A New Year ’ s Resolution : Don Saladino ’ s 80 / 20 Rule
Holistic fitness expert and trainer to celebrities , athletes and New York City policemen , Garden of Life brand advocate Don Saladino is owner of Drive495 , a state-of-the-art , 15,000 square foot golf and fitness training facility in New York .
Ihear this every year : “ I ’ ll hone in on my health and fitness goals the Monday after New Years ’ Day .”
This tells me that people like structure ; they need a definitive starting point . I believe you can get going on this goal any time of the year , but we ’ re now in the New Year , so let ’ s go !
Often , clients will come to me asking me what the best decisions to make during the holidays are . I ’ m happy to give them the answers . However , here ’ s another thought : what if you went about your health goals and fitness goals the entire year guilt free ? What if you didn ’ t feel bad about that occasional dessert or extra helping of food ?
Let ’ s face it . There are plenty of opportunities for setbacks the entire year , not just November through December . For example , there are birthday celebrations , Valentine ’ s Day , Memorial Day , the Fourth of July , vacations , dinner with family or friends and other occasions that could get you off track . Even going to the grocery store or driving by that favorite restaurant could sidetrack you .
My point is that we ’ re not going to approach our health and fitness goals with 100 percent tenacity or accuracy 100 percent of the time . It just isn ’ t doable or sustainable . We would grow to hate it and then give up — and that ’ s not an option .
That ’ s why I want to tell you about my 80 / 20 rule . It ’ s a rule you can apply to your health and fitness plan year-round , since the opportunity — and temptation — to off-road is with us constantly .
This isn ’ t a license to go hog wild — literally . You can shoot for that 100 percent mark most of the time , but the truth is that there will be times when the 80 / 20 rule needs to go into play . When those times hit , then here ’ s how to arm yourself .
When you enter a season in which it is more difficult to stick to your diehard nutrition and fitness schedule — such as
Photo Credit : Andrew Jaworski vacations , birthday celebrations , holidays , etc .— that ’ s when it ’ s time to look at your fitness and nutrition in seven day blocks . We need to achieve the 80 / 20 rule within these seven days for both your fitness and nutrition .
That means I ’ m allowing you to make mistakes 20 percent of the time , but you have to be a little more structured with what you ’ re eating the other 80 percent of the time , and you will have to log and make notes of your training days .
What this is going to do for you is allow you to NOT feel bad about being imperfect in this area of your life .
No one goes without making mistakes , especially with their eating and gym time . That ’ s just the reality . So , if you have a perception that the person next to you never deviates off the plan , check again .
HERE ’ S HOW I LIKE TO BREAK IT DOWN :
If you have five meals a day , seven days a week , you ’ re getting in 35 meals . Out of those 35 meals , 80 percent of them have to be spot on . Whatever it is , write your goal on paper . Eighty percent of the time , nail it . Twenty percent of the time , allow for error . The same goes for your fitness . If you like to exercise six days a week but find yourself missing that target , shoot for the 80 / 20 rule .
Why am I telling you to do this ? Because I don ’ t want you to feel like you cannot make mistakes . The need to be perfect is probably why some of you have fallen off the wagon to begin with . What this 80 / 20 rule provides is a reasonable playing field allowing you to be successful . So start here , and understand that fitness , health and wellness are not about being perfect . They ’ re about consistency and being in the game for the long haul .
A year from now , I hope you look back at your year and realize that finding success with this really wasn ’ t all that difficult .