The 80/20 Rule

I love to eat - I really do...and if you don't believe me, take a look at my Fit Day food logs for Nov. 17 - 18! However, if you were to look at most of the meals I eat during the week, you'd probably think I'm more robot than man. In truth, sometimes I too think of myself as a robot...at least 80% of the time that is. The other 20%, I'd consider myself to be similar to Homer Simpson: "a remorseless eating machine" whose "gastronomic capacity knows no bounds"!

In its simplest terms, the 80/20 Rule means to eat 'clean' 80% of the time and to eat 'bad/sinful/forbidden' foods 20% of the time. I'd say this rule applies to most people, most of the time. However, if you have short-term goals (i.e. 2 months or less) or you earn an income from your physique (i.e. models, actors, professional athletes), then this rule might not apply to you. For me, this rule is in effect all the time, regardless of whether I'm losing, maintaining, or gaining weight (the only things I change are portion sizes and calories from fat and/or carbs), although I'm a little less rigid about it if I'm gaining weight!

The 80%:
When I'm eating 'clean', I follow a meal combination scheme similar to one I read about a few years ago by Dr. John Berardi - a nutrition and training consultant to professional and amateur athletes, as well as bodybuilders and fitness contestants. Essentially, the meals are separated into either protein and carbs with little fat (less than 10g fat) or protein and fat with little carbs (less than 20g carbs), depending on when I'm exercising. Generally, I'll eat the protein and carb meals in the 4-6 hours after exercise, although I'll sometimes have one 2 hours before the workout if I'm trying to get some more carbs in that day...the more active I am, the more carbs I'll have on that day. The purpose of the protein and carb meals is to replenish the carbs used during exercise, as well as to provide the protein necessary to repair the muscle tissue. The protein and fat meals are meant to provide energy and protein without causing large insulin spikes, which will signal the body to shut off/slow down the body's fat burning temporarily.

A couple other things to note, I also try to avoid having meals that are high in carbs and fat together. The reason for this is to avoid having high levels of carbs, fat and insulin in the blood, which could lead to a scenario of insulin resistance and a greater uptake of nutrients into fat cells instead of muscle cells - definitely not what we want! The other scenario I try to avoid is having meals that are high in carbs alone because not only will this encourage long-term insulin resistance, but it also results in peaks and valleys of your blood sugar levels which can play around with your mood/energy levels, as well as resulting in overeating. I try to follow the above rules Sunday night until Friday afternoon, with very few aberrations except for big family/friend gatherings...and first dates (I can't let them see the 'crazy' side of me too early!).

The 20%:
Essentially, I let loose Friday night through Sunday afternoon. Booze, desserts, snack foods and fat/carb combos I normally deny myself during the week are all welcome during this time! Of course, I don't just eat these things for 48 hours since I still work out on the weekends and still need to make sure I get in enough of the nutrients my body needs to recover and regenerate before the next workout. Some of you might be thinking: "you're only doing this because you don't want to be disciplined on the weekend!" However, there is actually a purpose to this other than simply convenience. Since I'm in a calorie deficit all week, the spike in calories prevents my body's metabolism from slowing too much to accomodate for the reduction and ultimately having to cut calories to ridiculously low levels. Also, because I'm in a lower carb diet (not low-carb like Atkins but still only between 30-40% of total calories), the extra carbs on the weekends helps to prevent me from not recovering fully once Monday comes around. Lastly, there's the psychological benefit of knowing I'll be able to eat the foods that I love once 5 days have past, making the sacrifices during the week much easier to deal with. Oh yeah, and who the heck wants to be disciplined on the weekends!

Since I've decided to be a little more aggressive with my progress leading up to the holidays (due to the fact I'll let go of the reins a little bit on the days around Christmas and New Year's), I'm actually probably in more of a 90/10 mode right now. I've cut out sweets, desserts, cookies and all the like since Nov. 18th (which is a long time for me!) and won't be indulging in any of the aforementioned items until Dec. 22nd which is the date of my roommate's and my Christmas party. FYI, I have a side bet going right now with one of my clients to make sure we both don't have any sweets, desserts, etc until the 22nd. I was thinking of cutting out alcohol too, but thought that would be too drastic of a calorie reduction - yes, I know I have a problem! I also thought that it's not something I'd end up maintaining after the contest is done, which would likely result in a significant rebound in my weight afterwards...or I might not even make it to the 22nd 'cause I might have killed someone!

That's all for now folks, but coming up next will be my actual meals, as well as a few 'day in the life of' recounts and a one month progress report. Until then, stay fit and have fun (okay, I stole that from Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod from Body Break!).

Peace and love, ladies and gents.