We go on a diet and follow it dogmatically. For a month, 2 months, we lose weight and love our new bodies. Within a few months, though, the weight creeps up and we’re back to where we were, or worse.

Diets are not sustainable. That’s where the 90/10 rule will save you and enable you to reach your ideal weight forever. 

Simply put, the 90/10 ruse is 90% whole foods and 10% whatever you want from cookies to martinis. An important part of this rule is that at least 60% of your diet consists of plant foods, and this applies just as much to athletes as sedentary people.

The 90/10 rule should be taken into account when you plan your year; that is, know that 10% of the time you are going to go “off track,” such as periods during the summer and holidays.

As part of this, it is optimal to do a minimum of 3 cleanses per year in which you eat “clean” foods while you cleanse. Ideally, plan when you’re going to do a cleanse at the beginning of each year. That way, if you fall off track, as we all inevitably do, you know you have a schedule in place to help you regroup.

The more perfect you strive to be in eating, the more off track you wil become. This isn’t about perfection, which is an illusion in our minds; it’s about learning how to incorporate sustainable healthy eating habits into our daily lives.