The 80/20 farce

If I told you it was perfectly acceptable to rape and kill twenty percent of the time as long as you didn't rape and kill the other eighty percent of the time you'd likely think I was insane.

If I told you it was perfectly fine to drink cyanide twenty percent of the time as long as you didn't drink it the other eighty percent of the time you'd know I was insane.

Yet this sort of insanity is considered normal in the paleo crowd. Every guru I listen to or read mentions the 80/20 rule as though it is gospel. It's almost to the point where it's considered mandatory to "enjoy" the twenty percent cheat time.

I don't know the origin of the 80/20 rule. But it's complete bunk. You can't achieve any goal by putting in eighty percent of the effort. Bill Gates didn't become fabulously wealthy by operating at eighty percent of his capacity. Lance Armstrong didn't win seven Tour de France races by doping at eighty percent of the recommended dose. And you won't get fit and healthy by eating right eighty percent of the time.

My wife described it perfectly when she called the 80/20 rule a cop-out designed to make the paleo idea more palatable to the masses. There's no doubt that changing your lifestyle is difficult. And something like the 80/20 rule can make it seem a bit simpler. The problem is that the gurus and most paleo acolytes see the 80/20 rule as the goal rather than as a stepping stone.

The other problem is that the 80/20 rule isn't even properly defined. Does it mean you can eat whatever you want every fifth day? Does it mean it's alright if twenty percent of your calories come from junk food?

For those who find paleo intriguing but are intimidated by the idea of jumping right in and making such a huge change overnight, I have a proposal for a real solution. Create a weaning period. The idea is simple; live just one day per week full paleo for a month. That means just one day per week without grains, processed food, dairy, and all the other evil foods. That gives you an entire month to learn enough recipes for four days and to see what the lifestyle is like.

Then continue the weaning by adding another day or two per week to your paleo period. You can wean yourself as quickly or as slowly as you like. If you need to continue the one-day per week routine for another month, fine. If you want to step up to four or five days per week after the day-a-week period, fine. You decide.

There are two benefits to this plan. First, it removes the intimidating cold-turkey factor of the "try it 100% for thirty days" routine. Second, and more important in my opinion, is that it makes it clear that the goal is to be 100% paleo seven days per week.

So there you have it. If you want people to try the paleo lifestyle give them the chance to ease into it. Give them time to learn it. Don't tell them it has to be 100% for a month but that it's somehow fine to be only 80% after that.