80-20 considerations. Need your advice! page 2

[Gladmorning]

Just a thought... 1 day out of 7 = 1/7... equal ABOUT 14.29% I meal out of one day out of one week... That doesn't really add up to 20% in my mind. I do not practice this as I have some seriously big weight loss goals to achieve. However, I know the social events ahead of me, and when I go to them, I make the best primal choices I can, and don't care about the rest for the exception of wheat products as I am allergic. So, if you're at a good place, I say go ahead and have your one primal meal on one day of one whole week. It's not going to kill you.

[JennGlob]

For me the thing to remember is, not to go off the rails because of my 20%. I went off course in December and it took me until mid-January to get myself together. In general my 20% is random oils and sauces, then I have just all out cheats on occassion.

[PeaceKaren]

My 80/20 comes from staying close to 100% primal when I'm the one in control of the food preparation at home and relaxing the rules when I'm eating out in a social situation or during special occasions. I'll eat a small piece of birthday cake at a party or a piece of wedding cake at a wedding and I'll indulge in moderate amounts of traditional foods for the holidays. I don't ask for special preparations at a restaurant during a business meal, though I will make reasonable requests when I'm out with family. I let life dictate my 20% and I try to manage the other 80%.

What you propose wouldn't work for me, I honestly have no desire to eat non-primal foods once a week, but it may be perfect for you. The only way to know is to give it a try and see what results you get.

Good luck with it!

[zizou]

Some great points being mentioned.

Has got me thinking and reflecting. Firstly, i think we'd all agree, assigning a day isnt the best idea, rather let it come naturally, and reward yourself the day as a part of your 20% should you feel it would be of best interest to yourself and only yourself.

Key events, old family traditional meals and sharing moments with mates i think are all valid 20% occasions which i will keep in mind and mentioned in this thread, utilised as part of you 20% and move on with your primalesque lifestyle. Being in the minority as i feel someone who eats this way, is confined to, i think this is s pretty good way of going about it snd getting the best of both worlds i suppose.

One thing i like about being strict and then dipping into the darkside, is you feel like a guest or viditor to a whole new place tasting different food all the while looking forward to getting back to your good ole favourites!

[AyaPapaya]

The 20% to me is just a message that we can be flexible to a small degree and not be doing harm to ourselves.

^This.

When I go out to eat, which is rare, I don't sweat the oils and sauces.
Once every couple weeks I'll make a meal that involves corn tortillas and and rice & beans

As for processed junk/garbage, I don't kid myself that these things could have even a small place in my life. For me, the concept of cheat meals/days seems...counterproductive. It magnifies what I 'can't have'...which is not a good frame of mind for me. I prefer to look at it as things that I don't want, rather than can't have.

[Ayla2010]

I think people around here seem to take the 80/20 way wrong.
I see it as aim for 100% but if you go out for dinner somewhere and they cook in a nasty oil, just don't worry about it.
Its not there to have planned non primal things.
But I guess you have to take it as you want.

[Ayla2010]

When I was vegan, I was 100%.... it's very stressful to have that mentality. You end up disappointed a lot and craving a lot.

Not for me, any "treats" make me want more.
But I know we are all different.

[magnolia1973]

Not for me, any "treats" make me want more.

Yeah- the 20% depends a lot on your personality. When I was a vegan, I remember just this constant string of disappointment- not having a burger at a BBQ. Not being able to get ice cream at Graeters. Eating pizza with "soy cheese"....Being at an Italian restaurant with plain pasta because the pesto had parm. The good thing is that Primal meals are generally far more splurgey than vegan crap.

For me, long term, to stick to something, I need to not feel restricted. I can go 30-40 days being pretty strict. Then I start eating my way around what I crave. Yesterday, I wanted cake. I probably would have eaten 5 cakes worth of calories in extra fruit and nuts trying to avoid the cake. So I ate the paleo cake. The problem is when the cravings get too frequent or when you indulge them quite easily. Like I would happily eat paleo cake tonight, but I don't really want it like I was wanting it all last week.

I kind of have trialed and errored my way through this issue. I think it is probably pretty common to start by using the 20% regularly when you first eat Primal and then use it less and less OR go the other route and be very strict when starting PB then use the 20% occasionally. Plus I think the foods in 20% evolve over time from things like pizza or cookies to things like potatoes and paleo sweets.It's fun to see your diet evolve overtime to be even healthier.

[eKatherine]

My boyfriend and I ate out last night at a local sports bar that serves inexpensive meals. There are only a couple of items on the menu I can eat safely (salad or steak), and I order one of them each time and have no problem. Or both if I am really hungry. He eats anything off the menu and reacts every time we eat there to soybean oil they put in most of the food, lol. He's not primal and it's okay with him. Kind of ironic.

[Finnegans Wake]

I never set out to specifically eat a 20% meal (pizza or some such) just to do it. As others have noted, if the situation arises, no worries. Monday-Friday I tend to be very Primal, and weekends more lax. Figure if you eat 3 meals a day, that's 17 meals Primal per week, 4 non, still 80/20. If two meals a day, 11 Primal per week, 3 non. Nothing difficult about that, and as some have noted, the longer you're Primal the less appealing those cheats become.

I'm on the fence about some of the "safe starches." If my wife wants a pasta cheat and I use rice noodles, it's technically non-Primal but in reality probably no big deal. I don't really worry about white potatoes either, not that I eat them that often - French fries would be a cheat, but a baked tater, no. I really think 80/20 is about killing food anxiety, and how you prioritize your food spectrum is something you can consider an ongoing tweak.