Can “The 80/20 Rule help you get fit?!
ABSOLUTELY!! Let me explain…
Let’s start by defining the 80/20 Rule more clearly. The 80/20 Rule implies that 80% of your food (calorie) intake is whole, healthy, and unprocessed, while the remaining 20% of your food (calorie) intake remains for discretionary “cheat” foods.
Notice, I say discretionary foods; not discretionary meals. When you apply the concept of meals to the system it leaves a lot open to interpretation and overindulgence.
Basically, the 80/20 Rule is something akin to “all work and no play”, but applicable to the foods we eat. The 80/20 Rule has launched a plethora of fitness trends like flexible dieting, IIFYM, cheat days, and cheat meals; but will it really help you get fit?! It sure could!
Looking at the Standard American Diet, we’re bombarded by hyper-palatable foods that are accessible 24/7. Hyper-palatable foods elicit a dopaminergic response. They override our natural satiety signals and leave us wanting more. Hyper-palatable foods are commonly defined as those that are high in fat and sodium (>25% of kcal from fat and ≥0.3% sodium by weight) and/or those that are high in fat and simple sugars (>20% of kcal from fat and >20% of kcal from sugar). It has been widely hypothesized that hyper-palatable foods are actually the driving force behind the obesity epidemic. Chips, chocolate, soda, cookies, doughnuts, pizza, burgers, French fries, sugar-laced coffees, and ice cream are all on the daily intake list for so many Americans. We eat garbage and feel like garbage! Even I, as a personal trainer, have been guilty of more than my fair share of turning the 20% into more like 40%.
So what does the 80/20 Rule look like in practice?
Assuming you follow 3 squares a day, which equates to 21 meals a week, you would eat about 4 discretionary meals a week. If you’re a data freak like me, that equates to around 20% of your total weekly calories in the form of discretionary foods.
What could the 20% look like?
Sally eats the traditional breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day. Monday, she has chips at lunch (discretionary 1/4). Wednesday, she has a slice of cake at a friend’s birthday party (discretionary 2/4). Friday, she has a slice of pizza at dinner with the kiddos (discretionary 3/4). Saturday, she goes for ice cream with the hubby (discretionary 4/4).
What is the 80% supposed to look like then?
I generally describe the 80% as being strictly PROTEIN or PRODUCE. If it grows in the dirt or once had a heartbeat, it’s pretty much free game. However, if you are already pretty fit, I like to leave room for unprocessed grains like oatmeal, rice, and quinoa (technically a seed). The 80% meals generally look something like this…
If you think the 80% has to be boring or gross, you have another think coming. Protein and Produce can encompass thousands of delicious and nutritious combinations like a giant juicy steak with a baked sweet potato and roasted Brussels sprouts. The only catch is that it’s a good idea if you learn some rudimentary cooking skills. It would get pretty expensive to go out to eat every night eating like this.
As a reformed binge eater and junk food-oholic, it seemed daunting to cut back on the convenience foods and the foods I like the most. I used to deeply enjoy a large order of fast food fries, a big fat cheeseburger, and a huge slice of cake from the local bakery. After a year of pretty strictly following the 80/20 Rule now though, I barely reach for the gratuitously hyper-palatable foods anymore. I honestly feel like s*** after I eat stuff like that now.
I feel like I’ve slowly gone through some kind of detoxification metamorphosis. I started noticing how my heart would race after eating large sugary desserts. I wake up the morning after a delicious order of Chinese food feeling puffy, achy, and generally inflamed. After the last year of 80/20, my 20% has evolved into protein bars, dark chocolate, and the very occasional treat meal with the family. I won’t be so bold as to claim that this will happen to everyone as this was just my personal experience. I will say that over the last year the 80/20 Rule has profoundly changed my relationship to food.
I no longer have to worry about hyper-palatable foods hijacking my appetite.
I don’t worry about nutrient sparse food causing me to become malnourished.
I don’t worry about under-eating protein and losing lean body mass or compromising my immune system.
I simply don’t worry about food AT ALL!!
I can eat when I’m hungry, stop when I’m full, and I don’t hear the cookies in my freezer whispering sweet nothings in my ear all night anymore.
So, can the 80/20 Rule actually help get you fit? Abso-freaking-lutely!!! Experiment with yourself. Give it a go, see what happens, and come back to let me know how it went!
Stay buff,
-E
