

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Pareto was 80-20% correct- of course

You may not have known it had an official name, but it's called
Pareto's Principle - The 80-20 Rule
Here’s the short version: 80% of output gets done by 20% of input.

There are lots of applications for this principle- and while unproven- they all seem pretty accurate- probably 80% of them are accurate at least.

• 80% of work gets done by 20% of the people
• 80% of the money is given by 20% of the people
• 80% of your income is as a result of 20% of your effort
• 80% of your emails come from 20% of the people
  

What would Pareto say about your health and fitness?

Could 80% of your success/ failure come from 20% of your effort?

If 80-20 is reality, it would seem important to identify what makes the critical difference and find a way to maximize your effort to maximize your success.

In my experience, 80% of the time I can-“be good", and only "lapse" 20 % of the time and sure enough, my success just tanked. For weight loss, your calorie deficit is critical. I bet you could isolate and correct ONE thing that is hindering your success.

• Skipping meals
• Sodas/ alcohol
• Late night eating
• Sweet snacking
• Fast food
• Mayonnaise
  

Then there is your exercise effort. For every hour, 20 percent means around 12 minutes is most critical to your success

• Are you coasting those last minutes of cardio?
• Are you going wimpy on your resistance training?
• Are you avoiding working up a sweat?
• Are you doing the same old routine vs. alternating programs to get new stimulus?
• Could you try interval training to ramp up the intensity?

How wonderful that you don’t need to change everything, but by tweaking only 20% of your effort you can improve your ultimate success.

Your assignment this week is to find out those critical-to-success areas. Once you’ve identified what is making the 80% impact, laser-focus your behavior and priorities to succeed!

Renovations Are Hard Work

We started some renovations in our home this week.
Sounds crazy but I'm thrilled to see the bathroom in total destruction mode! The more I scrapped off the wallpaper the more energized I got. I even got a thrill from scraping the popcorn off the ceiling and getting those crumbles from head to toe. I stood looking at my naked room, no tile, no wallpaper, no ceramics and I LOVED it- temporarily.

You see, once we started tearing out the old it was clear, there was no turning back. We were on a clear path to a new reality, one I've desired for a long.

It's not much different when you talk about losing weight.
It's amazing how long you can put up with something you've wanted to change for so long.
And then...one day... you start the demolition.

You peel away the ragtag, dated, stained excuses and habits. Every layer that comes off becomes more energizing than the last. Every step moves you closer to the new reality of a healthier, happier brand new- YOU!

• You set the alarm 15 minutes early and start to walk. Ahh. Man, the air feels refreshing!
• You pack an extra bottle of water. Amazing how good water tastes, you know?
• At the last minute, you change that order to grilled chicken. Umm. tastes great!
• I even savor the way my muscles feel when they talk back to me after a strong workout.

You and I are on a grand adventure, one of becoming who we have longed to be. Every decision is either removing the old or building the new.

Make every decision count this week!

Staying on Track: Good, Better, Best!

• Fitness is not perfection, it's PROGRESSION!
  

Everyone begins the journey to healthy living from different beginning points. What is hard for me may be easy for you, and what's no-sweat for me may be a mountain for you.

Trying to move too quickly is a recipe for failure and frustration. It's not uncommon to circle the same loop a few times as we figure out a thing or two. The important thing is to keep progressing. If you are doing better today than you did yesterday or last week, don't sweat the small fluctuations in motivation.

You want to take what is good and make it better, and when you are ready, make better into best. What does that look like?

1. Changing choices,
2. Changing frequency
3. Planning for success.
   

For Nutrition: You're used to eating burgers and fries at fast food 3-5 days a week

Good: Choose one

• Eating out only 2 days
• Changing burger to grilled chicken first once a week, then twice, etc.
• Dropping the fries
  

Better: Choose 2 or more

Best: A salad with lite dressing

For exercise: Watching sports on tv is a close to exercise as you've been lately:

Good:

• Strolling 10 minutes at lunch
• Parking further out in the parking lot
  

Better:

• taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator
• walking briskly to where your are breathing deeply, multiple times a week
• Weight training a couple days a week
  

Best:

• 30-40 minutes of challenging cardio, 5 days a week
• Weight training intensely 3-5 times a week.
  

Palmetto Fitness Focus is here to help you determine where your beginning point is, and how to find good to better, and better to best choices in your life.

Kathleen Wood

This is part 6 of a 10 part series on Staying on Track- Weight Management Series

Choices We Make

Choices!
Not only do we all make choices, we demand the right to make them. What if we make poor choices? I believe we live so much in the moment that we don’t really understand the impact of many of our choices.


Some choices, like “red shirt or blue shirt” are not earth shattering and regardless of which you chose your life remains virtually the same.
“Do you want fries with that?” on the surface would seem equally mundane and yet your answer might significantly’ impact your future.


Heart disease is considered a “lifestyle” disease. How we live, what we eat, the stress we are under, comprise 90% of the determination of whether we become part of that statistic in America.


Heart disease is the number one killer of women in America.Will a single order of fries kill you? No. What will is that Fast food as a way of life has permeated our daily pattern of living. It’s quick, it’s cheap, it’s convenient,… at least until the ambulance arrives a few years down the road. Believe me, rehab is not cheap, not convenient, and life-altering.


Chose foods that fuel a powerful life: Whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean, high quality proteins.


“Just Say No” works on more than teenage sex.
“No fries, thank you”
“What other sides are available with that lunch?”
“Please substitute a carrot raison salad or side salad”
“I’ll take it plain, thank you.”


Say these phrases and we'll give you a gold star, you got a fighting chance to avoid a future hospital stay, or worse.



Stay Motivated, move toward healthy living!