The 80-20 rule is old news. Stay current with the latest 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/ and share the new helpful ratio: 85% - 15%. The new percentages state that 85% of calories are needed per day to meet food group recommendation healthfully in nutrient-dense forms, and 15% of remaining calories are available for other uses (including added sugars and saturated fat).
Here are the ways that I interpret this:
Aim for 85% of your diet to be healthy food. This leaves 15% for less-than-healthy foods, or healthy foods: your body, your choice. No judgement, no competition.
Be kind to your body. Nourish it with healthy foods that will help it thrive, move better, exist longer.
Notice how healthy food makes you feel. Notice how unhealthy food makes you feel. Tune into more body awareness. Often, you feel the effects of the food you eat much later than when you put it in your mouth. Tune into how energetic you feel in the hours/day after eating different types of food, to see what truly makes your body refreshed and energized.
Choose real food that comes from the ground, picked off a plant or tree, or from the sea. When possible eat foods that are local, with less pesticides. When possible, choose animal foods where the animals were fed a healthy diet in healthy conditions. When possible and reasonable, go organic. To me, I like to keep things simple. To me organic = less chemicals. Who wouldn’t want less chemicals in their food?
It’s okay to occasionally indulge in “less-than-healthy” foods. Make this a comparatively much smaller proportion of the total food you eat compared with the healthy food. Aim to savor, eat slowly and enjoy every bite. This is something to do with healthy food, too.
The 15% refers to items rich in saturated fat such as coconut oil. I mention this because I feel many people overdo coconut oil, and oils in general. Be sparing when you use oil, and know that extra-virgin olive oil has the most research available when it comes to health benefits. When possible can you choose to eat the nut or seed or fruit rather than the oil. For instance, can you use sesame tahini as the base for a salad dressing, or crushed-up sunflower seeds, rather than an oil? Limit your added sweeteners whether natural, artificial, or somewhere in between.
If you do go beyond the 15% of less-than-healthy food, move on. No guilt. No judgement. Aim for more healthy vibrant food at your next meal or snack.