Don't let perfect be the enemy of good

"Don't let perfect be the enemy of good" is a widely used saying from Mark Sisson. I read many forums and many of the comments discussions center around "are you xxxx (primal, paleo, crosshit hardcore, etc). In many aspects of life our pursuit of perfection actually delays our progress. For nutrition the 80/20 rule is a widely used manifesto - meaning trying to eat paleo/primal 80% of the time and give yourself freedom 20% of the time. Naturally if 20% includes McDonald's, 2 loaves of bread and soda you may undo all your other effort. But if that 20% is a bit more reasonable (a few beers, whole wheat bread for a sandwich..) your hard work will not be undone. If you are just starting out and 80/20 does not seem feasible start smaller. If the changes you make to your diet make you feel better you will naturally start to move towards 80/20. Many people (myself included) move beyond 80/20 but I am not perfect. I will admit to stressing about the sugar/card content from a juice made from an organic juice bar (bit crazy) but when you take a minute and realize a natural juice is way better than a bakery items from starbucks it keeps things in perspective. The harm is being so wrapped up in being 'xxxx' that you walk around all morning looking for a healthy item, end up late to where you are going or just skip the meal out of stress. One reasonable meal will not ruin your nutrition. Skipping meals or being late to appointments is not reasonable. Making conscience choices is also reasonable. If you miss pizza it is fine to have it once and a while. Accept the fact the sugar/gluten make cause gastro troubles or your workout the next day may not feel as good as if you had organic chicken but remember that pizza did not cause an increase to your waistline or change your 1RM. If these reasonable 20% (or 10%, 30%) cheat meals help you maintain your course then do it! If you are at 70/30 and want more/faster results move to 80/20 or move to 90/10. But remember you are not perfect, reasonable cheat meals are fine and in most cases you are not getting paid for your workouts so enjoy your food especially with family and friends. One other area of "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good" is programming workouts. I have spent countless hours trying to design the perfect program only to become frustrated or tired. One thing I have learned is pick a workout and do it with intensity. A workout with a lot of effort is a good workout. Is is as good as your gym or box workout that you missed (especially if you do not have the equipment for the WOD)? Most likely not but who cares. You are making an effort to put in effort for fitness. Again do not let the details get in the way of the goal. Once I learned to pick a workout and just do it I found workouts to be more fun and rewarding. As always these statements and rules should be aligned with your end goals. Maybe 70/30 works for you and where you want to be with weight/body fat. Maybe the extra effort to get to 80/20, even if you would like to lose more weight, is just not worth it to you. Only you can decide. --rich