the #800g Challenge ®
#800gChallenge®
the antidote to dieting nonsense (part 1)
Are you sick of restrictive diets you can’t stick to?
Sick of the gimmicks?
Sick of the lack of results?
You’re not alone. The $60 billion diet industry (United States) is flooded with fads and quick fixes that don’t work! You know this because you’ve tried too many.
It’s time for a realistic diet. A diet free of restrictive and overbearing rules. A diet that works with busy lives and can withstand hectic family schedules, holidays, and even travel (<gasp!>). A diet that finally gets you the weight, health, and fitness results you’ve been working so hard for.
You are in the right place (finally!). This will be your antidote to all the dieting nonsense that has gotten you nowhere.
Welcome to the 800 Gram Challenge.
#800gChallege®
the #800gChallenge® How-to
01
Eat 800 grams, by weight, of the fruits and vegetables of your choice per day.
02
Continue to eat whatever else you want. Still no restrictions, just additions.
03
Eight-hundred grams fits on a standard dinner plate and averages 400-500 calories.04
The 800g Challenge is about six cups, which is a great way to estimate your grams!
2 minutes
The 800 Gram Challenge in 2 minutes
Play Video about Screenshot of EC Synkowski YouTube video explaining the 800 Gram Challenge in two minutes.
Hi! I’m EC Synkowski, creator of the #800gChallenge® (800g Challenge), which is to eat 800 grams, by weight, of the fruits and vegetables of your choice. And then, you continue to eat whatever else you want. That’s right, you focus on adding healthy foods to your diet – not eliminating the foods you love!
So, how much is 800 grams (28 ounces)? Well, it fits on a standard dinner plate, but you certainly wouldn’t want to try to eat it all at dinner. A good sustainable strategy is about eat 2 cups of fruits and veggies at each main meal – breakfast, lunch and dinner – and then just fill in the rest with protein foods, grains, nuts, snacks, whatever.
This means 800 grams is about 6 cups, which is a great way to estimate the 800g Challenge if you don’t have a scale. A closed adult fist is about 1 cup (or about 130 grams), so when you accumulate 6 cups (or fists) a day of fruits and veggies, you will be close enough to 800 grams. Do not let perfection get in the way of good enough. Just be aware of the two major outliers to this estimate system: leafy greens and mashed potatoes.
Now, because of all the diets you’ve likely tried before this one, you might be looking for more rules. But there really aren’t any. You just need be sure you are eating fruits and vegetables AS fruits and vegetables, not as products made with fruits and vegetables, and you will be on track. You can weigh the items cooked, canned, frozen, or fresh, and you pick which fruits and veggies to eat. If you don’t like kale, you don’t have to eat kale.
The lack of hyper-specific rules are because the #800gChallenge® was built for the long haul of real life. Some days it’s going to be a lot of bananas and oranges, other days it’s going to be a lot of carrots and potatoes, and that’s ok, because all of those are great choices. Join my email list (below!) to get a downloadable version of the rules, as well as a sample #800gChallenge day for me.
Or better yet, check out my ebook with plenty more information. Strategies, tips for eating out, the science behind the approach, and answers to frequently asked questions about things like the glycemic index and fructose consumption.
Welcome aboard to the #800gChallenge®! It’s the most sensible diet you’ll ever do.
Fullness does not predict
calories consumed
When it comes to estimating the calorie content of a meal, many people rely on their sense of fullness as a guide. The thinking goes that if a meal fills you up, it must be high in calories. However, modern-day processed foods are so calorically dense that you don't have to be full to eat a lot of calories.
Shown here more than 900 grams of fruits and vegetables (without the cob weight) are 165 calories less than one slice of lemon pound cake! Fullness does not predict calories consumed.
No, They Don't Count!
- Cornmeal
-
Dried anything (including fruit, veggie chips,
coconut flakes) - Juices or milks of any kind
-
Commercially fried anything like french fries or
tempura - Flours regardless of source
- Grains of any kind (e.g., quinoa, buckwheat)
- Nuts including peanuts (a legume) & seeds
- Pasta (like bean pasta)
- Popcorn
-
Store-bought items made with fruits or veggies but pre-
mixed with juice, water, oil, sugar (such as smoothies,
soups, sauces, hummus, etc.)
Does it count?
Does it count?
The 800g Challenge is about eating fruits and vegetables - NOT
products made with fruits and vegetables.
When in doubt, leave it out!
Yes, They Count!
- Applesauce (if without added water, juice, or sugar)
- Avocado
- Baby food/squeeze packs (if without added water, sugar, juice, protein, etc)
- Beans, legumes, lentils
- Canned items (if in water and spices only (weighed drained))
- Coconut (fresh/frozen chunks)
- Corn (frozen kernels or corn on the cob)
- Edamame if not dried
- Fermented/pickled foods (e.g., kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles) if the brine doesn’t have sugar
- Guacamole if the entire ingredient list is only fruits and veggies. See "Recipes" in this column
- Hummus (yes if homemade, no if store-bought. See "Recipes" in this column)
- Olives
- Peas
- Potatoes if they are not commercially fried. As for mashed potatoes, See "Recipes" in this column
- Recipes – you can count qualifying fruits and veggies in recipes if you can weigh before mixing; just estimate your portion
- Salsa if without added water, oil, or sugar. See "Recipes" in this column
- Smoothies (usually homemade only can count. See "Recipes" in this column)
- Tofu if beans and spices only
- Tomato sauce if without added water, oil, or sugar
challenge rules
Get the challenge rules
Join my email list to get a downloadable version of these
"does it count?" rules, as well as a sample #800gChallenge® day for me
sneak peek
Ebook Sneak Peek
Check out the table of contents and a few sample pages
from the 800 gram challenge ebook
This ebook is a comprehensive reference for those wanting to start the 800 gram challenge in daily life. The 100+ page ebook is divided into two sections, with the basics that allow you to get started right away and the details to provide the evidence-based reasons why. You’ll also get tips, strategies, and meal ideas.
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Play Video
TEDxBoulder
The 800 Gram Challenge
at TEDxBoulder
Learn nutrition in 8 Minutes. Watch “An Elegant Diet” by EC Synkowski from TEDx Boulder (October 2019).
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
It is recommended you do at home, but no need to bring a scale to a restaurant or when you are traveling. To estimate: a closed adult fist is about 1 cup. About 6 cups (6 fists) ends up being very close to 800 grams.Except, leafy greens in salads don’t weigh much. They only weigh ~25g/cup – so think about it as 6 cups a day and as many leafy greens as you want when you are estimating.
Yes, 800 grams is the baseline and larger or more active people can scale up. It only ends up being about 400-500 calories, which is 25% or less of on average of people’s caloric intake.
This volume of fruits and veggies was associated with a lower risk of cancer, stroke, heart disease, and death, and falls in line with USDA recommendations regarding fruit and vegetable consumption.
Eight-hundred grams is about 28 ounces or about 1.76 pounds. In this weight, you are primarily eating water! Fruits and vegetables are 70-90%+ water!
First, vegetables are not always better than fruit due to different nutrients and serving sizes. Most people simply need to increase their consumption of both fruits and vegetables. There are different guidelines regarding how much that should be each day. The USDA Guidelines, for example, use a cup and food grouping system. The 800 gram challenge meets or exceeds their standards.
Plenty more frequently asked
questions answered in the e-book!
Participants
What do #800gChallenge® participants say?
Kelly Starrett
The Ready State
“No single food quality intervention has changed my eating for the better the way that the #800gChallenge® from OptimizeMe Nutrition has. It has fundamentally and effortlessly improved the quality and nutrient density of my daily eating. I add my protein needs in on top of my 800-grams. At 45 years old, I didn’t realize I could still improve my performance and body composition. I guess I was kinda eating like a jerk?”
Allison O.
800 Gram Enthusiast
“As someone with a history of exercise addiction and eating disorders, this challenge is really positive in that it shifts the focus to eating more versus less… It’s been about eating more of the good without any judgment… “
Jessica Beacom
The Real Food Dietitians
“After some tough love from the creator herself of the #800gChallenge®, I did the unthinkable. I ate a grapefruit… And I did not gain weight, get inflamed, or develop diabetes. And for the first time in five years, I stopped attaching labels to fruits like “sugary” or “carb-y”…”
