My 80/20 Food Rule.
I love food. If you invite me to a party, there had better be food. If there’s no food, there’s a good chance I’ll leave and go find something to eat. And maybe, if I still like you, I’ll come back for your party. Or worse, I’ll order takeout and have it delivered. Be warned.
When I’m in my city, I eat the best quality my budget will allow. And occasionally, I’ll eat something that will cause my friends whiplash if they catch me in action. When I’m out of town and I have limited options, I’m not going to starve myself. It’s not rational.
And that’s where my 80/20 comes in.
Eighty percent of the time, I’m eating green, clean, and local. The other twenty percent? All bets are off. Give me the greasy diner food where EVERYTHING is cooked on the same grill that only gets cleaned once a day. The end of the day. Give me the REAL NY slice. Give me my mama’s home cooking.
Chances are, you’re not going to always be able to eat what you want to, when you want to. Beating yourself up about making a “bad” food choice makes for an unhealthy relationship with food, and the power of negative thought is far worse than that bag of cheese puffs.
So, think about how you can come up with your own food rule.
Start where you are, keeping your budget, lifestyle, and what you have access to in mind. When you can do better, eat better. If you can’t, make the best decision given your choices and keep it moving.
Life is too short to be so fundamentalist about food.
