How to Become a 80/20 Vegan Flexitarian for Optimal Nutrition (2024)

There’s a lot of controversy over diets, including the decision to become vegan. I’m not here to talk anyone into a particular diet choice. But if you’ve been interested in eating vegan, then what I learned in my own journey can help you achieve a balance that works for you in yours.

The 80/20 vegan diet is a diet whereby 80 percent of the time you follow a strict vegan lifestyle, and the other 20 percent of the time you indulge yourself in a vegetarian diet. 80/20 diets are designed to have realistic form of moderation that makes them easy to maintain, and promotes a balanced lifestyle.

Gretchen Rubin posits that, when it comes to making habit changes, there are “abstainers” and “moderators.” Abstainers are happier if they don’t indulge at all; moderators are more inclined to indulge occasionally, and might even panic at the the thought of “never” deviating from a behavior or eating plan. An 80/20 strategy for becoming vegan might be right for you if you tend to be a moderator.

I’ve been a vegetarian for 15 years, after I learned about the sheer amount of animal cruelty that exists within the meat industry. And five years ago, I was diagnosed with Celiac disease (gluten-sensitive enteropathy), which came with an additional side-effect of lactose intolerance — my gut was sensitive for a myriad of reasons.

My decision to try veganism began roughly 3 years ago — about the time I was working in a startup — and took some time to develop. My diet at that time mainly consisted of take-out vegetarian food, and I began putting weight. I wasn’t happy with how my body was feeling, and it seemed like my exercise regime had no impact — I couldn’t reach an equilibrium between what I was consuming and what I was expending.

I scoured the internet for help and came across recipes and articles for vegetarian meal prep. I was immediately on board and slowly got into the habit of cooking my meals on Sunday for the week. My wallet was happy and my…