The 80/20 Rule for Consistent Progress

January is synonymous with resolutions. Every year, the top three goals remain the same: lose weight, eat differently, and start working out. Yet despite the best intentions, research suggests fewer than 9% of people actually stick to their New Year’s resolutions (Enterprise Apps Today, 2023). January is usually the month of intensity. After a December of indulgence, we dramatically change gears to a January of extreme restriction, dieting and intense exercise. This is a recipe that is prone to burnout by the end of the month.  Most wellness resolutions fail because they demand 100% of your mental energy, 100% of the time. Navigating nutrition labels, spending hours meal prepping, fitting in workouts, and still prioritising adequate rest can quickly become overwhelming, and this is where the 80/20 rule comes in.

Long-term results come from sustainable habits rather than extreme perfection. Calo takes care of your nutrition, which contributes the largest share of your progress (the 80%), freeing up time and mental space to focus on the remaining 20%, supporting your wellbeing through movement you genuinely enjoy, whether that’s running, walking, yoga, swimming, HIIT, or anything in between.

Nutrition is the primary driver of initial weight loss, while exercise plays a complementary but important role.

A randomised control trial assigned participants to one of three interventions: exercise alone, diet alone, or a combination of diet and exercise. Diet alone accounted for 80% of the total possible weight loss, and when exercise was added, it boosted the total weight loss by a total of 20% (Foster-Schubert et al., 2012).

The importance of nutrition for results is the most determining factor; however, it is also the most demanding behaviour to maintain consistently. Having ideas for healthy food and enjoyable meal choices is something people often struggle with.

Modern food environments require people to navigate portion sizes, marketing claims, ingredient lists, and ultra-processed foods disguised as healthy food options. Over time, this mental effort contributes to decision fatigue. As cognitive resources are depleted, consistency tends to break down, or we may have much less energy and time for the other healthy habits that contribute towards weight loss. 

Read more about maintaining Blood Sugar for optimal productivity.

Although eating healthy food drives early progress, physical activity plays a crucial role in maintaining weight loss. Long-term studies show that higher levels of physical activity are one of the strongest predictors of keeping weight off (Wing and Phelan, 2005).

Exercise engagement also increases the motivation to maintain good nutrition. Our body composition may change through exercise, in particular, resistance training. When we have more lean muscle mass, our body burns more calories at rest, and therefore, the rate of change or progress accelerates.

In simple terms, a diet and exercise plan is the most effective way to maintain long-term results.

The 80/20 principle is about allocating effort where it has the greatest return. 

At Calo, we provide the 80%: nutritional consistency and regular, balanced meals that remove the need for constant decision-making. The remaining 20% is how that freed capacity is used: training, sleep, stress management, and recovery.

When nutrition is reliable, these behaviours become easier to prioritise and sustain.

A balanced diet meal plan is paramount for good health and feeling your best. Download the Calo App; our meal prep service offers delicious meal plans, delivered right to your door, it helps you save time and stay on track.

New year’s resolutions are easier to maintain when supported by a balanced diet meal plan that simplifies food choices and reduces daily decision-making.

There is not necessarily a ‘best exercise’. It is finding movement you find enjoyable, whether that's walking, running, dancing, or swimming; anything you enjoy is something you are more likely to consistently engage in.

A weight loss exercise plan helps maintain progress by improving fitness and supporting energy balance when paired with healthy food and heart-healthy foods.

At Calo, the goal is to make consistent nutrition easy. By providing balanced, minimally processed meals, we remove much of the planning, label reading, and daily decision-making that make consistency difficult. This supports the nutritional foundation, the part shown to drive most results.

With that foundation in place, people are better positioned to focus on movement, sleep, and lifestyle habits that support long-term health.

Rather than trying to optimise everything at once, this 80/20 rule approach recognises what the evidence shows: sustainable progress comes from focusing effort where it matters most.

1- Enterprise Apps Today (2023) New Year’s resolution statistics – by demographic, country and success rate, Enterprise Apps Today, 10 October. Available at: https://www.enterpriseappstoday.com/stats/new-years-resolution-statistics.html(Accessed: 15 December 2025)

Foster-Schubert, K.E., McTiernan, A., Frystyk, J., Lean, M.E.J., Berrigan, D., & Danforth, K.N. (2012) Effect of diet and exercise, alone or combined, on weight and body composition in overweight-to-obese postmenopausal women, Obesity, 20(8), pp. 1628–1638. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21494229/ (Accessed: 15 December 2025).

Wing, R.R. and Phelan, S. (2005) Long-term weight loss maintenance, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 82(1 Suppl), pp. 222S–225S. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16002825/ (Accessed: 15 December 2025).