It can be challenging to consistently make healthy food choices, whether you're trying to eat better to reduce weight, increase energy, or improve your health. The 80/20 rule is useful in this situation. It is a flexible strategy built on the principle of consistency, which states that the majority of your actions have the biggest influence. As a result, you can eat meals that are less nutritious 20% of the time and choose nourishing foods 80% of the time. The 80/20 rule may be a suitable choice if you like the idea of enjoying a cookie after lunch or a drink during happy hour while still eating a balanced diet. Here's how it functions and how to tell if it's a good fit for you.
80 percent of the diet
It is best to fill around 3/4 of your plate with plant-based meals, including whole grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, legumes, and extra virgin olive oil. You'll typically be heaping whole meals on your plate. As animal meat often makes up the plate's protein part, that leaves one-fourth of your plate for them. Obviously, if you like, you can stick to a plant-based diet only. Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, eggs, seafood, and poultry are some examples of healthy animal-based foods. Here is what kind of food you can consume eighty per cent of the time.
Smoothies made with fruit and vegetables, such as blueberries, spinach, tahini, cinnamon, and Greek yoghurt, can be served for breakfast.
Serve a salad for lunch that includes mixed greens, strawberries, almonds, goat cheese, and chicken or chickpeas and is dressed with vinaigrette.
White beans, sautéed shrimp, and sautéed spinach can all be served for dinner with a serving of brown rice or chickpea pasta.
It's a good idea to have snacks like snap peas and hummus, as well as sliced cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and a piece of fresh mozzarella cheese.
20 percent of the diet
The majority of the time you're giving your body the nutrients it requires, therefore the rest is up to the eater. Consequently, you are free to enjoy some ice cream after supper one day and a slice of pizza for lunch the following. This strategy can be useful because you could be more likely to overeat unhealthy foods when they are forbidden.
Trying to eliminate your favourite foods is hard, in addition to everything else. Your mind has to work overtime each time you see them in a restaurant, on television, or when scrolling through Instagram to intentionally avoid them. This mental exercise wears you out eventually to the point where you decide to give up and just eat the damn fries.
Therefore, if you're eating nutrient-dense foods for the bulk of the time on the 80/20 diet, you might be able to avoid doublethink by treating yourself to some fries without jeopardising your health goals.