The 80 20 Rule Eat Healthy And Have Your Cake Too (2024)

The 80/20 rule is a healthy, less-restrictive plan for eating that doesn't feel like a diet. See how it's more "real-life"—including healthy foods and indulgences in moderation.

The 80 20 Rule Eat Healthy And Have Your Cake Too (1)

By April Schetler, MS, RD, FAND, Registered Dietitian
AVP, Community Health Engagement

Going "on" a diet usually means going "off" the diet when a craving hits for Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey. That’s because most people can’t follow a strict diet 100 percent of the time—and then they feel guilty when they indulge in dessert, chips or a co*cktail.

But following the 80/20 rule is a healthy, less-restrictive eating option that doesn't feel like a diet. Eating 80/20 is more "real-life" and easier to follow than other diet plans because it 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, soy, and edamame
  • Limited amounts of healthy fats from avocados 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 red wine tomorrow—just not both at the same time. This way of eating is easier to maintain than stricter diets like ketogenicor paleodiets, 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?

To succeed with the 80/20 rule, trying staying within these guidelines as many days as you can. If you’re aiming for 80 percent of your diet to come from fresh and unprocessed whole foods, why not treat yourself with up to 20 percent of your favorite treats?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, but this can lead to overeating since you've denied yourself treats all week.

Following the 80/20 rule daily means you have wiggle room to splurge every day. As a result, you never deny yourself the pleasure of eating a small portion of something you love.

Can you lose weight following the 80/20 rule?

Following the 80/20 rule 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. Therefore, it’s still possible to exceed your body's energy needs and gain weight even though you’re eating healthy foods. Calories always count, even if they're healthy ones.

In addition to weight loss, following the 80/20 rule can help you keep a balanced mindset about eating. It removes the guilt, emotion and stress associated with dieting and allows you to enjoy your favorite foods in moderation. In addition, it can be adjusted to work for people with diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions.

How do I get started with the 80/20 rule?

If you need help getting started with the 80/20 rule, make an appointment with a Virtua registered dietitian. Your dietitian will review your normal diet with you and help you identify areas where you can make more nutritious food choices so you can achieve your fitness and nutrition goals. Most importantly, he or she will help you develop simple, healthy eating habits through small changes you can make over time.

Call 888-847-8823 to make an appointment with a Virtua registered dietitian.

The 80 20 Rule Eat Healthy And Have Your Cake Too (2024)

FAQs

The 80 20 Rule Eat Healthy And Have Your Cake Too? ›

If you're aiming for 80 percent of your diet to come from fresh and unprocessed whole foods, why not treat yourself with up to 20 percent of your favorite treats? 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.

What is the 80 20 rule in healthy eating? ›

The 80/20 rule is simple. Eat nutritious, healthy foods 80% of the time and enjoy foods considered less healthy 20% of the time. It's a more flexible approach to eating, which encourages a balanced diet and indulging in moderation rather than restrictive dieting.

What is the 3 food rule? ›

Buying and cooking the same things but growing really tired of them? Try the rule of three! You'll choose three vegetables, three fruits, three grains, three proteins and two to three snack foods, which can include a fun food.

What is the golden rule of eating? ›

An excess of any one of the six tastes (sweet, sour, salt, astringent, bitter and pungent) should be avoided. Food articles that contradict each other such as milk and fish should be avoided. Excessive consumption of fast food such as pizzas and burgers should be avoided. Soft drinks should not be consumed with meals.

What is the 90 10 rule of eating? ›

So how exactly can you use the 90/10 principle to find success in healthy eating? The 90/10 principle is when 90% of the time you follow your healthy meal plan guidelines closely, while 10% of the time you are free to loosen up and eat what you truly enjoy. Think of the 10% meals as your cheat or free meals.

What is the 3 2 1 method for weight loss? ›

The numbers stand for three days of strength training, two days of Pilates, and one day of cardio, which could be anything from running to walking. The schedule might help those who have trouble staying consistent and the diverse types of movements will activate different muscle groups.

What is the 2 2 2 rule for food? ›

Non-profit organisation Love Food, Hate Waste recommends the 2:2:2 rule. Two hours to get them in the fridge. Two days to eat them once they're in there. Or freeze them for up to two months.

What is the 2 2 4 rule for food? ›

Food held between 5oC and 60oC for less than 2 hours can be used, sold or put back in the refrigerator to use later. Food held between 5oC and 60oC for 2-4 hours can still be used or sold, but can't be put back in the fridge. Food held between 5oC and 60oC for 4 hours or more must be thrown away.

What is the 5 20 rule for food? ›

The 5/20 rule of nutrition can help guide grocery shoppers when looking at nutrition labels. It indicates that a 20% or more daily value of any nutrient is a high amount, while 5% or less is low. If you're looking for low sodium, for example, make sure the daily value is 5% or lower.

What are the first 3 food rules? ›

The First Three Rules for Healthy Eating
  • Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
  • Don't eat anything with more than five ingredients, or ingredients you can't pronounce.
  • Stay out of the middle of the supermarket; shop on the perimeter of the store.
Apr 16, 2018

What is the 321 eating rule? ›

Dolvett's effective eating plan is as easy as 3-1-2-1: three days of clean eating, one day of cheating, two more days of clean eating, and one final reward meal at the end of the week. No foods are off limits and you will never feel deprived because the plan is flexible enough to fit into any lifestyle.

What is the 12 hour rule for eating? ›

The rules for this diet are simple. A person needs to decide on and adhere to a 12-hour fasting window every day. According to some researchers, fasting for 10–16 hours can cause the body to turn its fat stores into energy, which releases ketones into the bloodstream. This should encourage weight loss.

What is the 100 rule diet? ›

It sounds strange, but that's what “The 100” diet promotes by restricting consumption of sugar calories to 100 per day for quick weight loss. You can get the general idea from the title of Jorge Cruise's book, The 100: Count Only Sugar Calories and Lose Up to 18 Lbs. in Two Weeks.

What is the 40 40 20 rule diet? ›

The '40:40:20' diet is renowned for being used by many of the most successful bodybuilders in history and helped popularised by Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is a macronutrient (macro) split/macro tracking diet with its total daily calorie content composing of 40% carbohydrate, 40% protein and 20% fat.

What is the 20 minute meal rule? ›

Research has found that it takes about 20 minutes from the time you start eating for your brain to signal the rest of your body (especially your stomach) that it's full.

What is the 80 20 rule health plan? ›

The 80/20 Rule generally requires insurance companies to spend at least 80% of the money they take in from premiums on health care costs and quality improvement activities. The other 20% can go to administrative, overhead, and marketing costs. The 80/20 rule is sometimes known as Medical Loss Ratio, or MLR.

What is the 80 20 rule routine? ›

Simply put, the 80/20 rule states that the relationship between input and output is rarely, if ever, balanced. When applied to work, it means that approximately 20 percent of your efforts produce 80 percent of the results.

What is the 80 20 rule in fitness? ›

In order to see results at the gym, lose weight or even maintain overall health, we're told that it's an 80/20 balance. Meaning 80% of your results comes from the food you eat, and only 20% of your results come from your workouts.

What is 80 healthy eating 20 exercise? ›

Theoretically, if you want to lose weight, it is about 80 percent diet and 20 percent exercise. Generally, it is said that diet plays a major role in weight loss. Some people can lose weight just by reducing their calorie consumption, but the results are unlikely to remain without some physical exercise.

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