80/20 Rides Again

So my friend Kristin from work is writing about a new book, Naturally Thin. Now, I must admit that I've read some very mixed reviews of the book and advice the author gives, so I've been interested in learning more in depth about what it says.

One of the author's main points is "Your diet is a bank account." Healthy foods are like "smart investments" and thus junk foods are splurges-- fine, but the goal is to keep the account in balance.

I think this advice is all well and good as long as one doesn't go overboard with it. My own personal diet theory is what I call the "80/20;" eighty percent good food, twenty percent whatever. Or, even more simply, you can have junk food, but don't make that the majority of what you're eating.

As I've said before in here, it just makes sense. Eating like crap makes you feel like crap, physically and mentally. But if the majority of what you eat is good, real food-- whole grains, lean proteins, fruits and veggies, some dairy-- go ahead and have some cookies or a chocolate bar. This leads to the second point Naturally Thin's author talks about, one's "food voice." We all know the feeling-- when for whatever reason you're just in the mood for pizza, or a big green salad or what have you. I agree that if you really pay attention to this feeling, you are less like to get carried away and end up eating an entire box of sweets.

This is why I sometimes can't stand fitness books or magazines that make it seem like SUCH a treat to allow yourself like, 2 Hershey's kisses or 1 fun sized Snickers bar once or twice a week. Bitch, please. I think by feeling as though one *has* to have such a tiny portion, it's just setting oneself up for a binge, or at the very least, eating more junk than might be a good idea. Seriously, say you have 4 M&Ms in the early afternoon and then find yourself out at dinner later that night. How easy is it going to be to think "well, I *only* had a little bit of chocolate before. let's get cheesecake!" and then bam! You're probably going to feel bad later for blowing it.

This is why I feel it is perfectly okay to have *one normal sized junky thing a day.* A whole slice of cake or a whole candy bar-- none of this mini sized crap. And usually that one normal sized thing keeps me over junk-food wise the whole day. Now that is not to say that if a small portion IS what you're craving, you should make yourself have more. No way. Again, you gotta listen to what your body is telling you.

Mind you, that is so much easier said than done. For about 10 years, there was no sane food voice in my life. A third of the author's rules is when whatever you're eating ceases to taste as good as it did at the first bite, stop eating. Again, this can be very difficult if you're not used to paying attention to your internal signals. I mean, I HATE feeling full-- it makes my skin crawl-- but for the longest time, I didn't even FEEL full until I was ready to burst. I don't think I was tasting my food at all, nevermind paying attention from one bite to the next. This is where mindfulness needs to be applied. If you slow down and pay attention to what you're eating, you will know when you're satisfied. It can take practice.

Well, all in all I think I follow the book's ideas naturally, just in a more relaxed fashion. I aim to eat a variety of foods each day, including some junk. When I'm full, I stop. The end. I don't like getting caught up in how much of a particular food group I'm eating or what size particular meals should be. I'll stay a bit anarchistic where all that's concerned. ;)