A Pareto look on fast food

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Do's and dont's of fast food

Nutrition is more about habit than about rigid rules. The reason is simple: you have to be able to keep eating well in the long run in order to have a strong and solid health. Well, this is not easy, but it can be helped a little bit with a sistematic pareto view on the subject.

Eating, obviously, is mainly composed by two parts: 1) what to eat?, and 2) what NOT to eat?. But, also, there is a third component, which is 3) how much to eat?

In this sense, we see that fast food is often demonized and put in a basket of bad habits people sustain. Eating only fast food will probably bring you to a bad overall health. But eating healthy and ocasionally enjoying a day with your favorite fast food cuisine will not damage you irreversibly.

Sure it is, many people do it. The lessons Tim Ferriss brings us in his great book "The 4-Hour Body" show that planning meals in advance can be a great way to make a commitment to treat well your body.

Also, Jim Rohn used to talk a lot about nutrition. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" was one of the most listened quotes at his seminars. And even if it seems too easy to do, it is simply because it MIGHT be.

At one point, we come to discover that every action has its own consequence, and in matters of food there is no exception.

Ways in which the pareto principle can help you eat better

I am listing here only 5, but you can imagine infinite more. Just use your creativity and your will to get away from the daily habit of fast food eating.

1 - Make an 80/20 analysis of the fast food you eat and find out the 20% that is more dangerous to your health. It shouldn't be very hard, just google them and separate between rankings according to their health menaces. CUT them.

2 - Limit yourself to eating fast food just 20% of the days. It means something around a meal and a half (a dessert, it might be) per week.

3 - Find out the 20% least dangerous fast food items you like to eat. If possible, when you really feel like eating fast food, stick to them.

4 - As food is sometimes a matter of context, find out the 20% of the situations in which you find yourself inevitably falling for a fast food meal. If you cannot avoid those kind of situations, try to be prepared like bringing something healthy to eat in order to maybe weaken the fast food habit link.

5 - And, finally, as quality food and exercises are together when it comes to taking care of someone's health, try to exercise 80% of the week (or around 4 times a week).

Well, as said before, eating healthy is not about rigid rules, but mainly about a conscious act of choosing the kind of lifestyle will be better for you and your body. Following some of the mentioned tips can surely help you with that.