You’re doing it or You’re not

 I HATE the 80/20 rule. Not quite as much as the line “Everything in moderation” but its getting close.

I need to make a clarification here.. I don’t hate how it is presented in the Eat By Design seminars. It’s a great way to ease into Eating By Design and making a transition away from habits that are not By Design.

There are clear benefits to being on track 80% of the time and if you have off tracks once in a while, being okay with it.

The problem is that many people interpret the 80/20 rule to mean that they should be aiming for 80%.

This interpretation of the 80/20 rule, in my opinion, is what keeps Eating By Design from being a lifestyle for most people.

If you have a friend who is vegan, that’s probably how you refer to them: He IS vegan. Not he eats vegan. It is his lifestyle. He’s not 80% vegan.

You would think it was ridiculous if someone told you they are vegan accept on Sundays or vegan except they eat hotdogs.

When a person is vegan, they draw the line. No meat, eggs or dairy. Period. Ever.

Do you know what must be AWESOME about being vegan? People don’t try to pressure you to “treat yourself” and eat some meat. People get that it is your lifestyle.

I have cousins who are vegetarian and my grandparents always make sure there is a vegetarian option. But when I come over, my family still tries to get me to eat pasta and bread rolls because I should "just lay off my diet" when I’m around the family.

Seriously. It makes me want to blow my brains out.

I can’t be upset with them though, I am the one that encouraged this. When I first started eating By Design I would still have off track food sometimes, mostly on holidays or special occasions. I rationalized it as part of my 20%.

In the last year, my parents and siblings have (finally!) accepted that I really just DON’T eat food that isn’t By Design. They are slowly starting to get it. But that shift has only occurred because I have been 100% when I am around them. And in the rest of my life, I’m pretty darn close to 100%.

We CANNOT Eat By Design only 80% of the time and then be confused when people don’t get it and think we are on a diet.

Its not them … its us.

If we want people to treat us like we have a certain lifestyle, we should be living it.

There are a few foods that I have accepted as part of my Life By Design that are not strictly By Design. I drink coffee. I drink it everyday and I love it. It is part of my lifestyle. Period. Not negotiable. I eat dark chocolate from time to time.. probably about once every 2 weeks. Very occasionally I eat dessert but never one that has flour or other grains. I also very occasionally eat French fries.

My lifestyle.

These are my rules. I have drawn the lines. I avoid grains (especially wheat) and legumes at all costs. I’ve read way too much science about grains & legumes to think of them as anything other than pure poison. I’m probably more turned off by bread than most vegans are by bacon.

So this is my life… And you know what? It’s SO much easier this way then when I was playing the 80/20 game.

When something is an automatic "no", there is no will power involved.

Planning to be off track 20% of the time is so much effort.

You have to think about it all the time. 

If you let yourself eat cookies sometimes but not all the time, then you have to make that decision every time there are cookies available. Weigh the pro’s and con’s. Review what else you’ve eaten recently. Have you had enough other food today to make this only count for 20%?... Its psychological warfare!

Not to mention, the kinds of foods that make up the 20% are sugar dense, nutrient-poor foods designed by food scientists to make you crave them. They are void of nutrition or satiety factors, so there is nothing to tell your brain to stop eating them.

Off track foods wreak havoc on your pleasure, reward, and emotion circuitry, creating a habit cycle that is really hard to break.

These foods also mess with your hormones like insulin and leptin, creating metabolic imbalances that further promote cravings and hunger.

So even a small off track item can really set you back A LOT in your health, performance, self esteem and in your efforts to reach any sort of body composition goals.

I know this is tough love, but think about how counter productive it is to give yourself an excuse and to say that it’s okay to eat foods that bring you away from health and closer to sickness and disease – as long as its only 20% of the time.

You are either eating By Design or you’re not. You are either moving closer to good health or away from it.

I encourage you to draw your lines. Decide exactly what your lifestyle will look like and then DO IT all out.

Don’t just Eat By Design, Be By Design.