The Ultimate Nutrition Guide for Entrepreneurs | The 80/20 Rule

Ever kicked off the New Year with a page-long list of resolutions as you start your next health kick? You'll have tried many things by now I'm sure: Huel, Veganuary or god-forbid Keto (more on that in a future article).

But, alas, in a sea of fundraising applications, team meetings and late-nights in the office, you're still permanently rooted in square one.

You're not alone.

Up to 25% of entrepreneurs experienced moderate burnout in a recent study and many struggle with eating well consistently.

Instead of doing more, I'd suggest doing less.

Why?

Well, you'll no doubt be familiar with Pareto's principle, popularised by Tim Ferriss in his multiple books/podcasts.

It states:

80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

What does that have to do with nutrition? Well, let's explore how you can eat smarter and achieve more with the 20% of work.

How to Eat Healthy without the Effort

Anyone who knows me at least semi-well will know my calendar can be literally action-packed.

I work for a startup, I run my own business and I'm chapter director of Startup Grind in Edinburgh - I wear many hats (not literally of course, but maybe I should!)

By default, I've had to master the art of minimising input and maximising results.

On the topic of time, I've made the rest of the article easily scannable and as concise as possible.

Here’s a few pointers that have helped to transform my own nutrition and that of my clients over the past two years.

1) Clean up your Food Environment

Do an audit of your food environment at home and stock up on 80% healthy items. Fresh fruit (frozen berries, bananas, apples), veggies (spinach, carrots, peppers), wholegrain oats, natural peanut butter etc...

Obvious? Yes, but impactful? Absolutely.

As humans, we often fall to the level of the surroundings we find ourselves in and each day we only have limited self-discipline. Our nutrition often the first thing to go.

Use the rule of Dr John Berardi (Precision Nutrition Founder) which states: any food in the home will be eaten by you or someone you care about at some point.

Be brutal, Marie Kondo style your cupboards and leave a few joy-sparking treats but not too many.

2) Do More Walking

When it comes to eating well, staying active goes hand in hand.

We're all guilty of (myself included) sitting down for 7-8+ hours a day in front of a laptop screen, heck I'm doing this right now typing this article.

Set yourself a minimum steps target per day (8-10K ideally) and get moving.

This can be explained by Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT), which is essentially all of the movement that we do daily that’s not specifically exercise.

This could be simply fidgeting, doing chores or walking to your hot-desk for the day. Add up these small margins to your advantage.

3) Drink More Water

For sake of not sounding like a nagging mother, most of us fail to drink enough water. Red wine at networking events, sure (I regularly hit my quota there easily), but good old fashioned H2O not so much.

Even up to 2% dehydration can leave us lacking energy, lower our motivation & has a massive downstream impact on our productivity.

Aim for 2-3L of water or rather 5-6 bottles per day. Add some squash or chopped lemons/lime for flavour to sweeten the deal.

4) Up your Protein Intake

Hungry for success? We all are. But hungry during the day? That's a problem.

The number one deciding factor on your nutrition plan being a success is not the plan itself, but it's how well you can stick to said plan.

If you're ravenous between meals, healthy eating is not easy. Add a protein source to each meal to help you stay satisfied for longer.

This can be adding a skyr yoghurt for breakfast or quinoa/salmon for lunch for instance. Easy right? Exactly.

Even as quick as a vegan or whey protein shake in between meals.

Aim for 20-30g per serving specifically for maximum benefit.

What you do consistently every day will define your outcomes. Make it simple and sustainable for you.

Keen to get going? Amazing. Try 1-2 of these habits per week and you'll generate your very own fitness flywheel in no-time at all.

Interested in more nutrition advice as an aspiring entrepreneur? Book a free discovery call today -https://calendly.com/dmnutrition/discovery-call.