The 80/20 Diet Rule
I want to share with you what the 80/20 diet rule is and why I don’t follow it. By diet, I am talking about the food you eat. Sometimes this rule is also called the 80/20 food rule. In short its a way of eating that allows you to have what ever you want for 20% of the time, while eating whole foods or “healthy” the other 80%. When I hear others talk about this rule what’s typically promoted is eating all your veggies so that you can feel ok about eating the stash of gummy worms. Before I share with you why I don’t view food in this way, let me share a little bit about my background and clean eating.
About 5 years ago I decided to try something different and change my diet in an effort to be healthy, have more energy, get rid of a pituitary tumor and have a baby. I was on medication that made my stomach hurt but even after sharing that with my doctor I was told it was my only option. I knew something had to change for me because I didn’t want to live my whole life feeling miserable and sick. That’s when I changed my diet, I started to read ingredient labels, buy organic foods and learn more about what I was eating, which you can learn more about in my clean eating e-book. This was the first step for me on my health journey and this step changed everything. I started to feel better, my acne cleared, and I was able to have a baby.
I have a sweet tooth and have always loved candy. You know those Now and Laters?? I would spend forever searching for those in my Halloween candy because they were always my favorite. So I had something to loose switching to whole, clean foods but it turns out I don’t desire the junk anymore. The last time I tried a piece of candy it tasted like chemicals and I had to spit it out. I thought leaving candy behind would be the hardest part of switching my diet but it turns out leaving junk food was the easiest. By junk I mean processed foods with chemicals, preservatives, artificial colors and flavorings, I am not talking about all dessert, all cookies, candy or treats. It’s not that I don’t crave sweets anymore, I do, but even more than that I crave quality. Organic coconut sugar or maple syrup instead of corn syrup or refined cane sugar. Homemade cookies, where I know the ingredients, versus packaged, processed cooking with harmful preservatives.
Why I Don’t Follow the 80/20 Diet Rule
So, here’s why I don’t follow the 80/20 diet rule, nutrients. You don’t have to follow the 80/20 diet rule when you are focusing on eating nutrient dense foods and cooking and baking with high quality ingredients. You don’t need to deprive yourself. You can have the freedom to eat sweets but make them with high quality ingredients. You can make cookies with real butter, sprouted flour, mineral rich sea salt and pasture-raised eggs and enjoy them for their real flavor and the nutrients they are giving your body. I, personally, don’t want to eat 20% junk because, I want to feel good, to be healthy and to be able to show up for my family.
Here’s another reason why I don’t think the 80/20 rule is good for you if you are wanting health and healing for yourself or family. If you eat healthy and clean 80% of the time but still eat foods with preservatives and other synthetic chemicals this can be counterintuitive to your healing. It’s important to give your body the space and time to detox and heal without the burden of toxins found in food. This can be a slow process that takes time and consistency. So if you ask me about the 80/20 diet rule, sure some healthy eating is better than none but it’s a lot of work 80% of the time to throw it away 20% of the time. Think about it this way if you are strength training and consistently increasing your weight but then take a few weeks off, when you return not only will you be really sore after lifting but you won’t be able to lift the same amount of heavy weight.
Encouragement
This is the way that I live but with that being said if I go to someone else’s house I still eat what they have prepared without fear. I just don’t ascribe to eating healthy only 80% of the time. Here’s a little bit of encouragement for you. If you are just starting to eat whole, clean foods, you will get to a place where you don’t like the junk foods any more and you realize they aren’t serving you. Listen to your body and recognize when a food isn’t making you feel good but then try to create it yourself if you would still like to eat it. I still eat peanut butter cups, they are just homemade without the toxic ingredients. It may take time to adjust but you will never regret deciding to eat whole, clean foods.
To learn more about how to start eating whole, clean foods, what brands to buy at the grocery store and how to read ingredient labels, check out my clean eating e-book. It’s the perfect place to start your clean eating journey and gives you all the information you need along with a shopping list.