Chocolate in your daily diet? We're all for it! Discover the 80/20 rule!

Exceptions to the diet, "little sins", cheat meal or cheat day is a topic that comes up in our fit-world all the time. How to eat healthily and maintain a beautiful figure when there are so many temptations around? How to live without huge restrictions and sacrifices? We know the perfect way! Read today's post, which will help you create your ideal diet without having to give up your favorite products.

"A clean bowl", although healthy for our body, can take its toll on our psyche. Especially in summer, when we spend more time outside, sipping cold prosecco (let's hope) in restaurant gardens, eating delicious artisanal ice creams and typical waffles in seaside resorts. It's hard to calmly watch everyone around enjoying the charms of beautiful weather when we are on a reduction, eating clean, and after all, "we can't!" On the other hand, girls, it is what it is! Sooner or later, there will be a breakdown during which we will want to eat all the croissants from the neighborhood café and... most likely, that will happen. This is not the best solution, which is why, although we sincerely encourage a healthy lifestyle, we also warn against excessive perfectionism, which becomes extremely uncomfortable and can eventually lead to orthorexia. Orthorexia is an eating disorder characterized by an obsessive focus on eating only healthy food and strict diet control. Although orthorexia stems from an attempt to achieve the best possible health and avoid any diseases, it is in itself a disease that requires treatment and leads to unpleasant health consequences. 

A very good solution, not only during vacations, is the 80/20 rule. This is the most optimal eating model that we recommend especially because, in the opinion of specialists, it can prevent binge eating episodes that occur during very restrictive diets. 

In one sentence, the 80/20 rule states that our diet should consist of 80% healthy, unprocessed, nutrient-dense products/meals (for the body and health) and 20% so-called pleasures, which are products that we simply crave - sweets, ice cream, go wild! ;)

In practice, it looks like this: if we eat 1800 kcal daily, we can allocate 360 of them to whatever we want, i.e., the so-called "eating for pleasure". However, it should be remembered that this is not, of course, mandatory and works on the principle of open doors - if we feel like it, we know that we don't have to wait for the next cheat day, but we can calmly include that meal in our daily diet and enjoy the taste. We are sure that many people will not feel the need to eat their 20% daily, and the 80/20 rule will be used in exceptional situations. What is also worth noting is the fact that 80/20 can be calculated on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis. Find your favorite method.  

Is 80/20 the same as a cheat meal?

Definitely not! A cheat meal or cheat day is often treated as a reward after a full week of sticking to a clean diet. It is usually associated with a caloric surplus and often involves "letting loose" and indulging in whatever one wants all day long. Thus, one often compensates for a weekly deficit in just one day and then wonders, "Was it worth going crazy like that?" ;)

In the case of 80/20, we still stay within our caloric needs, allowing ourselves the pleasures we crave. This principle helps maintain common sense and develop good habits. After all, it is known that the forbidden fruit tastes the best, and knowing that you can eat your favorite chocolate every day, it is unlikely to become your object of desire. :) 

However, to not be all rosy, 80/20 has one downside - to be effective, especially during weight loss, it requires quite meticulous calorie counting. We consider this detail a minor flaw, but we are curious how you see it? Let us know in the comments below the post.