Comments on Cranky Fitness: The 90/10 Rule

You should go after Tom Venuto for plagiarizing yo...

2009-08-21T17:31:00.788-04:00

You should go after Tom Venuto for plagiarizing your 90% rule! I first saw it in the Body Fat Solution (which is a GREAT book if you're an emotional eater, by the way.)

Anyway, yes. I try to follow the 90% guideline.

I love your 90/10 rule! So much easier to follow t...

2009-07-17T11:39:58.126-04:00

I love your 90/10 rule! So much easier to follow than counting calories. And you are right I do forget to count the crap in my healthy choices (like the white bread on my grilled chicken sandwich). Guess that explains the uncoorperative bathroom scale (sigh)

Most people who are overweight have one problem ma...

2009-07-13T08:22:04.854-04:00

Most people who are overweight have one problem manifesting into many different problems. I eat because I am hungry, I eat because I am sad, I eat because its time to eat, I eat because I am bored.
The truth is that you need to look at your patterns and see why you are doing what you are doing. I am a former fat man. I have gained and lost 10 times my body weight and when I start gaining weight I can always link it to something else happening in my life. You dont need herbs, you dont need magic. Just replace some feelings with positive action like walking. Take a half hour a day and walk. You would be amazed what it does to your mood and your life. Get up and move on commercials. Take a weight and lift it every time you are watching TV. Get out and move yourself into a different direction in life and the changes will come. Up to me http://www.belmos.com are the best way to loss weight

I've been drinking a cup of tea with cinnamon and ...

2009-01-23T19:57:00.000-05:00

I've been drinking a cup of tea with cinnamon and if im really gobbled, a cup of oatmeal. its crazy but it helps my sweet tooth...cupcakes. awrghhhh (* saliva *)

My ratio would be more like 75/25! What a great wa...

2008-11-17T15:14:00.000-05:00

My ratio would be more like 75/25! What a great way to calculate healthy food intake vs junk food!

Great Post! It is so funny to see how other people...

2008-11-17T15:11:00.000-05:00

Great Post! It is so funny to see how other people keep track of their diet. The 90/10 ratio is great! Way to GO!

I've thought about this 90/10 rule a lot. I always...

2008-04-14T00:06:00.000-04:00

I've thought about this 90/10 rule a lot. I always struggle with how to follow it in practice though. How to keep track of the 90/10 when sometimes it is a whole meal and other times it is, like you say, the white bread and mayo.

How do I handle them? I WANT them! Especially when...

2007-12-31T23:07:00.000-05:00

How do I handle them?
I WANT them! Especially when I vow to not eat them.. then I want to put every little "treat" into my mouth"...

Hi Jessica!Yeah, sweets are my weakness. Don't th...

2007-06-19T18:06:00.000-04:00

Hi Jessica!
Yeah, sweets are my weakness. Don't think I'll ever grow out of it. Thanks for stopping by!

I've always been a firm believer that if sweets di...

2007-06-19T10:59:00.000-04:00

I've always been a firm believer that if sweets did not exist, I would not be so fat. I can pass just fine on yummy things like cheeseburgers, pizza, and fries... but I have a much harder time passing up ice cream, cookies, and cakes. They're just sooo delicious! I'm a sweets-o-holic. I need help, lol.

hi goinggone and welcome!Well, if you're only misb...

2007-06-14T17:24:00.000-04:00

hi goinggone and welcome!

Well, if you're only misbehaving for one meal a week, you're doing way better than I am. Sounds like you've figured out a great system.

Nice blog. Very honest and entertaining!The 90/10...

2007-06-14T10:48:00.000-04:00

Nice blog. Very honest and entertaining!

The 90/10 rule works great for me. One meal on the weekend I have anything I want. The rest of the time is for the broccoli,chicken breastsn and tuna.

Gal,Sounds like a very similar approach--I think t...

2007-06-04T10:07:00.000-04:00

Gal,
Sounds like a very similar approach--I think the important part is to avoid the whole evil/guilt dynamic when factoring treats in.

Hi Lynda--nice to see you again! And it looks like you voted for this post in something, I really appreciate it! I've got to get more sophisticated about these voting things, I'm not signed up anywhere yet but it seems like a great idea.

So I've been guilty myself of tagging people for things, though most times they just sensibly ignore me, which works out fine. I'll check out the tag thingy and see if I can work it in, but honestly, if it involves passing anything on, I think it might be quite awhile 'til I get to it. (Folks I know are pretty tired of me tagging them and I've resolved to lay off any such behavior for the time being). But thanks again for your visits & links and support. I'll pop over before long and see how things are doing in paradise!

Buffy, welcome!
Well first off, be proud of yourself that your pretty good 5/7. A lot of people use the busyness of the work week as an excuse for vending machines and McD's.

The only suggestion I'd make you've probably thought of, which is to get out of the house as much as you can--maybe pack a meal that's mostly healthy with some yummy but not outrageously sinful treats. Don't know if you've got a family; if not you could also try to de-snackify the cupboards a bit, or if you do, you could try to convert them to slightly more healthy junk food. Again, this is probably stuff you've thought of.
Anyway, thanks so much for the visit, and sorry for the lame advice!

Appleton--hmm, not sure what farro is, will have to check it out.

And wow, great Julia Child info! An espionage courier? Sure didn't know that. I, too, admired her zest for life and grew fond of that warbly voice, even though I watched her without ever actually learning to cook. Thanks so much for your eloquent testament to her quirky charms! I'm sure others appreciate it too, especially refugees from the penis post looking for a little class in this otherwise scruffy blog.

Yesterday I ate a pint of gelato in one seating (b...

2007-06-03T22:59:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I ate a pint of gelato in one seating (blueberry and stracciatella). I feel bad about that, kind of. Today I had only a banana and a yogurt, plus the usual gallon of coffee, before supper to compensate. Has anyone tried pasta made from farro? Delicious.

But I wanted to talk about Julia Child. Yes, Crabby, she was pretty cool. Diplomat's wife, espionage courier for the U.S., middle-aged cooking student, French cuisine populist par excellence, California native long resident in my home state of Massachusetts. Once, many years ago, I stood behind her at a supermarket courtesy desk (a small market noted for its specialty meats in Cambridge, where she and I both lived). She was cashing a check -- this was before ATMs. Incredibly tall, somewhat stoop-shouldered, gracious and with that warbly voice. There's a culinary library at Radcliffe named for her, the Julia Child Collection. What I liked about her was her ZEST. She enjoyed life and never lost her curiosity. A good role model in that regard.

What's the conversion for 2/7? Because I can mana...

2007-06-03T21:15:00.000-04:00

What's the conversion for 2/7? Because I can manage full on training mode during the week but for the life of me, when I don't have a schedule to prevent my spending time in the kitchen or wondering aimlessly on weekends...it all goes out the window on Saturday and Sunday. I spend the first four days of the working week trying to fix what I messed up on the weekend. Which leaves me with a net one day to feel good about myself. Ugh.

Hey Crabby, I am tagging you in the High Vibes Gam...

2007-06-03T18:21:00.000-04:00

Hey Crabby, I am tagging you in the High Vibes Game of Tag

You're it!

Lynda
Pilates & Reiki In Paradise Website
Pilates & Reiki In Paradise Blog

I don't try to keep a straight ratio of healthy to...

2007-06-02T13:17:00.000-04:00

I don't try to keep a straight ratio of healthy to junk. Instead, I play a little with my daily food. I know I should be eating around 2600 calories a day, but I play my meals to be around 2400. That gives me some wiggle room for the occasional candy bar or chocolate. Works out about the same as your method.

Gal

Well said, Kery! I totally agree with you.

2007-06-02T11:08:00.000-04:00

Well said, Kery! I totally agree with you.

Well, the thing is, I used to think along the 'all...

2007-06-02T10:58:00.000-04:00

Well, the thing is, I used to think along the 'all or nothing' line, which is pretty destructive in the end. It's almost impossible to ALWAYS avoid junk food, if only at friends' or at the office, unless one wants to turn a complete asocial and never see anyone again, or wants to systematically whine about other people's food choices. (The latter would probably contribute to turn him/her into the former in the long run. :P) I'm not advocating eating to please people--that'd be dumb and a cause of failure--and we should try to stick to our guns as often as possible, even when surrounded with junk. But sometimes, sometimes, it just doesn't work, we're not prepared to face the situation otherwise than by starving... whatever; thu by allowing myself the leeway of 10%, it shoots down from the start any feeling of guilt, "I'm worthless" and "I've blown it all because of that one pie slice, might as well give up for good now". Because, hey, 90% of the time, things are flowing nicely, so I am NOT a failure! :)

Of course, I'm losing more slowly than if I was being 'perfect'. But who in this world is perfect?

Hi all!Okay, I have to confess I don't strictly ca...

2007-06-02T10:29:00.000-04:00

Hi all!
Okay, I have to confess I don't strictly calculate 90/10--it's more of a ball parky thing. I'm probably underestimating treats too, but if I aim for 90% healthy, and get reasonably close, I tend to maintain a healthy weight that I'm happy with, eat a lot of healthy stuff, and have some room left over for occasional gluttony.

So hi Samantha! Carrots in cupcakes? Hmm. Dunno. I agree with every thing else you said though.

Thomma Lyn, very sensible! And I suspect a science lab would confirm your 75/25 is probably the same as my 90/10 only I just fudge more. Mmm, fudge...

Appleton--Julia Child was great, wasn't she? And yeah, I'm kinda busted on the 90% thing, but it was sort of my way of saying what you are--moderation is better than abstinence, at least for me.

Kery,
Another very sensible person! Great point on the "only if I truly want it." Important but also difficult. It's hard to listen to our actual desires sometimes when we feel like we "deserve" a treat.

Hi Talia!
Yeah, so roughly 90% by calories which I'm not all that scrupulous about actually counting. And yes, I'm very good at eating. One of my few talents. Cooking, not so much.

Hi John,
Hmm, must check out rainbow bars... thanks!

Hi Holly!
Good point--it's the failing/kicking oneself that can be rough on self esteem. Whatever the percentage, I think it really helps to say a certain small amount of Junky Crap in the diet is to be expected. And then spend more mental effort working hard to find the yummiest ways possible to eat healthy stuff most of the time. The better the healthy stuff tastes, the less need for Evil Junky stuff.

I love your 90/10 rule. Seems like I am either di...

2007-06-02T08:54:00.000-04:00

I love your 90/10 rule. Seems like I am either dieting, failing at dieting or kicking myself because I need to be dieting. this sounds like a lifestyle concept I would do well to adopt!

Thanks for the post.

I crave rainbow bars. I even have a blog entry a...

2007-06-02T07:55:00.000-04:00

I crave rainbow bars. I even have a blog entry about them. :-)

10% by weight? by calorie? or by how much you reme...

2007-06-02T06:52:00.000-04:00

10% by weight? by calorie? or by how much you remember???

Makes a mental note. Must add crabby to list of interviewees for my book on eating... Seems like you're pretty good at it. Oh, someone slap me that was rude. Sorry (she says with utmost sincerity)

The 90/10 rule is ont I try to follow, and it seem...

2007-06-02T02:27:00.000-04:00

The 90/10 rule is ont I try to follow, and it seems to be good enough an approach for me. I do my best to eat as healthy foods as possible during the week, this way I know I can take a breather on Saturday afternoons/evenings, which I usually spend at friends' (cookies and pizza ahoy!). I just add a personal rule to that: I'll have my dose of junk food then, but only if I truly want it--not because it's just under my nose on the table. For instance, I don't really like chips, so I don't see why I should eat them 'just because they're here'. I'll prefer to enjoy the home-made browie slice instead. :)

Being perfect 100% of the time isn't human anyway. We can only do our best, and accept that this s not always possible.

Hm. Food as fearful, dangerous, unhealthy. Julia C...

2007-06-02T01:52:00.000-04:00

Hm. Food as fearful, dangerous, unhealthy. Julia Child laughed at the idea that butter was bad for you. She also enjoyed eating a ripe peach standing at the sink. She was almost 92 when she died. Maybe we can achieve balance without these tricky ratios and numbers and constant calculations. I suspect moderate exercise along with a sensible approach to eating is an easier way to go, and let's forgo the anxiety-producing mathematical formulas. I'm lousy at math, anyway. Thank goodness chocolate is good for you (70% dark, that is).