You only need to casually browse the internet and you are more than likely to stumble upon a fresh fat loss trend without even looking for one. Now, what would immediately grip your attention is the different schools of thought and the sheer variety of anecdotal claims. You have some folks presenting convincing arguments as to why extreme dietary plans should be the way to go for anyone wishing to lose body fat while other people state that they have somehow uncovered an ingenious way to regulate the body’s metabolic system. But despite the many online claims, there are very few that actually stand basic scrutiny.
However, there is one trending fat loss strategy that may seem new to some people, but not to anyone conversant with tried and tested fat loss strategies that have endured throughout the years. This body composition concept involves the conscious act of ending a meal before you are literally full and this strategy is simply known as the 80% Full Fat Loss Trick.
You may be wondering at this point how you can lose body fat just by resisting the temptation of filling your belly with a sumptuous meal. Well, this strategy is designed to help you rely more on your natural instincts and awareness on your need to cut fat by eating in moderation instead of relying on highly restrictive extreme diets or the somewhat tedious process of calorie counting.
In this article, we will take a closer look at how the 80% full fat loss trick works as well as why this established mindful eating for weight loss strategy could just be what you need in achieving the body composition you desire.
What Exactly Is the 80% Full Fat Loss Trick?
As mentioned already, the 80% Full Fat Loss Trick os one of the most sustainable fat loss habits that you can adopt today and involves you deliberately ending your meal once you feel satisfied rather than completely full.
According to nutrionists, you will know it’s time to end a meal before you are full when you experience the following:
#1. You feel satisfied and not famished.
#2. You feel energized and not fatigued.
#3. You can carry on with your daily activities with no visible sign(s) of discomfort.
It is important to note that when you decide to end a meal, it is because you need to if you want to be able to lose proper fat.
Why is Overeating a Common Mistake made By Most People?
It goes without saying that natural hunger and fullness cues that should be instinctive to most people can be adversely influenced by external factors. We are talking about the effects of social pressure, an exposure to long lines of buffets and large portions of food in restaurants, a fast lifestyle, emotional or binge eating especially while busy fiddling with a digital device.
It is not uncommon to see people continually eating, relying on external factors or cues instead of depending on internal cues when deciding on when to end their consumption of a meal. The thing is the satiety signals from your belly and digestive system to your brain are often delayed and by the time you actually feel full, you most likely would have consumed more food than your body needs.
But to avoid overeating, one strategy you can adopt today is simply to stop eating when 80% full.
Getting to Understand The Science Behind Hunger and Fullness Cues
To thoroughly come to terms with why the 80% Full Fat Loss Trick is a cutting strategy that has a high success rate, you need to take time out to really get to understand the science behind hunger and fullness cues.
To start with, your appetite is regulated by virtue of a complex funnel of communication between digestive signals, nerves, and hormones in your body.
To simplify it, the ghrelin, leptin, stretch receptors and gut hormones all play a major role in influencing your appetite throughout the day.
The ghrelin is also known as the “hunger hormone” and this hormone tends to rise just before a meal and drop afterwards. As for leptin, this is a hormone that signals fullness and ensures your body’s energy balance is regulated in the long-run.
Also, whenever you eat and the food gets to your stomach, satiety signals are transmitted to your brain by both stretch receptors and gut hormones in your stomach suggesting that you have consumed sufficient amounts of food.
Now, the real challenge lies in the fact that the ghrelin, leptin, stretch receptors, and gut hormones do not operate like clockwork. As a matter of fact, research shows that complete fullness signals can take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes or even much longer to completely register. What this means is that if you keep consuming food until you feel full, you would have taken in more calories than you require before it even registers to your brain.
The 80% Rule Thrives under Mindful Eating for Weight Loss
Whenever you combine mindful eating for weight loss with the 80% Full Fat Loss Trick, you get the best possible cutting results.
When we say mindful eating, we are simply referring to your overall experience when eating. What this means is that you eat slowly, thoroughly chew your food, savour the textures and flavors, acknowledge your level(s) of hunger, and monitor satiety signals.
If you eat your meals in a quick way, you may consume a great amount of calories before fullness triggers even have time to properly activate.
When you slowly eat your food, your brain will get the satiety signals quicker (than when you eat fast) which makes it so much easier for you to stop eating just before you are thoroughly full.
How Does the 80% Rule Support Sustainable Fat Loss Habits?
The one thing that is sure to lead to the failure of any diet plan is where that plan is heavily reliant on the willpower of the person implementing it.
It is not unusual to see people taking drastic measures all in an attempt to adhere to the strict requirements of their diet plan, such as; sticking to a restrictive meal schedule, and social lifestyle in order to avoid overeating.
However, with the 80% rule, you have a totally different strategy that is not heavily reliant on your willpower, but on you focusing on just how much food you should consume at any point in time.
The most efficient sustainable fat loss habits are often those that you can practice (without it feeling like a chore) for a number years as a lifestyle choice instead of just a few weeks at a time.
With the 80% strategy, you will be able to eat and thoroughly enjoy your favorite foods, attend social events, consume food whenever you feel like, drastically reduce those feelings of deprivation, and develop a much better awareness of your body.
The Reasons Why the 80% Full Fat Loss Trick Is Trending
It’s not too hard to comprehend why the 80% Full Fat Loss Trick is so popular these days, as the answer lies in people literally being tired of strict extreme dieting programs that include juice fasts, heavy calorie restriction, elimination diets, detox cleanses, and several unsustainable diet plans.
While admittedly, these strategies may offer short-term outcomes, but they all tend to be sustainable as long-term lifestyle habits. With the 80% rule, you don’t need costly programs, specialized supplements, complex meal plans or a list of foods you should not consume, all you need is a willingness to adopt the age-old skill of listening to your body.
5 Practical Strategies to Stop Consuming Food When You Are 80% Full
You need to practice in order to perfect the skill of learning when to stop eating when 80% full.
However, here are five (5) practical strategies to help you stop eating when you are 80% full.
#1. Try Eating Slowly
Try to eat in such a way that you spend between 15 to 20 minutes eating a meal. Whenever you eat slowly, you tend to trigger satiety signals that your brain is in tune with.
#2. Try to Pause Halfway Through Your Meal
You should try to pause halfway through your meal to take a mental note on whether you need to keep eating or stop.
#3. Try to Use Smaller Dishes
By using smaller plates you will naturally appropriate moderate meal portions without having the feeling of being restrictive.
#4. Try to Rate Your Level of Hunger
Just before a meal you should try to rate your level of hunger. You can do so on a scale of 1 to 10. This way you will get a good idea on whether you need to stop eating or carry on.
#5. Try to Avoid Distractions
You should try as much as possible to avoid distractions when eating. That means, no fiddling with your mobile phone or even watching television, as this can lead to fast eating and even overeating. When you focus solely on eating, you will improve your natural recognition of fullness signals.
The Most Common Mistakes People Make When Practising the 80% Rule
While the 80% rule is simple, people tend to make common mistakes that ultimately reduces the effectiveness of the cutting strategy.
The first common mistake is waiting until you are completely full. You should note that the goal of the 80% rule is not fullness, but satisfaction.
The second common mistake is consuming food too fast which can limit the natural regulation of your appetite by your body. Thirdly, you have people either forgetting or blatantly ignoring to consume foods that are rich in fiber and protein. These foods tend to promote satiety and should form a vital part of any meal.
And the fourth common mistake is treating the 80% rule like any other dietary plan. First off, the 80% rule is more of a behavioral skill than a diet challenge. So, your goal should be consistency rather than perfection.
Who Does the 80% Rule Benefit the Most?
While the 80% rule can be adopted by virtually anyone, it is particularly useful for emotional eaters, anyone looking for sustainable lifestyle changes, chronic overeaters, anyone fed up with calorie counting, and even busy executives.
The Effects of Sustainable Fat Loss Habits in the Long-run
It is no secret that those habits you deem to be small often act as catalysts for the most significant body transformations. But while the 80% rule (if practiced) will only drop your calorie count by a moderate number on a day-to-day basis, the small drop in calorie intake can and will eventually add up in the long-run.
What you can come to expect after an extended period of consistency is improvements in your body composition, digestion, and energy levels. In addition to this, you will also have a much better control of your appetite while you adopt healthy eating habits along the way.
Ultimately, you get to understand and trust your body more than ever before, which is the one thing that makes this strategy worth taking a critical look at by all concerned with maintaining healthy weights.
Final Thoughts
If by now you are still wondering why the 80% Full Fat Loss Trick is catching on fast amongst newbies and experienced gym rats alike, it is because this cutting strategy addresses perhaps the most significant issue in conventional nutrition, which is the seeming disconnection from hunger and fitness cues that come naturally to us.
However, by taking time out to practice and perfect mindful eating for weight loss by making use of portion control for fat loss, you will soon discover that you can actually consume less food during a meal without experiencing any feelings of deprivation.
Now, the 80% rule doesn’t require you to be perfect like many other trending dietary plans because it is a simplistic, sustainable, and highly flexible cutting strategy that anyone can adopt today.
