The 90% Rule of Fueling our Bodies

The 90% Rule
By Dr. John M. Berardi, PhD, CSCS

Follow the rules 90% of the time. The other 10%? Eat anything you want.

I actively encourage people to eat any food they like, because the reality is that good food can be one of the great joys of life.

But being overweight, unhealthy and lethargic are not. And certain foods eaten too frequently or in too large an amount will quickly make you all three of those things.

Eat any food you like, in up to 10% of your meals; in the other 90% of your meals, eat the foods that will fuel your body to success.

That ratio will give you the body you want AND allow to enjoy the food you love.

But make sure you do the math.
But here’s the catch: make sure you do the math and determine what 10% of the time really means.

For example, if you’re eating 6 meals per day for 7 days of the week – that’s 42 meals. 10% of 42 meals is about 4 meals. Therefore you’re allowed to “break the rules” on 4 meals each week. If you skip a meal or eat something not on the plan, that counts as breaking the rules!

Make sure your 10% doesn’t become 20% or 30%. If you’re eating 42 meals a week (6 meals per day x 7 days a week), you’re allowed to eat 4 meals or snacks per week that aren’t part of the program (10%) and that’s all.

Don’t binge — schedule!
A caveat: your 10% meals shouldn’t include downing an entire pizza, followed by a full box of Krispy Kreme donuts. Binge eating can rapidly destroy your progress and make you feel like crap, let’s be clear on that. A day long binge is not the equivalent of “one cheat meal.”

Rather, your 10% meals should include some foods, in reasonable quantities, that might not normally fit into your plan.

This might include a couple slices of pizza on a Saturday evening, a piece of cheesecake after dinner on Sunday, a beer or glass of wine after work on Wednesday, or some chocolate on Monday morning.

And the best way to make sure you don’t go overboard is to schedule your 10% meals. Pick a day and a meal and schedule it just like you’ll be scheduling your exercise days. This will keep you committed to your eating plan as well as have you looking forward to something different. Of course, if you simply must have one of your 10% meals outside of its regularly scheduled time, go for it. Just to make sure you don’t double up, cross it off your schedule.

Even better: learn how to incorporate the food you love into your 90% meals.
With a little expertise and ingenuity in the kitchen, you can often turn your favorite meals into healthy options that meet the criteria for a 90% meal.

It’s often as simple as learning a few tricks. Many are so satisfied by the plan that they deviate even less than 10% of the time.

Summary
You can eat anything you like — but only 10% of the time. The rest of the time, eat to fuel a healthy body. But don’t forget that with a little cooking experience, that fuel can taste better than anything you’re eating right now.