Follow the 80-20 rule

It’s important to allow yourself treats now and again. Remember, we are not aiming to be perfect, just the best we can be. My trainer, Fernando, calls it the 80–20 rule. For 80 per cent of the time, you choose healthy foods. But for special occasions – Christmas, holidays, parties – enjoy yourself. That’s the other 20 per cent. If you have dessert or a glass of wine every single day, this is not a treat – it’s a habit. But if you are fit and you eat what your body needs most of the time, the occasional treat is more easily metabolised. Plus, it is much more enjoyable!

Some people have a ‘cheat day’ when, for one day a week, you eat what you feel like without guilt. I think this is a great concept. When you do the healthy thing throughout the week, eating your fish and veggies and doing your exercise, why not allow yourself one day to enjoy the ice-cream or the slice of pizza you’ve been thinking about all week? And enjoy it, that is key. Feeling guilty about it would be foolish, wouldn’t it? Treats enjoyed consciously are nothing to feel guilty about.

But the trick is to not let one day turn into weeks of indulgent eating. The very next day I’m back to demanding everything from myself again. Having a treat motivates me to start the next day with exercise. In general, I try to make my ‘cheat day’ a weekend day, but if I am feeling really low mid-week because of something that’s happened, I will give in to what my body asks for, whatever craving it is.

Normally that is all I need, but I sometimes have a period where I’m feeling low for a few days, and that’s when I take the pressure off myself. We all have days when we have a lot of energy and others when we don’t. For me, the trick is to keep a steady ship, without closing the door on what the body is asking for.