80-20 considerations. Need your advice! page

[zizou]

Ok, so whilst i like to be stringent and fully commited with pretty much everything i do, i do enjoy letting my standards slip now and then (i think there is something healthy aout reducing your constant thinking and/or stressing about something) so im thinking of this year incorporating a lil 80-20. Specifically, im contemplating making 1 day of the week where i will eat something not necessarily primal, or even close to it!

Is this abusing the 80-20 rule, in that if i say once a week eat a non primal meal and with ofcourse, a desert accompanying the dish?

The main reasons i am contemplating this, is not because of cravings (although now and then they will hit me like most people here im sure) but sometimes its just nice to eat with friends or family, even if the meal is shockingly nutrient deficient, inflammatory, health degenerating and whatever other negative word you can associate with food. The next day will most likely be a recovery, either just getting back to eating primal, or IF'ing or whatever else can be beneficial to recoverying from toxic dumping your body!

What are peoples thoughts on this and in general 80-20 rule? Has it been discussed how to mitigate aftermath of 80-20?

[Omni]

Interested to hear what people classify in the 80:20 rules, I think some use it as a free for all.

I jumped of the wagon for a month (xmas), still mostly primal, but grains & dairy were let in, definately felt worse for it and will be thinking twice before I make that choice again.

[Annieh]

I'm thinking if you have been strictly primal for quite some time you might find you no longer actually like the deficient, inflammatory, toxic foods that other people still eat.

On the other hand, if it is actually delicious and you are not worried about sabotaging other goals, then you might as well enjoy it, whatever it is.

Of course we are free to eat whatever we like but I would not waste my 20% on something I don't enjoy or have to recover from.

It seems a good idea to set a limit of 20% non-primal but I also don't see any need to aim for the full 20%, keep some in reserve for unplanned deviations. For example what if you decide Friday is your day, go all out, and then on Sunday something truly tempting crops up and you've spent your allowance? Just a thought.

[zizou]

Interested to hear what people classify in the 80:20 rules, I think some use it as a free for all.

I jumped of the wagon for a month (xmas), still mostly primal, but grains & dairy were let in, definately felt worse for it and will be thinking twice before I make that choice again.

Yeah i could never go back to full time eating standard diets. It just isnt worth it and the taste is definitley not as good as it was before you actually started eating real food. Bread for example, is like cardboard to me, unless really well masked with something special. For me, this 80-20 thing would be primarly eating conventional food, but if i dont then something like treated/soaked/fermented bad foods, to mitigate their negatives would also fall into the 20 rule, as quiet frankly the effort and time needed, i dont think it could be a regular thing anyway.

I'm thinking if you have been strictly primal for quite some time you might find you no longer actually like the deficient, inflammatory, toxic foods that other people still eat.

On the other hand, if it is actually delicious and you are not worried about sabotaging other goals, then you might as well enjoy it, whatever it is.

Of course we are free to eat whatever we like but I would not waste my 20% on something I don't enjoy or have to recover from.

It seems a good idea to set a limit of 20% non-primal but I also don't see any need to aim for the full 20%, keep some in reserve for unplanned deviations. For example what if you decide Friday is your day, go all out, and then on Sunday something truly tempting crops up and you've spent your allowance? Just a thought.

Brilliant advice, and just what i was hoping for when opening this thread, good for everyones benefit to discuss venturing into the 80-20 thing. I think, i will reserve it strictly for something that i know i will enjoy, like you said otherwise it aint worth it. Ad your finitley right about setting a day for it a bad idea, rather perhaps just knowing that if your going to cheat during the week, keep it to just the one day. I dont have weight issues, for me its specifically just limiting damage to health and not undermining my good work in eating clean and improving my general health. I ssume ifing post binge is more beneficial rather than ifing pre binge but perhaps both would be even better!

[Damiana]

If it is not holding your goals back, go for it. I used to do that myself, have a day when I go nuts, but as my weight has stabilized, I find I no longer feel the need to do that. The 20% is there for flexibility, I think, and it's up to you to decide how that fits into your lifestyle.

[JoanieL]

I do exactly that. One day a week. I don't usually have dessert though, but only because I don't seem to like sweets as much as a lot of people. It's not every week, but I allow it every week. I allow myself 3 oz of pasta cooked (actually a more decent portion than it looks like in writing), or a po' boy which means a fairly large roll.

If you don't gorge on the one day, you're actually at 86/14. If however, you eat twice as much on your non-primal day and it's all non-primal food, you could easily go over 80/20. So indulge. At 80/20 most of us are still better off than we were, and we're a damn sight better off than people still eating out of boxes, the frozen prepared food section at the grocery store, and chain restaurants.

As a note, I don't have much of a reaction to non-primal foods. Worst case scenario is a little windiness. I'm not sure I'd do it if the next day was going to be painful.

[magnolia1973]

I don't set out to have 20%. I use it when I really want something badly. I may go a few weeks not wanting anything, or I may want something 2 times in a week. This week, I had a Kind bar and made a Paleo dessert, while last week I ate 100% clean.

I used to use it for a daily treat..... it didn't work for me. I don't need it for cheat meals- I love Paleo/Primal foods. I would not be likely to want pizza or McDonalds anyway. But yeah, I use it for my sweet tooth.

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

[eKatherine]

If you're not sensitive to any of the foods you have given up, enjoy yourself. If you're like me and a meal of gluten will leave you in pain and inflamed for weeks, probably not so much fun.

[Darz]

If you're not sensitive to any of the foods you have given up, enjoy yourself.

This.

[MissJecka]

I don't set out to have a 20% or 10% non-primal part of my life, but I simply assume that I do because when I go out, I don't know if they used canola oil in their oil and vinegar dressing, or if the steak marinade at a restaurant is soy-based or not. Sometimes, though, it's a slightly more deliberate slip-up where I eat ice cream or, like yesterday, eat Sour Patch Kids after a completely 100% primal day. (Hey, my boyfriend got them for me because I was sick and wanted me to feel better! It's hard to say no when he's being sweet!) Also, as someone said, most of the time after being primal for a while you won't have cravings for the toxic things of your past. I ate the Sour Patch Kids last night... but man, I did NOT enjoy them like I used to!