The 80/20 diet plan offers a refreshing and balanced approach to eating, steering clear of the restrictive nature often associated with traditional diets. It's a healthy, less-restrictive plan for eating that doesn't feel like a diet. This approach allows individuals to maintain a healthy lifestyle without feeling deprived, making it a sustainable option for long-term well-being.
Understanding the 80/20 Rule
The core principle of the 80/20 diet rule is straightforward: dedicate 80% of your food intake to healthy, whole foods, while the remaining 20% can be reserved for occasional treats or indulgences. This balance promotes a healthy relationship with food, eliminating the guilt often associated with deviating from strict dietary guidelines.
Defining "Healthy Foods"
In the context of the 80/20 rule, "healthy foods" primarily consist of whole, unprocessed options. These include:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Lean proteins
- Whole grains
- Healthy fats
These foods provide essential nutrients that fuel the body, promote energy, and support overall well-being. The Department of Agriculture’s federal diet guidelines can help you build a roster of “healthy” meals. The basic principle is to make half your plate fruits and vegetables, and change them up often. The rest of your plate should be whole grains and lean protein with a serving of low-fat dairy, like milk or yogurt, on the side. Try to limit saturated fat and added sugars.
The 80%: Focus on Nutrient-Rich Choices
- Vegetables: Incorporate fresh, canned, or frozen vegetables into your diet through salads, side dishes, or entrees. Choose a variety of colors to ensure a diverse intake of nutrients. Vegetables can be steamed, sauteed, roasted, or grilled to enhance their flavor. Most adults should aim for approximately 2 ½ to 3 cups of vegetables daily.
- Whole Grains: Opt for whole grains as the primary ingredient in prepared foods like bread. Alternatively, consume whole grains directly through oatmeal, popcorn, farro, quinoa, or brown rice. Limit the consumption of snacks, cakes, and cookies made with refined grains, as they can cause blood sugar spikes. Adults should aim for around 3 ounces of grains a day (about 3 slices of bread or 1 ½ cups of rice).
- Dairy: Choose fat-free milk, yogurt, soy, and nut milks to reduce saturated fat intake. If consuming dairy fat, opt for low-fat versions of sour cream and cheese. Most adults should aim for around 3 cups of dairy a day.
- Protein: While beef, chicken, and pork are acceptable, especially in low-fat forms, it's beneficial to diversify protein sources. Fish, beans, peas, nuts, seeds, soy, and eggs offer a range of flavors and nutrients. Adults should aim for 5 to 6 ounces of protein a day, including about 8 ounces of seafood each week. Salmon is a fantastic choice for a nutritious, protein-packed meal.
The 20%: Allowing for Indulgence
The 20% portion of the 80/20 diet provides the flexibility to enjoy less nutritious foods without derailing overall health goals. It’s a way to enjoy eating every day and keep a positive attitude toward food. This might include enjoying onion rings as a splurge at lunch, a glass of wine at dinner, or an ice cream treat for dessert. However, moderation is key to prevent negating the benefits of the 80% healthy eating.
Read also: The Hoxsey Diet
Adapting the 80/20 Rule
The 80/20 rule is not a rigid plan, giving you the option to adopt it in a way that works best for you. There are several ways to approach the 20% indulgence:
- "Cheat Days" Approach: Designate specific days each week to indulge in treats. However, avoid framing meals as "punishments" or "rewards," but rather enjoy both healthy meals and occasional treats.
- Calories Approach: If aiming for weight loss, allocate 20% of the recommended daily calorie intake for splurges. For example, if aiming for 1,800 calories a day, allocate 360 calories for treats a couple of days a week.
- Mixed Approach: Integrate treats into daily eating habits in moderation. For instance, sprinkle a small amount of sugar on grapefruit in the morning or enjoy fresh whipped cream and berries for dessert.
Benefits of the 80/20 Diet
- Weight Management: By prioritizing healthy foods for 80% of the time, individuals naturally reduce their intake of processed foods and excess calories. The 80/20 diet features a healthy, balanced diet with a few splurges, it may help you shed a few pounds if you use it to cut down on fattening foods and watch your calories. Any time you burn more calories than you take in, you’re likely to lose weight.
- Sustainability: The flexibility of the 80/20 rule makes it easier to adhere to long-term compared to restrictive diets. The flexibility also provides reassurance because it acknowledges that slip-ups can and will happen but are accounted for in the plan. It means fewer participants of the 80/20 diet drop out when compared with more restrictive diet plans.
- Balanced Nutrition: The emphasis on whole foods ensures adequate intake of essential nutrients, supporting overall health and well-being.
Considerations
While the 80/20 rule offers numerous benefits, it's essential to consider individual health needs and goals.
- Specific Health Conditions: Individuals with specific health conditions, such as diabetes, or those following a particular eating plan for fitness goals should consult with a healthcare professional before adopting the 80/20 rule.
- Exercise: If you’re trying to lose weight, dieting alone usually isn’t enough to get you where you want to be. To help your body burn more calories than you take in, aim for 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. Weightlifting or pushups help build muscle, which burns calories all day long. If you can’t hit the gym, a walk around the block at lunch is a good way to get moving.
- Personalization: Each person is different, some people enjoy a little freedom at the end of the week, while others would rather indulge a little every day. Just make sure to talk with your doctor or a dietitian about whatever you decide. Your age, sex, weight, and activity level all play a part in what’s a healthy diet for you.
Sample 80/20 Meal Plans
Here are some sample menus for different dietary preferences:
Meat Eater 80/20
- Breakfast: Full English potato cakes
- Mid-morning: Two peanut butter cookies
- Lunch: Spicy chicken and avocado wrap
- Dinner: Lamb and squash biryani with cucumber raita
Vegetarian 80/20
- Breakfast: Breakfast egg wraps
- Lunch: Feta & clementine lunch bowl, One easy blueberry muffin
- Dinner: Double bean and roasted pepper chilli
Vegan 80/20
- Breakfast: Strawberry pancakes
- Lunch: Vegan chickpea curry jacket potatoes
- Afternoon treat: One vegan brownie
- Dinner: Vegan shepherd's pie
Contrasting with the 80/10/10 Diet
It's important to distinguish the 80/20 diet from the 80/10/10 diet, which is a low-fat, raw vegan diet. The 80/10/10 Diet is based on a nutrient distribution of at least 80% of calories from carbs and fewer than 10% of calories from protein and fats. It promotes fruits, vegetables, and nuts and recommends avoiding high-fat foods.
What Is the 80/10/10 Diet?
The 80/10/10 Diet is a low-fat, raw vegan diet developed by Dr. Douglas Graham, a raw foodist, retired chiropractor and former athlete. It is based on the idea that the optimal diet should provide at least 80% of calories from carbs, with no more than 10% of calories from protein and 10% from fats. Unlike many popular diets, the 80/10/10 Diet has no time limit and is promoted as a long-term solution to increase longevity and reduce obesity and disease.
Read also: Walnut Keto Guide
Why Raw?
The 80/10/10 Diet proposes that your digestive system is physiologically designed to digest fruit and tender, leafy greens. Raw fruits and tender, leafy greens are believed to contain all the nutrients humans require, in the optimal proportions your body needs. Cooking is believed to damage the nutrients naturally found in foods, making them nutritionally inferior to raw foods.
What to Eat on the 80/10/10 Diet
People who follow the diet are encouraged to focus on eating raw, low-fat plant foods.
- Sweet Fruits: Apples, Bananas, Mangoes, Berries
- Non-Sweet Fruits: Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers, Okra, Eggplant, Zucchini, Other squashes
- Soft Greens: Lettuce, Spinach, Leafy greens
- Fatty Fruit (limited to less than 10% of total calories): Avocados, Durian fruit, Ackee, Olives, Nuts and seeds
What to Avoid on the Diet
The 80/10/10 Diet discourages its followers from eating the following:
- Meat and seafood
- Eggs
- Dairy products
- Processed fats
- Cooked, dehydrated and processed foods
- Taste enhancers
- Certain beverages
Benefits Supported by Science
Research consistently links a higher consumption of fruits and vegetables, as part of a balanced diet, with a lower risk of illnesses including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, dementia and certain types of cancer. There’s also evidence that diets that provide less than 10% of total calories from fat can help lower blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Several studies further report that vegan diets, in general, may help lower the risk of heart disease, reduce blood sugar levels, increase insulin sensitivity and lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 78%. Moreover, several high-quality studies report that low-fat vegan diets are particularly effective for weight loss
Major Drawbacks of the 80/10/10 Diet
- High Food Volumes: This volume of food is larger than most people are accustomed to. Those who struggle to eat such large volumes of food may have difficulty meeting their daily calorie and nutrient requirements.
- Low Protein and Fat Intakes: There’s little proof that consuming fewer than 10% of calories from fat is any more beneficial than consuming a diet of 15% or 20% fat, for instance. In addition, there’s no strong evidence that you’ll achieve health benefits if you restrict both protein and fat to less than 10% each of total calories.
- Insufficient Vitamin B12: The 80/10/10 Diet assumes that humans already produce sufficient amounts of vitamin B12 themselves and can get the rest from organically grown produce. However, no scientific evidence could be found to support these statements.
- Insufficient Iodine: Dr. Graham recommends avoiding salt. This includes iodized salt and seaweed - two good sources of iodine.
Other Downsides of This Diet
- It Exaggerates the Negative Effects of Cooked Foods and Spices
- It Unfairly Demonizes Cooked Foods
- It’s Not Sustainable Over the Long Term
- It’s Largely Based on Pseudoscience
Read also: Weight Loss with Low-FODMAP