80-20 Rule to Manage Weight
80/20 rule is a healthy, less-restrictive eating option that doesn’t feel like a diet. Eating 80/20 allows you to enjoy your favorite foods in moderation while eating healthy at the same time.
What is the 80/20 rule for eating?
The 80/20 rule is a guide for your everyday diet—eat nutritious foods 80 percent of the time and have a serving of your favorite treat with the other 20 percent.
For the “80 percent” part of the plan, focus on drinking lots of water and eating nutritious foods that include:
Whole grains
Fruits and vegetables
Lean protein, including plant-based proteins such as beans, legumes and soy.
Limited amounts of healthy fats from ghee or olive oil.
For your treats, or the “20 percent” part, eat your favorite foods in moderation. For example, you might have a small piece of chocolate cake today and a drink a glass of mojito tomorrow—just not both at the same time.
This way of eating is easier to maintain than stricter diets like ketogenic or paleo diets, which limit carbs and processed foods.
The best thing about the 80/20 rule is that you’re never saying, “I can’t eat that.” Instead, you’re saying, “I can eat this today and have that tomorrow.”
What’s the best way to use 80/20 rule?
For someone targeting 1500 calories a day that means you’d use about 1200 calories for healthy, nutritious meals and 300 calories for your treat.
Some people try to apply the 80 percent rule to weekdays and the 20 percent rule to weekends.
Can you lose weight following the 80/20 rule?
Yes! it could help you lose weight. But, how much weight you lose depends on how healthy or unhealthy your eating habits were before you started 80/20.
Portion control and moderation are the keys to success when eating 80/20. Calories always count, even if they’re healthy ones.