Erik Ledin has been thinking a lot lately about free meals. As a rule, he's fairly strict when it comes to dietary adherence. But the number one question always has to be: in my particular case, what’s the best way to achieve and maintain progress?

1. 90%
Rule
Revisited
By
Erik
Ledin
October
28,
2013
Recently,
I’ve
been
thinking
a
lot
about
free
meals.
As
you
probably
know,
I’m
fairly
strict
when
it
comes
to
dietary
adherence,
as
a
rule.
But
the
question
always
has
to
be–in
my
particular
case,
what’s
the
best
way
to
achieve
and
maintain
progress?
The
number
you
hear
me
and
other
diet
coaches
throw
around
a
lot
is
90
percent.
Generally
speaking,
90
percent
is
the
lowest
level
of
dietary
adherence
you
can
maintain
without
compromising
your
results.
The
more
you
fall
below
this
mark,
the
less
likely
you’ll
see
any
of
the
results
you’re
looking
for.
For
example,
say
you’re
on
a
42
meals-­‐per-­‐week
plan
(that’s
six
meals
a
day,
seven
days
a
week).
This
means
that
38
of
those
42
meal
have
to
be
100%
perfect.
If
you
were
on
a
35
meals-­‐per-­‐week
plan,
that
figure
would
change
to
about
32.
Seems
fairly
simple,
right?
However,
take
a
moment
to
consider
not
just
the
number
of
cheat
meals,
but
the
size
of
them.
If
your
free
meals
are
on
the
order
of,
say,
1,500
calories,
and
you
have
two
of
them
a
week,
it’s
fairly
obvious
that
this
will
be
problematic,
even
though
technically
you’re
still
operating
at
95%
adherence.
See
where
I’m
going
with
this?
Instead
of
looking
at
this
in
terms
of
meals,
look
at
it
in
terms
of
calories.
If
your
plan
allows
a
total
of
11,200
weekly
calories
(that’s
1,600
calories
a
day),
a
10%
deviation
would
be
1,120
calories.
So
you
basically
have
1,120
calories
of
wiggle
room
a
week
if
you
want
to
stay
at
90%
adherence.
And
if
your
diet
is
under
11,200
weekly
calories,
your
wiggle
room
will
be
even
smaller.
Let’s
turn
it
around.
Say
you’re
on
a
11,200
weekly
calorie
diet
and
you
have
two
1,300-­‐calorie
off
plan
meals.
At
2,600
calories
total,
that
equates
to
76.8%
adherence,
far
below
the
90%
cutoff
point.

2. Until
now,
my
advice
for
free
meals
have
been
rather
vague:
“be
mindful
of
portions”
or
“eat
responsibly.”
I
say
this
because
I
understand
that
the
point
of
a
free
meal
is
to
take
a
break
and
not
stress
about
things
so
much.
But
without
proper,
specific
guidelines,
these
free
meals
can
undo
progress
and
threaten
your
chance
of
success.
This
isn’t
set
in
stone
and
it’s
not
for
everyone.
But
it
is
a
new
system
I’ve
devised
for
those
who
need
a
bit
of
concrete
structure
to
help
keep
them
reigned
in
with
free
meals.
If
you’re
worried
about
your
free
meal
discipline,
just
plug
your
caloric
intake
in,
do
the
math,
and
see
how
much
you
can
let
yourself
slide.
Now,
will
all
this
math
take
some
of
the
fun
out
of
free
meals?
Perhaps.
But
they
were
never
meant
to
be
free-­‐for-­‐alls
anyway.
Just
some
food
for
thought!