crucial nutrition

Introduction

This blog brightens the importance of nutrient in achieving a healthy body. Nutrition plays a bigger role than just exercising for a better body. First, how can you actually apply nutrition in helping with achieving your fitness goals. You have to know the three main pillars of nutrition and what they provide. Those pillars are called ‘Macronutrients’. There are all really important and should be balanced in meals throughout the day. There are also Micronutrients, which are also crucial for healthy lifestyle. But usually micronutrients does not conflict with healthy living and it’s mostly the macronutrients, either because you consumed excessive amount, which may lead to weight gain or chronic diseases, and vice versa leads weight loss and chronic diseases. There are three types of macronutrients: carbohydrates, fats, and protein. They all help the body in different ways. Carbohydrates is a molecule made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The main purpose of the carbohydrate is to provide energy to the body. Carbohydrate is broken down into small molecules of glucose and enters into the bloodstream and energizes the body. In general,there are two types of carbohydrates and their function and process differs, complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates. How to differentiate between them, which one is more healthier, and how is the process different? Complex carbs are whole foods and provides high nutrition value and on the other hand simple carbs are mostly refined foods and provides barely any nutritional value. Simple carbs have small chains of sugar, easy to breakdown and provides instant energy but the energy does not sustain. Complex carbs have longer chains of sugar, requires more time to breakdown but the energy sustains. If we go into depth, there is fibre and starches. They both provide energy and other benefits to the body.Fibre mainly helps with digestion, bowel movement and provides energy. Staches helps with digestion, blood sugar level, provides energy, etc. The benefits are pretty similar but should consume variety of carbs. The other main macronutrient is the fats. Fats has a bad reputation and will state why is that in the blog. Fats are crucial for a healthy body because of its many health benefits: speeds up the absorption of the nutrients, cears up the skin, protect organs and many more. There are three types of fats: saturated, unsaturated, and trans fats. Not all the fats are healthy for the body and also fats should be limited. Last but not the least macronutrient, protein. Protein is a muscle building nutrient and really important for the function of the body. Protein is the main building block in forging bones, muscle, cartilage, skin, etc. it also helps repair and build tissues. In this time, everybody is thriving to put their best, some wants to break records, some wants to build personal best and to do that right nutrition is the key. What you consume before and after your exercise gives you the outcome. If you have a hard time making healthy eating a habit there are few ways you could get better with it.

Chapter 1 – Know your food first!

What are macros- protein, carbs, fats, hydration?

Macronutrients consist of mainly three different food groups. The three food groups are protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Carbohydrates provides energy to the body. Most of the carbs gets broken down and transforms into glucose and right after they enter into the bloodstream, which can be used as energy afterwards. If the energy is not use, the carbohydrate would be turned into fat which is stored energy for later use. According to Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, there is a gene present in the blood, BAF6oc which contributes to diseases such as fatty liver, or steatosis.

The study was performed on a mice. In the study, Molecular Cell, the researchers found that mice that have had the BAF60c gene disabled did not convert carbohydrates to fat, despite eating a high-carb diet.

Carbohydrates are main source of energy to the nervous system and body’s working muscles. Carbohydrates breaks down into smaller units of sugar, fructose and glucose. Once it is broken down, the small intestine absorbs the carbs and deliver it to the liver, where it turns all kinds of molecules into glucose. If energy is not needed immediately, the glucose is stored into the liver and skeletal muscles in the form of glycogen stores. There are two different kinds of carbohydrates, simple and complex and the digestion process varies for both.

Complex carbs are whole foods that contains good amount of fibre, where simple carbs are foods with added sugar. The body takes more time break down complex carbs as they have longer chains of sugars, because of that,the body does not get a spike and drop of energy; The energy can be used slowly and gradually, which means you are energized for a longer period of time. Whole grains, beans, legumes, and starchy vegetables are all examples of complex carbohydrates. Complex carbs have fiber and vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients in addition to providing energy in the form of calories. Complex carbs should have higher ratio that the simple in your diet, along with naturally occuring simple carbs.

Simple carbs

Simple carbs on the other side, has a smaller chains of sugars that makes it easier to breakdown. Because of the quick breakdown, the simple carbs provides instant energy but it energy crashes in a really short period time. Complex are also way more healthier than simple carbs because of its nutrition value, where complex carbs provides have a lot of nutritional value, simple carbs hardly provide any nutritional benefits. Most of the simple carbs are refined foods. But not all simple carbs are refined. You may receive simple carbs from fruits, milk, and few other whole foods. Even though there carbs don’t offer a lot in the nutrition value, they still can be fit in a diet. Many athletes need quick digestible carbs and instant energy to enhance their performance, thats where simple carbs comes into play.

Fibre

Fibre is a plant-based nutrient. It is found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, and nuts. Fibre produces energy differently. It does not directly provide energy. The friendly bacteria consume the fiber to produce fatty acids which is later distributed to few cells and be used as energy.

Not all carbs provide same nutrition. Carbohydrate is divided into two different parts, whole vs refined. Whole carbs are not processed and There are a lot of health caused by refined carbohydrates.

It is referred to as roughage or bulk. Roughage is a term which means ‘indigestible food that helps with eliminating waste for your body.’ bulk means food that helps with putting on mass. Fibre does not breakdown into smaller molecules and enter the bloodstream instead passes through the digestive system so gets eliminated. There are many benefits of consuming fibre than just keeping your bowels regular. Fibre slows down the digestion process and keeps stomach full for a longer period of time and helps with blood sugar level. Fibre also helps with keeping the heart healthy as it keeps the cholesterol and blood pressure level lower. Furthermore, fibre is divided into two different parts, soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibre absorbs water and turns into a gel-like substance as it goes through your digestive system the benefits are already mentioned before.

Foods that are rich in soluble fibre include legumes (beans and peas), oat bran, barley, quinoa; vegetables such as artichoke, squash, broccoli, carrots; and fruits that are rich in pectin, like apples, pears, berries, and bananas. It’s also found in psyllium, a common fibre supplement.

Insoluble fibre does not digest and goes out of your in almost same form, but they attract water to your stool. It helps a lot with bowel movement. Helps to eliminate problems such as constipation, and diabetes.

Insoluble fibre is found in whole-grain foods, brown rice, nuts, seeds, and colourful fruits and veggies (ones that are yellow, orange and red; or have dark leafy greens).

Polysaccharide

Types of Starch

Starches

Staches is listed under complex carbohydrate because of its molecule structure. Starches can be obtained by the following foods Fiber-rich whole grains, lentils, legumes, root vegetables and some fruits. Starches is an important source for energy. Starches improves insulin sensitivity, lower blood sugar levels, reduced appetite and various benefits for digestion. There are different types of starches. One consists of Amylose and the other consists of amylopectin molecule. The main difference between these two molecules, is that Amylose is a straight chain polymer and Amylopectin is branched chain polymer. Amylose is a slowly digested starch and amylopectin is a fast digested starch.

Amylose

Amylose has a long glucose chain that has no branches to it and is straight. It consists of 500 to 20000 molecules in one chain.. The chain of glucose molecules is called a polymer. This chain is never ending because when the first chain twists, it binds with another chain and the chains becomes tighter, which makes it harder for the digestion enzymes to break the glucose molecules apart. There are few other factors that contributes to the slow digestion process; High density, High melting and boiling point. Amylose starch is good for blood sugar level, as it does not spike your blood sugar level. About twenty to thirty percent of the natural starch in plants consists of amylose.

Amylopectin

Amylopectin has a lot of branches of glucose chains. Each structure consists of millions of glucose molecules. Amylopectin polymers have a low density, low melting and boiling point, which makes it really easy to break down and digest. Amylopectin provides instant energy by instantly delivering glucose into your bloodstream but the boost of energy does not last long. Also it kills the hunger. About seventy to eighty percent of the total natural starch in plants is made up of amylopectin.

FATS

Fats are also referred to as “fatty acids” or “lipids”. Each gram of fat contains nine calories, regardless of the kind of fat; fats provide lot more energy than protein and carbohydrates but if consumed in large amounts, may lead to weight gain or obesity. Most of the fats are made by our body but there are some essential fats which our body is not able to produce and are needed for a healthy lifestyle. In order to obtain those fats we have to consume them.Those two essential fats are, Omega-3 (found in foods such as fish and flax seed) and omega-6(found in foods such as nuts, seeds, and corn oil). Fats helps with absorbing vitamins and keeping the skin healthy. Fats also supports cell growth, protect organs and produce important hormones. The body stores energy as fats. Each fat molecule is made up of one glycerol molecule and 3 fatty acids, which can be either saturated, unsaturated

The three main types of fats are:

Saturated fat – if consumed in large amount, it causes the risk of heart disease and also causes high blood cholesterol level. These fats are usually in solid form in room temperature. The following foods contains large amount of saturated food, in the category of animal based products:

Dairy food – full fat milk, butter, and cheese
Meat – such as fatty cuts of beef, pork and lamb and chicken (especially chicken skin), processed meats like salami
Some from the plants as well: palm oil, coconut milk and cream

Second, category is manufactured and processed foods:

Fatty snack foods (such as potato chips, savoury crackers)
Deep fried and high fat take away foods (such as hot chips, pizza, hamburgers)
Sweet biscuits

Unsaturated fat – eating small amounts of unsaturated fats contributes to a healthy diet as it lowers the risk of heart disease and lowers the blood cholesterol level, when replace the saturated fats in the diet. These fats are tend to be in liquid form in room temperature.

There are two types of unsaturated fats:

Polyunsaturated fats: Walnuts.
Omega-6 : Sunflower seeds,Flax seeds or flax oil.
Omega-3: Fish, such as salmon, mackerel, herring, albacore tuna, and trout

Monounsaturated fats – Nuts.
Avocado.
Canola oil.
Olive oil.

Trans fat – trans fats are fats which were unsaturated that turned into saturated fat through a chemical process with really low nutrition value. They increases the risk of heart disease and also causes high cholesterol level. For a healthy diet, trans and saturated should be replaced with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Foods with high trans fat: Crackers, cookies, cakes, frozen pies, and other baked goods.

Snack foods (such as microwave popcorn)
Frozen pizza.
Fast-food.

Protein

Protein is a muscle building nutrient. Protein is used for building bones, muscle, cartilage, skin, and blood. Protein is used to repair and build tissues also used to make enzymes, hormones, and other body chemicals It is usually found in meat products, and few other food products such as dairy products, leafy veggies, poultry, seafood, seeds, beans and nuts. Each gram of protein contains four calories. Protein makes up about fifteen percent of a person’s body weight. Protein is made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein, which are organic compounds made of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur.according to the National Institutes of Health(NIH).

“When protein is broken down in the body it helps to fuel muscle mass, which helps metabolism,” said Jessica Crandall, a registered dietitian nutritionist, certified diabetes educator and national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “It also helps the immune system stay strong. It helps you stay full. A lot of research has shown that protein has satiety effects.” there has been a lot of study done to prove protein has satiety effects. There is a study done in the 2015, one woman was given a protein filled yogourt and the other was given a fat-filled chocolate and crackers for afternoon snacks. The study was proven right when the first woman with the yogourt did not felt any hunger and ate less than the second woman. There has been many studies done in the past but just stating an example.

How much protein should a person be consuming in a day?

The Institute of Medicine recommends that ten to thirty-five percent of daily calories come from protein. According to US Department of agriculture, protein intake depends on their sex, age, level of physical activity. Many professionals in the field of health, recommends 0.8 grams of protein per kg of body weight. It varies for athletes/active people. I have stated some high protein meals that will help you reach your protein intake for the day:

Chicken breast (18 grams per 85 grams)
Lean ground beef(18 grams per 85 grams)
Tuna ( 25 grams per 85 grams)
Greek Yogourt (24 grams per 230 grams)

Calorie consumption per pound

Calorie consumption varies from age to age, weight, lifestyle(fitness). According to Shannon Clark, a distributor in the bodybuilding.com and also holds a degree in exercise science and is a former competitive figure skater, calorie consumption for a person who is trying to put on muscle mass should be multiplying their body weight(pounds) by fifteen to seventeen calories.

NEW canadian food guide – the new canadian food advises canadians to have plenty of vegetable and fruits( half of your plate), protein foods (one quarter of your plate), whole grain foods(one quarter of your plate) and advises to drink water instead of other sugary drinks. The food guide is really simple to understand and also provides recipes and tips for healthy eating.

Brazilian food guide- University of Montreal professor Jean-Claude Moubarac helped planning the guidelines of the brazilian food guidelines. The brazilian does not focuses on different food group such as protein, carbs, or fat instead it focuses on eating fresh and eliminating or decreasing processed foods from meals.

Citation chapter 1 :

Soluble vs. Insoluble Fiber: What’s the Difference? (n.d.).
Braverman, J. (2018, December 06). What Happens to Unburned Carbohydrates?
Dansinger, M. (Ed.). (n.d.). What are fats? February 17, 2019,
Fibre: Why do we need it? (2019, January 22).
Plowe, K. (2019, April 30). Simple Carbs vs. Complex Carbs.
Saturated Fat: Good or Bad? (n.d.).

Chapter 2- Fitness goals and how to fuel and recover from them

Fuel (pre-workout)

Eating the right food before your workout; running, swimming, kickboxing, weight lifting and etc; will provide you with energy that is going to help you push your workout. The foods should be a fine balance of proteins, fats, and carbs as our body have different nutritional requirements. Eating the right food before the workout in specific will stave off hunger, aid recovery, fuel your body, and even fight fatigue.

General pre-workout foods

Bananas – Bananas is a healthier choice than a power bar, filled with artificial sugar. Bananas are filled with carbohydrates and potassium, which supports nerve and muscle function.
Oats – Oats are great for a pre-workout meal as they are filled with fibre and gradually release glucose into the bloodstream. Due to this slow release, the body stays energized and stays full for longer. The consistent energy levels provides energy for the whole workout.
Dried fruits- consists of simple sugar which provides instant energy for any kind of physical activity and are also easily digestible. You can obtain the sugar from the following fruits: dried berries, apricots, figs, and pineapple.

weight training (power, lifting, jumping, throwing) – protein

vs distance (skiing, running, cycling, rowing, swimming) – carbs

If you want a third section- add crossfit -ish workout which is demanding of both power and distance in the workouts

Recover

Exercises depletes the glycogen stores in the muscle. The glycogen needs to be replenished within 15 to 30 minutes for quick recovery post-workout. In general, endurance workouts uses up more energy levels than resistance training. Exercises also causes micro tears on the muscle. By consuming a balanced nutritional diet muscle fatigue reduces and energy levels goes back up.

All three macros are essential for recovery: Protein, Carbohydrates, and healthy fats.

Protein is a muscle building nutrition. During a workout, lots of micro tear occurs on the muscle; The damage in the muscle done by the exercise is healed by the protein. Also protein makes the muscle stronger.

The are three reasons why eating a post workout meal is crucial.

Replenish glycogen – increasing the energy levels
Reduces protein breakdown- breaking down of proteins
Increases protein synthesis – construction of new protein in the muscle

After the workout, the repair and rebuilding occurs through the removal of old and damaged protein(protein breakdown) and construction of new protein(protein synthesis).

After performing resistance training the protein synthesis increases slightly but the protein breakdown increases extremely. There is more breaking down of protein than rebuilding after a workout. The trend could be reversed by correct nutrition. The relationship between these is the main factor for muscle growth. Muscle recovery occurs when the protein breakdown and protein synthesis is balanced.

Muscle hypertrophy occurs when there is more protein synthesis than the protein breakdown.

Two main roles of post-workout nutrition is to:

Needs protein to assist protein synthesis
Needs carbohydrates to replace glycogen stores. Also releases insulin which helps with delivering nutrients to the muscles.

Protein

Protein provides your body with amino acids which it requires to repair and rebuild the damaged proteins, it also helps with building new proteins.In a study done by the ISSN(International Society of Sports Nutrition), it’s recommended that you consume 0.14–0.23 grams of protein per pound of body weight (0.3–0.5 grams/kg) very soon after a workout

Carbohydrates

After exercising the glycogen stores are depleted. The glycogen stores are used as fuel during workout. They need to be replenished. The rate at which you use up your glycogen varies from level of the exercise. For example, endurance exercise uses up lot more glycogen that resistance training. Athletes who perform a lot of endurance training needs to be consuming more carbohydrates than bodybuilders as they are using up more glycogen. For proper glycogen resynthesis one should be consuming 0.5 – 0.7 grams of carbohydrates per pound of body weight with in thirty minutes after the training.

The ‘Window of opportunity’ – There is a time frame to intake the post workout nutrition for increasing protein synthesis and therefore quicker repair, increase in strength and muscle growth.

This window opens immediately after the physical activity and starts to close pretty quickly. According to the studies protein synthesis continues for forty-eight hours after the workout. But it is best to consume the nutritions immediately after the workout and within two hours afterwards.

If the nutritious meal is delayed by even an hour the muscle glycogen stores and protein synthesis decreases and muscle growth slows down.

Drinking fluids before, during, and after to eliminate the risk of dehydration.

Fueling your body enhance performance as you are providing energy to it and be able to push harder. The best way to determine hydration needs for all athletes is to monitor body weight changes from before to after exercise,” says Kimberly Stein, PhD., a senior scientist at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI).

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) suggests that you start drinking fluids at least four hours before your workout. That can reduce the need to guzzle water while exercising, which can upset your stomach.

For moderate exercises there is no need to consume drinks that consists fast-acting sugars or electrolytes such as potassium and sodium. If an athlete has a high sweat rate and have cramping issue, they should consider a beverage with sodium. Cramping occurs because sodium, with other electrolytes controls muscle contraction by triggering nerve impulse. When sodium levels drops, the muscle does not receive the signal properly and a cramp is triggered.

These three nutrients are essential for muscle recovery

Carbohydrates – Loading carbohydrates in your body after an intense training helps recovery as the micronutrient replenishes the glycogen stores in the liver and muscles. An athlete whose focus is performance rather than fat loss should aim for quarter of a gram to half of a gram carbs per pound of body weight.
Protein – proteins heals and builds muscle cells. It also provides body with nutrients that could be used instead of muscle for energy. Twenty to thirty grams of protein right after workout speeds up recovery. The meal post workout should be a combination slow and fast-acting proteins. The example of slow-acting proteins are casein from dairy, proteins for meat, soy, etc and examples of fast-acting proteins are whey from dairy, albumin for eggs. The combination of these helps with immediate and long-lasting muscle retention.
Fluids – training causes a lot of dehydration so it’s important to consume water during and after workout.

Supplementation can also play a big role in muscle recovery

Chapter 2 citation

All About Post-Workout Nutrition. (2016, July 05).
Barhum, L. (n.d.). What to eat after a workout to lose weight, build muscle, and recover faster.
Platform, I. S. (n.d.). The Best Pre-Workout Foods | inKin Fitness Blog.
Can eating more protein make muscles bigger? | Protein Body Impact. (n.d.).

Chapter 3- real life-What do most Canadian families need to do to improve their long term nutritional intake

Canadians have a high increase in obesity level and chronic disease from past few decades.

According to a self report done by overweight and obese people in twenty fourteen, twenty percent of Canadians aged eighteen and older, roughly five million thirty thousand adults, reported height and weight that classified them as obese. According to recent study by the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation (CMHF), as part of Canadian Men’s Health Week, 62 per cent of men said they had unhealthy diets.

Following a healthy diet is really important. It does not just controls weight. The benefits are beyond weight. The following are some of the great benefits of a healthy diet:

Reduces the risk of diseases such as diabetes, cancer, stroke, and heart disease.
Reduce high blood pressure
Lower high cholesterol
Strengthens your immune system

What is healthy eating?

Healthy eating is consuming all the nutrients, minerals, and vitamins your body requires to work at its best.

Tips for eating well

Eat plenty of fruits – fruits provide you with nutrients that are usually under consumed such as potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folate (folic acid). Fruits have enormous amounts of health benefits. Vitamin C in fruits helps with repairing body tissues. Folate helps with forming new red blood cells in the body. There is a lot more benefits of eating fruits. Always choose whole fruits over juices.

Eat plenty of whole grains – At least half of the cereals, breads, crackers, and pastas you eat should be made from whole grains.

Try different sources of protein – Alternate from chicken or beef to beans or tofu.

Canadian families need to do the following to improve their family’s nutritional intake:

Developing family’s food skills

Being able to follow a recipe
Growing food, hunting or fishing
Being able to read the nutritional chart
Being able to cook, chop, or bake
Being able to buy nutritional food and also staying in budget

2. Encourage your child to eat nutritious food

How you choose, and prepare your food will set your family’s attitude towards food.

Healthy eating habits for the family

Eating together– This allows individuals to get involved, consume home cooked meal, and try different things.

Making healthy foods the routine – offer heals meals or snack to your children. Have a conversation with your children about important components of food. Prepare meals which are low in sodium, sugars, and saturated fats.

Leading by example- Enjoy a variety of healthy foods and the kids will follow.

Difficulty chewing – Try foods that are soft such as cooked vegetables, beans, eggs, applesauce, and canned fruits.

The recommended daily amount (RDA) of carbs for adults is one thirty-five grams, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH); however, the NIH also recommends that everyone should have his or her own carbohydrate goal. Carb intake for most people should be between forty-five and sixty-five percent of total calories. One gram of carbohydrates equals about four calories, so a diet of eighteen hundred calories per day would equal about two hundred grams on the low end and two ninety grams of carbs on the high end. However, people with diabetes should not eat more than two hundred grams of carbs per day, while pregnant women need at least one seventy-five grams.

80/20 rule

The 80/20 rule also known as the Pareto Principle which states that, roughly eighty percent of the effects come from twenty percent of the causes. The rule could be applied to many aspects of life. I am focusing on the diet today and explain how to apply the rule. It is a really great that could help you reach your fitness goals.

Keeping yourself away from treats and sweets is not sustainable and develops an unhealthy relationship with food.

This rule is not an weight control tool, or a diet. It is just an approach towards teaching healthy eating habits and not feeling guilty when indulging on foods you love.

The 80/20 rule is very simple to use. You do not have to eat healthy hundred percent of the time, eighty percent is enough. The eighty percent of the food should be nutritious and natural food that will help you reach your fitness goals and the other twenty percent you can eat less healthy food and indulge yourself.

Eighty percent could be cooking at home with fresh ingredients and preparing a nutritional balanced meal.

Twenty percent could anything low in nutritional value you love eating; brownie, cake, pizza , donut , etc.

Here is an example of how 80/20 rule could improve your healthy eating decisions

First case- Your dad brings your favourite pizza for lunch, but you decided to eat only healthy from today and you cant refuse to eat the pizza and take a slice. Afterwards, you feel guilty and stop eating healthy and get back to eating unhealthy food.

In the second case- if you applied the 80/20 rule, you could add the slice to the twenty percent, which is less healthy food and eat healthy for the whole day. By applying rule, you could enjoy the pizza with no guilt.

How to incorporate it

Try to cook food from scratch with natural and fresh ingredients – Eat locally sourced, seasonal foods full of nutrients. In other words, eat real food , unprocessed and natural food such as plants, fruits, roots, nuts, seeds, meat, fish, eggs, milk and its by-products such as cheese and yogurt. The human body is not able to digest food instantly, especially the ones which nourishes your body. After eating real food, you would not have the need to eat every two to three hours.

Indulge on the weekends only – If you like simple sugar then it’s best to consume it in the weekend as you are not use to the spike and drop in energy. The instant change in blood sugar level can make you feel less energised, lethargic and give you an hangover which equals to less productivity. If you enjoy being productive in the week then I would advise you to indulge in your cravings in the weekend.

Always go for quality – Even when choosing your twenty percent food do not pick any food, instead pick the one with least artificial ingredients, and chemicals. There is still sugar and other ingredients that may not help with optimal health, but will make drastic change in the number of artificial ingredients.

Chapter 3 citation

The importance of good nutrition. (n.d.).

Conclusion

Nutrition is the foundation of healthy body. Be aware of what you are eating and why. Macronutrients are the foundation of nutrients but micronutrients are also crucial to maintain a fit body. Always choose quality over quantity and choose to make a healthier choice over easier choice. Cook a meal from scratch with fresh ingredients rather than eating fast food. If bulking up, choose homemade chicken over Mcdonald’s fried chicken even if it has 100 less calories. If you have a hard time adapting healthy eating habits. There are many ways you could get better at it, start eating with family, try variety of foods, or apply the 80/20 rule.