My 80/20 Diet chapter by chapter: Introduction

[katythompson]

After years of trying to lose weight and trying lots of diets I concluded three years ago that there is a lot of rubbish about diets and people become overzealous about a particular method which they take to an extreme and then find hard to keep it up. I designed the 80/20 diet for normal people with normal lives: 80 % of the diet benefit for 20% of the effort. I lost 3 stone on it and kept much of it off for 3 years.

My diet comprises five elements CREMS

1. Carb reduction (but NOT elimination - the 80/20 part is in how to do this to get most of the benefit and kill the addiction without being anal about it. What shortcuts work and what don't work? Smart carb control is the biggest element of the diet because carbs trigger insulin which raise blood sugar levels which make you want more carbs.. There will be a scientific explanation of this.
2. Replace some carbs with extra vegetables a) as an extra filling course which has since been renamed SOUPING by Americans (I will share some great tasting and low carb/low calorie soup recipes I've invented for my soupmaker and will tell you all about the soupmaker I use as well), b) as a side dish to your protein so your meal is more interesting having eliminated a lot of carbs c) as a snack - I have lot of idea
3. Exercise smartly for just 20 minute every other day (rather than long cardio). There is a particular regime I use that had amazing results when I look at before and after photos of me. It claims to stimulate hormones to target fat reduction and mood improvement and is cleverly designed so people can do it at their own pace and yet get a thorough workout. It worked for me. More about that in the chapter on exercise.
4. Measure. No NOT weight so you can see change and be motivated. There are a range of things I measure. More on this in the chapter on measurement
5. Substitution of the things you love that aren't great on the waistline. I will share with you a long list of substitute foods that have worked for me. Some are actually fantastically healthy and tasty. Some are moderately unhealthy but much less unhealthy than the thing you are substituting them for.

I'm new to Steemit (I joined yesterday) and am not sure if this series of articles/chapters will be of interest. So if you vote for this introduction I will write the next chapter, if not I will assume there is no interest in the topic. If you want to give me any constructive feedback in the comments, that would also be gratefully received!

Comments

[kiwideb]

Hi Katy. Welcome to Steemit! I'm one of the curators for health-trail which is part of the Steemtrail initiative to support new authors. Have a read of our intro post so you know who we are and what we're looking for. https://steemit.com/health/@health-trail/introducing-health-trail-part-of-the-steemtrail-curation-initiative
A few things that spring to mind about your post.

1. Don't assume that getting low votes on your first post means nobody is interested. It just means you didn't get noticed this time. It might take you a few posts to build up an audience. I'm writing on nutrition and health myself and if you look at my blog you will see that it took time and effort to build up a following. Also its the weekend, which is always slower.
2. Make your posts look a bit more inviting. See the tips in the intro post
3. Start making friends and building relationships. See intro post.
4. Put health as your first tag if you want to attract our attention. I looked in diet today as its slow. But if its busy, sometimes I only get time to check out health.
5. The concept of 80/20 is a well known concept in health circles and has been around for a while. So just be a bit careful about what you say you've designed and make sure you acknowledge your sources. Saying "I designed the 80/20 diet" is something I'm not comfortable with, whereas saying "I used the 80/20 concept to design a plan that works really well for me and might help you too" is quite different and I can support you on that. Does that make sense?
   I'll upvote you personally this time, and follow you, and will look forward to more posts that I can curate as health-trail. Feel free to reply to ask me anything.

[ribuck]

Thanks, Katy. I would love to see some more articles from you about your experience with dieting.

I have also managed to lose weight successfully for the first time in my life. I am using intermittent fasting, but like you I'm taking an 80/20 approach to everything.