How do you get your 20%? page

[AdamC29]

I am fairly young (29) and I am not doing this for weight loss (anymore) but to be healthy and for a lifestyle I can maintain. I enjoy my 20% and if your a person who eat 100% then well done but this isn't a thread for you.

I train pretty hard 3-4 times a week and I eat 14 (2 a day) meals a week, so at the moment I have 2 fairly decent treats (Pizza, dessert etc..) after 2 of my training sessions as part of my 20% and the rest of it I guess includes Coffee. the rest of the time my food is nearly always meat/fish and veg.

This seems to be working quite well for me and seems to in some way give me the Carbs (I know I can get better Carbs) I need after a tough workout, although I am open to suggestions.

So my question is, how do people structure there 20%? In 2/3 sittings or throughout the week and what do people think is the best way forward?

[Damiana]

I eat healthfully 95% of the time but sometimes my mind just wants some really bad sugary food that are almost devoid of nutrition. Then I sit down, give in to my craving and go to town on a bag of milk chocolate, sugar content be damned. I also let myself have hard liquor when I go out, which isn't often. I don't calculate out my 20% or whatever, but I do give myself some room for flexibility.

[Dirlot]

I don't structure it in, per say. I use it to deal with real life situations, have the occasional glass of red wine, and some full fat ice cream on a hot summer day.

[Lawyerchick12]

I would be hard pressed to find that many people here structure their 20%. I think most people just aim to eat primal most of the time and just allow themselves i.e. social situations to have a few non primal foods if need be. I certainly try not to but I am learning not to shoot myself if I do eat the occassional non primal food. I do not work out as intense as you though it seems.

[Fernaldo]

I eat a pint of haagen dazs every weekend.

[honestboy640]

Your so, concious about your health from these age.good luck

[Leida]

I save my cheats for commercial condiments, like W. sauce & liquid smoke in a jerky recipe, a touch of concentrated orange juice added to a roast pumpkin soup, and having all natural ham with some sugar in the ingredient list, basically, I go for allowing those trace quantities into the diet while avoiding cheat meals per se. I do make my own mayo and marinara, but I do want to have flexibility to have W. sauce or Soy sauce if the recipe calls for it or a touch of sweetener.

[magnolia1973]

I envy you. Right now, I find the need to be 100% to lose. But before my 20% was regular coffee, ice cream, and coffee with cream and sugar. I found that when I went off and just ate something way off base like pizza, I felt like ass.

I think the best way is what way works for you. For me, a large splurge non-primal meal is a ticket to feeling bad, but I know a lot of people do well. On the other hand, a small splurge here and there often grows, that square of chocolate becomes a whole bar.

My plan is to try and do a primal splurge meal- say primal pancakes or some kind of paleo baked good when I get the urge. I'm on day 27 of Whole 30 and it gets a little austere at times.

[Catrin]

I've felt so good since going primal that I've no real desire to cheat. I do still have coffee in the morning, and 1-2 beers at most on the weekends - but that is the total sum of my "cheating" - which is far less than 20%. I am sure there will be times when I am visiting family or the very rare restaurant visit to socialize that I will need to "cheat", but aside from that I don't even think about it. I've found that now my body is accustomed to eating real food, my stomach lets me know fast when I eat something it doesn't want...

[sbhikes]

The way you phrase your question and describe what you are doing makes it sound like you see having artificial foods as a must-have or a "right" or some kind of reward for not being fat or somehow a major part of this lifestyle. I don't understand why once you've found excellent health you would consider fouling it up with 20% of crappy stuff that will just bring down your vitality. For me, I just do the best I can at all times, I don't want any "cheat meals" because they simply do not appeal, they're always a let-down, I cook better than almost any restaurant out there. I understand that sometimes I can't control everything I'm going to eat so I know that in the long run a little bit of bad stuff here and there isn't going to kill me. I enjoy a craft beer now and then. I go out to a meal with friends and make the best choice I can knowing it's going to have sub-par ingredients, I choose the best-looking things at a potluck even if they have things in them I don't normally eat. I'll have a bite of a dessert now and then. I'll let my boyfriend buy cheap sushi at the store and have a few pieces knowing the fake crab meat is full of MSG. I don't dwell on these things. They're not important. But I don't make them a specific ingredient in my life and not nearly at such a huge level as 20% of my diet.