What is the 80/20 rule?
One of the first pieces of nutrition advice I can ever remember hearing was to follow the 80/20 rule. I’ll use the most popular language from the time I heard this guideline to explain it further: 80% of the time, you’re eating “clean” and 20% of the time you’re allowed to have “junk.”
In my practice, I don’t use words like ‘clean’ or ‘junk’ often (if ever) so I cringed a little when I typed that up just now and forced myself to put it in quotation marks. I’ve thought a lot about this piece of advice over the years since I first heard it. My perspective has shifted on it as my views on nutrition have become more nuanced, but I kind of believe in its core message and today I’m going to explain why.
I’ve identified as an intuitive eating dietitian in the past because that’s what I felt most connected to. I saw clients that wanted a better relationship with food, that wanted to reduce their food anxiety or just be “normal” around food, that wanted to learn how to listen to their bodies and learn to eat well without dieting. I think that’s pretty aligned with intuitive eating.
I’ve distanced myself slightly from labeling myself like this recently because there are some things that I think are solid that other intuitive eating dietitians would write off as just another dieting rule. One of these is the 80/20 rule. The argument is that it promotes a binge/restrict cycle. By forcing yourself to eat clean in that 80% you’re kind of setting yourself up for a binge when you get to the 20%. And I do understand that viewpoint.
However, that’s not always quite how I’ve interpreted the 80/20 rule.
To me, the 80-20 rule is about inclusive balance. It means that whole, healthy foods make up the majority of your diet (the 80%). It means you’re hitting your food groups, your fiber, your lean proteins, your fruit and veg. And sprinkled in there (not separately!) you’re allowing yourself to enjoy foods that you might not eat for nutrition purposes, otherwise known as the 20%.
What does the 80/20 rule look like?
Here are some ways following the 80/20 rule might show up in real life.
- Having some chocolate after a dinner balanced with a complex carbohydrate, vegetable and protein source. 80% of what you ate was wonderfully healthy and you left room for 20% that you weren’t eating for hunger and were eating for taste and satisfaction.
- Knowing you’re going out for pizza on a weekend so for the meals leading up to it you’re eating foods more fiber and lean protein focused so you don’t feel like you’ve overdone it when the pizza comes. 80% of your day was for health, and 20% was for enjoyment.
- You love carbs (same) so you eat them with every meal. 80% of the carb sources you eat during the day are complex, and you save 20% for dinner when you’re having spaghetti.
The 80/20 rule acknowledges that there are foods we eat that serve different purposes. So this isn’t meant to be another rule to follow, but a way to look at how you might want to balance your intake to include everything you need and want!