Moderation. I know I’ve touched on this topic a time or two, but yesterday I read an interesting post from Angela at The Diet Book Junkie entitled, “Should We Eat Everything in Moderation?” It brought up some EXCELLENT points and I really wanted to discuss this topic today.
According to Angela’s post, “9 out of 10 Americans believe they are eating a healthy diet.” With the obesity, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease rates in this country, I’m a bit skeptical.
I have written plenty of posts about eating well and how it is okay to include most foods in moderation;
”life happens! You cannot be perfect ALL the time…As I have said before, it is what you do consistently over time that matters most. As long as 90% of your diet isn’t McDonald’s drive thru or the freezer section at the grocery store, small treats… every now and then, aren’t going to make you unhealthy. Just enjoy it and move on;”
When I wrote that a few weeks ago, I meant it, but under the presumption that the person reading it understood HOW to be moderate and live balanced with ALL foods. Apparently, this isn’t the case, especially after reading through the comments on Angela’s blog.
I can honestly say that I have a healthy relationship with food. Sure, I CHOOSE not to include the following foods in my daily life, but NOT because I’m on a diet or obsessed with food. I believe that these foods aren’t healthy for my body but I will eat them occasionally. The problem lies in that Americans might KNOW these foods aren’t healthy, but still CHOOSE to eat them daily anyway OR deprive themselves to the point that all they DO is crave these foods. This is in no way balanced living and directly impacts your health.
- Foods containing high fructose corn syrup.
- Red meat (little to none).
- Trans fats.
- MOST processed foods.
- Processed desserts; I try only to eat desserts that are homemade (but if they occasionally include processed candies, that is okay).
- Fast food burger joints.
- Artificial sweeteners.
- Dairy (only organic if consumed).
- Foods with nitrates (ex: lunchmeats).
- Fried foods (although I do eat homemade French fries occasionally).
I will admit that moderation took me years to master. I struggled because I deprived myself, I struggled because I didn’t deprive myself, I ate too much if I kept treats in the house, and I craved treats if I didn’t keep them in the house. It was a vicious cycle and left me miserable. Bottom line: I was obsessed with food!
It wasn’t until I began to hone in on hunger, eat without “franken-foods” or “diet” foods, and honestly allow ALL foods in my diet that I actually started to develop a normal relationship with food. Food finally stopped consuming my thoughts and I just ate to nourish my body. It felt wonderful to finally FEEL healthy and balanced.
For all those who struggle with moderating or don’t believe it is possible, trust me, it truly is. If you have the inability to moderate it is because of some underlying issue; emotional eating, binging, anorexia, laziness, lack of understanding, or just pure ignorance.
You CAN get to a point of complete balance with food but FIRST, you have to STOP fearing food!!
THERE ARE NO GOOD OR BAD FOODS! You are not “good” because you ate an apple and you aren’t “bad” because you ate a cookie.
Healthy eating is NOT about deprivation or starvation or strict food rules. When you have a REAL understanding about what each food is doing for your body and how it is working to keep you functioning at your best, when you can enjoy each and every meal without feeling guilt, and when food thoughts STOP consuming your mind 24/7, THAT is when you can begin to practice balance and moderation.
QUESTIONS:
What are your thoughts on this topic?
Do you believe you know how to moderate or that there is such a thing?
What is your definition of moderation?
[...] love Erin’s mentality of filling our bodies with all natural healthy foods 90% of the time, and leaving that other 10% for indulgence. My 10% may be more like 20% from time to time, but I [...]
[...] original post of moderation began with Angela from The Diet Book Junkie, then passed to Erin from The Healthy Apron, then to Stef at The New Healthy [which is where I picked up the thread]. Each of the ladies took a [...]
SUCH a great post! you are SO SO helpful!
This is a very helpful topic! It was eye opener to me =) I have been trying to learn to moderate instead of banning food from my life. I do believe it is a learning process and is a good thing to learn.
great post!
Very interesting post. I think I’m in a good place when it comes to moderation at this point. But it’s taken me a LONG time and several detours to get here… When I was very young, I had a very strict definition of healthy and, for example, never ate dessert, or chips, etc. Later on, when I went through a very stressful period in my life, I started to use food (all food), and clearly did not know the meaning of moderation… Several years ago, I made my health a priority and did quite well, but not until recently did I start to look at food without guilt. That is, for a long time, I had the label of “bad” attached to dessert for example (even though I knew I shouldn’t label food; but there are quite a few foods, similar to your list, that I don’t eat or eat only very, very rarely).
Although it took me years (about 26 to be exact) to figure out how to not let food control my life, I finally saw the light and eat everything in moderation. I eat healthy foods because they make my body feel good, and I eat treats occasionally (in my book that means nachos every 2 weeks) because they are yummy
Another really great topic. I struggle with eating in moderation from time to time and find myself applying an all or nothing mentality to my day (as i, I alredy blew it so I might as well eat cake too!!) I am getting better with having a treat and moving on from it and back to healthy meals but I still have my off days. I know I eat a lot of healthy food every day but I am not sure if I am accurately keeping track of the less healthy stuff that adds up quickly.
This is a great post. I struggled for years with finding a way to eat balanced but not deprived. And form e, that took quite awhile to figure out. I’d either go SUPER strict and was miserable and ended up gorging myself the moment I gave in to a craving or I’d go the other way and get a little bit too “loose” with my eats. And then there was the weight watchers phase where I was so concerned about points vs. nutrients that I’d gladly choose jello and cool whip over a banana and PB for fear of using too many “points” on my afternoon snack. But now I see the difference between eating nutritiously MOST of the time vs. deprivation. I find that I’m happiest when I’m eating mostly wholesome foods that TASTE good mixed with a treat here and there (like pizza, a glass of wine, whatever). And that makes me happy. It’s my version of moderation and balancing living and it works for me.
Your list is very similar to mine, and like you, they are rarely consumed and in moderation. But I do avoid the “good” and “bad” food labels because I think they lead down slipery slopes that can lead to obsession. I think I have moderation down, especially with choices. Portions is always a works in progress, but always improving!
[...] 2. Learn Moderation. I’ve always been an all or nothing girl with food, emotions, schoolwork, etc. I’ve learned moderation in regards to work-life balance, shopping-saving balance but food and exercise still alude me. I spent over 2 years at one extreme: barely eating and overexcercising. Now I’m at the other extreme: overeating and barely exercising. What I need is moderation. Just because I eat one brownie doesn’t mean I need to eat the whole pan. Any tips on moderation? Erin from The Healthy Apron posts often about moderation and just recently posted an excellent post on moderation. [...]
[...] did get a lot of great feedback in regards to “Do You Know How To Moderate,” so if you haven’t read it yet, do so [...]
It took me YEARS to learn how to eat in moderation. My fear of “bad” foods was so debilitating! I found no joy in eating, and would either limit myself to super healthy eats, or throw up my arms and work through an entire bag of Reece’s peanut butter cups. Definitely not fun! Finding a balance–a place where I feel comfortable allowing myself to “indulge” occasionally, but eat healthy most of the time–has been so freeing. I ENJOY food now…life is too short not to!
It took me a long time to find a healthy balance where I could enjoy things in moderation. One day it just clicked and I realized that just because I have a cookie doesn’t mean I have to throw away the rest of the day by eating junk. I’m never looking back.
haha….i *think* i know what moderation is, but then again, i’ve been reading these crazy articles on what has sugar in it (which is….pretty much everything) and reckon my diet may need some tweaking. for the majority of people, i think healthy eating isn’t a mystery; the problem is, we overestimate how much unhealthy stuff we can get away with. i’d bet a lot of people would say one coke a day IS “moderation”, while one a week may actually be. (not that i know myself.)
anyway – a great post, Erin, as always.
I am still learning, and occasionally eat brownie batter for dinner. That being said, I will then feel icky and later respond with veggie-heavy meals. It’s not restricting or punishment, but rather what I crave after indulging in not-exactly-whole-foods.
I’m bad at moderation, but working on it. As a binge eater, if I eat something high in sugar or fat, I find it impossible to just have a little bit. I used to have a really all or nothing mentality. I’m learning
Moderating is so hard for me! But I agree with you, it is usually because of emotional eating or some sort of binging. I constantly am working on improving that in my life.
I’ve found for me moderation is much easier when I don’t over think foods. I usually eat wholesome foods that my body craves which just makes eating healthy easier.
Moderation to me is eating what you crave, but only enough to satisfy it. But really, that’s only a good definition for people who already know how to moderate, otherwise they’ll think that an entire bowl of M&Ms is what it takes to satisfy a chocolate craving, when only a bite or two is.
Yes,I totally agree. I live by moderation. I don’t buy sweets and keep them in the house. I do however, indulge at times. I still have things to work on though..as I am eating more fruits and veggies for sure, I still eat way too much processed foods.
awesome jessica!
great points amy!! So very true!!
A healthy diet is not about what you include, but what you exclude. If you eat processed foods, sweets, or fast food all the time but also incorporate some wheatgrass, salads, and green smoothies from time to time, that is not moderation and that is not a healthy diet.
I think people have trouble with understanding that. They’re looking for the magic fix to their diet, thinking “if I just eat acai berries and pomegranate juice then I’ll be healthy”…not so much.
I think that the stat about 9 out of 10 people think they’re eating healthy is true. The thing is, that people are not properly educated on the issue. It’s like my biggest pet peeve- people say “oh I’m eating healthy because it’s salad” and I’m like “actually, you could have eaten 2 burgers and gotten the same caloric/fat value because your lettuce is swimming in ranch”.
I like to think I’m somewhat educated on healthy food choices- maybe not an expert by any means, but I get the general ideas. That doesn’t mean my relationship with food is perfect. I have had quite the time learning moderation- it’s a slow process!
My idea of moderation is trying to build healthy meals, but allowing myself a treat every now and then. I avoid fast food, fried food, lots of dairy (esp cheese), and try to make my treats homemade and worth it!
Interesting and thought provoking post!
I am a huge believer in all-things-in-moderation. As soon as people feel that they are deprived of something, that will be all they crave. No need to go there. For me personally, I have certain diet restrictions because of a heart condition.
I completely agree with you about moderation! Its definitely something that is hard to achieve, and something that I’m still working on, but I believe that it is key to living a healthy, balanced life.
This topic is awesome! So many people have an all-or-nothing mentality when trying to lose weight or exercise, but it doesn’t work because there’s no room for failure. I think moderation is key for all parts of your life – nutrition, exercise, relationships, time. I always let myself have a treat daily (just not 10) and I plan 1 or 2 rest days to give my body a chance to recover and rest from exercise.
I definitely agree with this and believe everything in moderations.
I avoid fast food 99.9% of the time. I prefer fresh over processed. I love eating tons of veggies and fruits. But I’ll also grab a protein bar that has too many ingredients and will indulge in tortilla chips like no one’s business.
Thanks for the thoughts laury! It is such a difficult topic to discuss!!
This exact topic fueled my healthy eating series. I heard something by Consumer Reports on how 9 out of 10 people THOUGHT they were eating healthy. However, after surveying them on eating habits, only 2 03 3 out of 10 were actually getting their recommended amounts of raw veggies and fruit, and actually eating healthy. This is a tough subject, because I never want to come across like I am dictating what is healthy. However, I know MANY people that say “I eat healthy” but I see SO many things wrong with their diets and what they are putting in their bodies. Moderation is key, yes. However, when people think they are eating “healthy” 90% of the time, and really, it’s about 30% of the time…somethings gotta give!
thanks for the link love