The '80%' Diet Rule Is A Simple Habit That May Have Big Benefits

Have you ever stopped eating before you felt completely full? You might have been unwittingly practicing hara hachi bu. The Japanese mantra encourages ending your eating session when you feel about 80% full, and it's often deemed a form of mindful eating.

As a concept, hara hachi bu might sound challenging if you're accustomed to chowing down until your stomach seems ready to burst or you can't seem to beat boredom snacking. That said, hara hachi bu can be beneficial if you're trying to maintain a healthy weight, lose weight, extend your lifespan, or avoid what happens to your body when you always eat until you're full.

In a Cleveland Clinic interview, psychologist Susan Albers praised the 80% method, particularly as a solution for people trying to shed pounds. "This is good advice for overeaters who are learning how to fill their stomachs only just enough," she explained, adding that the technique is also advantageous for speedy eaters. Noted Dr. Albers, "If you eat quickly and stop at what you think is 80% full, you may actually be 100% full and not know it." Indeed, it can take around 20 minutes for your brain to register fullness, so putting down your fork early can help you avoid stuffing yourself.

In addition to keeping your daily calorie count in check, hara hachi bu may give you back a few more years. In fact, research has backed up one element of the hara hachi bu habit, restricting calories, as having potentially positive effects on human longevity.

A 2016 article in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine looked at the shared behaviors of people in "blue zones," which are places where adults tend to live longer than their counterparts in other countries. One behavior was adherence to hara hachi bu. While hara hachi bu is not the only common eating habit among blue zone diet practitioners, it is thought to contribute to a healthier, longer life by limiting age-related weight gain. To be fair, putting on a few pounds in later life isn't necessarily terrible, but it can lower your life expectancy, particularly if the weight settles around your midsection.

An excess of belly fat has been associated with early death because having too much fat around your waistline can make you more likely to develop conditions like diabetes or cardiovascular disease. But when you're practicing hara hachi bu, you're typically lowering your calorie intake, sometimes by as much as 500 calories each day. This, in turn, makes you less likely to gain midsection inches.

A 2015 study in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences affirmed the theory that a drop in weight among non-obese people could reduce their likelihood of developing certain diseases. The researchers found that people who restricted their calories and lost weight also lowered their chances of being diagnosed with a cardiometabolic condition like heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

All told, hara hachi bu seems to be a reliable method to help you shed unwanted weight. Additionally, by moderately restricting your calorie intake, you can improve the resilience of your skeletal muscles (which are vital for movement). Thus, aside from still being able to fit in your favorite pair of jeans, you may also feel more youthful while wearing them.

Worried that an "80% is enough" eating mindset will require too much willpower and restriction? Fortunately, you don't have to do severe calorie restriction to follow this eating habit. But if you embrace hara hachi bu, be prepared to eliminate distractions (like digital devices) during mealtime and eat slowly so you can check in with your hunger signals regularly. Doing so will set you up to stay more in control of your food intake, which can help you celebrate a few more birthdays in better health.