If you’ve never heard of the 80/20 principle, it’s very simple but very powerful. In everything we do, one thing will deliver 80% of the results, everything else will deliver the rest.

The problem is if we focus on the everything else, we waste a lot of time and we only get 20% of your desired results!

Truthfully, it’s more skewed than that in health and fitness. It’s more 95% – 5%. There is only one thing you usually need to do, the rest is Christmas trimming (yes, I’m writing this just before the holidays!)

So let’s have a look at a few of those one things.

The one thing to do for your nutrition.
Cut refined sugar out. There’s so much research and evidence that sugar is one of the worst things we eat it’s unreal. It’s a leading cause of obesity and diabetes. It only takes a week to ten days for your taste buds to reboot and get used to food without added sugar. That does mean no cakes, no doughnuts, no sarnies and no sugar in your coffee! You’ll feel better pretty much straight away.

The one thing to do for your body.
Weight train. It really is the one form of exercise that can redefine your body and health. You can use it to get lean, to burn fat and build strong, healthy bones. Give it a few weeks and you’ll see a dramatic change in your body composition and confidence. Focus on the basics – learn to deadlift, some form of press and squat and lunge.

The one thing to do for your health and fitness.
Sit less. Sitting leads to a whole host of health and fitness problems such as low back pain and bad posture. Now if you’re stuck at a desk all day, and most of us are, get up and move about at regular intervals. Also, stretch your hip flexors often!

So there you go. Three simple and hugely effective ways to cut through the health and fitness noise.