A pact with myself

I’m not keen on rules that dictate what you “must” and “mustn’t” do, but I like the idea of making a pact with ourselves about what we want and don’t want to do in life.

I want to use dental floss every day, for example, but I don’t want to do an Ironman. I want to exercise twice a week so that my body feels good, but I don’t want to exercise five times a week. I want to remember to drink green tea every day. And I want to drink no more than two cups of coffee in the morning, but not at the end of the day as I know it affects my important night’s sleep.

This way, there are a lot of good “agreements” you can make with yourself about what you want and don’t want.

I think it’s important to reconcile some of the choices we make in life, so that we can look on from the sidelines in good conscience when the Ironman runners race past.

What is the 80/20 rule?

One of the agreements I have made with myself is to live by the 80/20 rule.

80% of what I eat, drink and do is with respect for my body in mind. This is inextricably linked with our NO BEAUTY WITHOUT TRUTH message, which you can read more about here

The remaining 20% of my lifestyle is without health considerations and guilt-free, so I don’t beat myself up about too much champagne, salty liquorice or late nights.

I absolutely believe that the most important thing in life is to enjoy life, which is why that 20% is so important to me.

Fortunately, I love being healthy, too, so the 80% is not a compromise as such. I’d rather have an avocado sandwich with sesame seeds, basil and lemon oil than a salami sandwich, so thankfully it doesn’t feel like a compromise when I make that choice.

It’s not about keeping count, more of a feeling

When I give talks, people often ask me: But how do you keep count of it?

I don’t. It’s a feeling. If I’ve been to a big party on Saturday night, I don’t continue the assault on my body with a big burger and fries on the Sunday. Sunday has become a day for rehydration, healthy soup, having a nap and lots of vegetables.

And if I’ve been overindulging in sweets at a friend’s house, I don’t drive home and top it up with a cake but choose a carrot instead.

My most important 80% “booster” is probably my breakfast. Our skinfood smoothies, also known as crazy smoothies and Metz smoothies.

This is the healthiest, skin and body-friendly meal of the day for me. My skinfood from the inside.

 

How to get started

Make a big pot of tea on a cozy, rainy afternoon, sit yourself down with a pad and pen and hold a meeting with yourself.

What are your priorities in life? What do you really want? What don’t you want? What should your lifestyle choices be?

How many hours’ sleep do you want every night? How much water do you want to drink every day? Who are the people you wish to prioritize? How much time do you want to spend on social media every day? Is there a hobby that you’ve dreamed of starting? And so on.

Keep the plan easy and straightforward – we don’t really have to do much more than enjoy ourselves in life.

Food is a joyous, enriching pleasure

I worked as a model for ten years, and although I was slim before I started, I found all the talk about food, the jobs other models didn’t get because they were too fat, new diets, etc., confusing.

When I stopped working in the industry after ten years, I thought I would never have a normal relationship with food again, but fortunately I have. The most important element and the hardest thing to “do away with” was the feeling of guilt.

Life is too short to live with a guilty conscience every day; it’s one of the most important things to break with if we are to enjoy the choices we make. Food is such a joyous, enriching pleasure in life, and the 80/20 rule is the perfect way for me to make many choices easier.

All the best / 
Mette

Find inspiration for Skinfood smoothies here