The 80% rule: a rule to live by
The 80% rule refers to the practice of learning to stop eating when your stomach feels 80% full. ‘I don’t even know what that feels like’, I hear you shout! You are not alone. Most people go from starving to stuffed in a matter of minutes at mealtimes. This, unfortunately, is a consequence of bypassing your ‘full’ signals for years. The good news is that you CAN reconnect with it.
Babies are born knowing innately when they are hungry and when they are full. They feed from their mother for as long as they need and they stop when they are full.
However, as children get older, parents often encourage them to bypass this ability by forcing them to finish everything on their plate. By the time a person become an adult, they don’t know what full really feels like any more, never mind 80% full.
Intuitive eating or mindful eating is a term given to the practice of being more connected with what and how much you are eating. I regularly run workshops in my clinic for people who want to become more in tune with their ‘hunger scale’.5 This workshop is designed to help people listen to their body, savour their food and feel their best. The good news is that the workshop is easy and you can use it at any time. Here’s how some of the steps work:
1. Before eating: Pause to check in with your body
- Current hunger level: How full do you want to be when you finish eating?
2. While eating: Savour and enjoy your food
- Focus on one bite at a time.
- Take small bites and chew thoroughly. Set down your fork and savour.
- Pause midway through the meal to assess your hunger:
- When you reach your desired fullness consider covering your meal or tidying up.
3. After eating: Notice how you feel
- Fullness level immediately after the meal:
- Fullness level 20–30 minutes after eating:
- How do you feel? Do you feel satisfied and energised? Tired and sluggish?
Have you tried these tips? Let us know how you got on at RTÉ Food's Facebook!
