The 80/20 rule is the idea that 80% of your food intake should be healthy foods* that support your goals and 20% of for indulgences, foods that you enjoy but aren’t the beacon of health. It ensures that most of the food you eat is supporting a healthy lifestyle, while still allowing some room for treats and enjoyment.

*For this conversation, the term “healthy foods” refers to the foods that support your goals. What that means for each person may vary greatly, and is a whole other conversation based on your individual nutrition needs. There is not a one-size-fits-all nutrition strategy that is effective for all humans.

The reason we allow room for treats is that a healthy lifestyle includes the foods you eat, the exercise you do, yes, but it also encompasses your relationships. If you are missing out on family dinners or time with friends because you’re afraid to eat a gram of carbohydrate or consume an extra calorie over maintenance, you may have traded a healthy lifestyle for disordered eating. It’s the balance of it all that keeps most of us healthy and might be the hardest part. Healthy choices encompass your whole life, including your mindset.

The 80/20 rule is a way to apply the concept of moderation to your lifestyle. If you read this blog regularly, you know I am a proponent of moderation to meet almost any goal. My reason is personal; I tried all the extreme diets and exercise programs for decades only to learn that all-or-nothing usually leads to nothing long-term. My health and fitness success came only once I abandoned black and white restrictive thinking and embraced imperfection and flexibility.

This poem sounds like me and my former health habits.

There Was a Little Girl

     There was a little girl,
     Who had a little curl,
 Right in the middle of her forehead.
     When she was good,
     She was very good indeed,
 But when she was bad she was horrid.

-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Letting go of defining foods as good or bad helped me find balance and moderation. There are no good or bad foods. Of course, some foods are better for your health than others, but a cake is good for a birthday party and kale is bad for dessert. It's all about context. These days I try to make the best choices that are available and appropriate at the moment. Not perfect, but consistent action towards my best effort to reach my goals.

How to apply the 80/20 rule

People often ask, is it 80% of calories or 80% of the meals you eat a week? The answer is, it depends. It's more of a concept than an exact calculation. Eat well to support your goals most of the time, and when you face a choice of indulgence, know that you have a little wiggle room.

If you start calculating precisely 20% of calories or 20% of meals, you probably end up giving more to indulgences. It's not intended to be a hard and fast rule, but an easy-to-follow approach to balanced eating.

In other words, don't overthink it. Pay attention to your body's feedback. Do more of what makes you look, feel, and perform your best. Maybe 20% indulgences in too much, perhaps it's not enough. Only you can decide.

The Mistake People Make Using the 80/20 Rule

The mistake people make is that they plan 20% out in advance. It’s already on the calendar: Pizza delivery on Friday night, ice-cream with the family on Sunday, schedule a chocolate bar on Wednesday after the workout. It is all fine and good, but it doesn't account for the unplanned and unexpected. Life is unpredictable, who knows when you might have to work late, and the manager orders take-out for dinner or your kid reminds you (aka tells you for the first time) that you have a birthday party lunch tomorrow, but you already spent your 20%? No problem once in a while, but as life goes, we usually need to expect the unexpected.

The Better Way to Apply the 80/20 Rule

Don't plan for the 20% of indulgences, let life hand it to you. There will always be parties, events, celebrations, holidays, late nights, long days, and working lunches. Plan to eat well all the time, and when life hands you an unforeseen obstacle, it won't be such a surprise. Hubs ordered pizza because he didn't feel like cooking on his night to cook? Celebration dinner with friends? Your adorable niece is selling Girl Scout cookies (who could say no to that face)? No problem, you have it built into your plan. It's not about being perfect, but understanding that life will always throw you curve balls.

If you planned out 20%, but then another 20% of indulgences happened to you, you may go way over the plan. Again, not a problem occasionally, but if it happens week after week and affecting your goal progress, it is something to consider and adjust.

When Does the 80/20 Rule Not Work?

I recognize that not everyone is exactly like me, and some people do better to restrict certain foods rather than moderate them. In the same way, you wouldn't tell an alcoholic to follow the 80/20 rule; sometimes it doesn't work. There are times you may need more restrictions, and times you need much less. Living by arbitrary rules without regard to your body's feedback is what gets us all in trouble.

If you follow Gretchen Rubin's work, she writes about personality types and how some people are moderators, like me, and others are abstainers, and how your personality may dictate what works best for you.

Abstaining works for a lot of people as long as the restriction doesn't come with feelings of deprivation, shame, guilt, or health consequences. The difference is in mindset. You can choose to eat, or not eat, whatever works best for you, you're in charge of your body. You could eat a salad in enjoyment as part of an overall healthy lifestyle, or you could eat a salad under duress and feel hungry and deprived. It's the same action, but a different mindset that makes all the difference.

Food issues are complex and above my pay grade. If you feel out of control around food, or have feelings of guilt or shame surrounding what you eat, please ask for help, some professionals are trained specially to help you overcome these types of issues. There is strength in asking for help. Need a Registered Dietitian recommendation? Ask me, please. I'd be happy to help.

Do you follow the 80/20 rule? Are you willing to give it a try? The 80/20 rule helps me moderate my treats while living a healthy lifestyle.

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