Sound Familiar?
Many of the women I work with want to have more energy and to lose weight so they can enjoy time with their families, balance work and home, and have it all. They want a clear, direct way to meet their goals that they can implement easily. They like knowing what to eat and what to avoid. Sound familiar?
The 80/20 Rule
I often see health websites refer to the 80/20 rule. I’ve even used the phrase myself, but I’ve realized it is problematic. While I agree with the general idea of the 80/20 rule – that if you make healthy choices most of the time, you can have flexibility in your diet and still meet your goals – I think it the concept is misunderstood and misused. The result is that women overeat, revert to old eating habits, crave what they know they shouldn’t eat and feel guilty for enjoying their favourite foods.
Good versus Evil
Here’s why. First, the 80/20 concept creates several opposites
- healthy food (80) versus fun food (20)
- what I have to eat or should eat (80) versus what I want to eat (20)
- boring, prescribed foods (80) versus tasty, appealing food (20)
- what keeps me healthy (80) versus what makes me happy (20)
- good food (80) versus bad food (20)
- punishment (80) versus reward (20)
- “I had a green smoothie for breakfast so I can have a cheese burger and fries for lunch”
- “I followed my diet all week so I’m going to eat what I want on the weekend.”
- “I was binging on chocolate last night so now I have to eat vegetables all day.”
- “I get ice cream as a reward because I ate salad for dinner.”
- “I had skim milk in latte so I can have whipped cream on top.”
- “I ate gluten-free pasta so now I can have a donut.”
- “I was off my diet. Now I have to pay for it.”
- “It is important to me that I celebrate my best friend’s birthday with her. I’m going to choose to have a small piece of cake – and I will enjoy it. There will be no guilt or regret.”
- “I know that I’ve been feeling better eating gluten-free, but I really want to have pasta tonight. I’m going to pay attention to how my body reacts so I know if pasta is a food that makes me feel good or not.”
- “Last time I had a chocolate bar, I felt really wired. I think I’ll choose to add cocoa nibs to a smoothie bowl so I can enjoy the taste of chocolate without the wired feeling.”
- “Wow. These high protein, low sugar muffins are really tasty. I can adapt the recipe to suit me, so I don’t need to sacrifice taste for health.”
- “I think I had too much diary over the last few days, so I’m going to choose a non-dairy option today. I’m learning that I can eat cheese once or twice a week, but when I have it every day, I don’t feel as good.”
- “I’ve got so used to eating foods without added sugar that I didn’t really enjoy that pop as much I expected. You know what, I’d rather have a glass of water instead.”