Moderation was the first word that came to mind when I read this article by Hank Schultz regarding portion control as the key to fighting obesity. I found myself nodding my head as I went through the post but always fell back on moderation. It was while reading this article that I was notified via email that I had a comment on a blog post I had written regarding sugar. It was a while back that I wrote this blog post asking if sugar was a drug and I recently tweeted out the link and that generated a comment from my friend Kevin of Ironman By Thirty. Kevin’s comment was longer than this (click the link if you want to read the entire comment) but what really stuck out to me was this:
I’m sticking with my anything in moderation diet. :)
Specifically the word moderation. We have all heard the phrase ‘Everything In Moderation’ and most would agree with this statement without thinking but we should be thinking about the term moderation for a couple of reasons. The first is that everything is too loose of a term. Let’s take it to the extreme and talk about LSD or cocaine. Would that be ok if it were use in moderation?
I know that is extreme, but what isn’t is portion sizes. Today the portion sizes we see at restaurants would have been considered family servings just 20 to 30 years ago. How about the fast food chains and super sizes and over the tops and super-duper gigantically big orders. If we take the phrase ‘Everything In Moderation’ literally then eating one of these meals at McDonald’s, Taco Bell or Wendy’s would mean that it is ok to consume these meals so long as it is in moderation. Now here comes another question: What is considered moderation?
I cannot recall the last time I step foot in a fast food chain to eat anything so would me having one ‘meal’ today be constituted as moderation? If you eat a Super Size meal on a daily basis is moderation going to mean only going 4x per week now? I think the phrase is over-used and has now become a crutch for people to indulge because it is only being done in moderation.
S’Mores Waffle – Not a cheat meal, just a meal.
I will also toss into the conversation the phrase ‘cheat meal’ as I don’t understand this at all. What are you cheating on when you consume this meal? Your diet? If you are watching what you eat and are living a healthy lifestyle then this meal is not a cheat and is just another portion of living your healthy life. I would be a hypocrite if I said I didn’t eat off the ‘menu’ because I do. Take a look at the dinner I had last night: S’Mores Waffles. I ate this knowing that my food intake prior to dinner had been limited by us being out of the house and so I could have a larger dinner in terms of calories than I normally would have if we had been home. Here is the thing about this meal: I no longer am having a craving for chocolate. I had it in that meal and the want for sugar disappeared. Had I not had that chocolate last night then there could have been a setup for not just an indulgence but a full-blown over-consumption. These waffles had a total of 745 calories, 103g Carbohydrates, 34g Fat and 23g Protein which is not horrible and fixed my sweet tooth. My portion control was exercised and my chocolate in moderation was satisfied. Was this a cheat meal? No, it was a meal like any other that solved a couple of ‘problems’ in one sitting.
Restaurants And Portion Control
When you go to a restaurant these days the phrase bigger is better seems to exercised all the way through to dessert. And in all honesty when you go to a restaurant do you need the appetizer, the full meal and the dessert? Probably not but you can exercise portion control before the waiter even leaves the table with your order.
When I go to our favorite pizza joint Karen and I split the salad as our appetizer and that salad is spinach with pecans and granny smith apples. The dressing on the side for her, no dressing for me. Simple. Then if we order separate pizzas because I will get a gluten-free crust without cheese and LOTS of garlic then I tell the waiter/waitress to box up half of the pie and keep it in the kitchen before bringing out the rest. You may say that half a pizza is a lot but in this case the pies are very small so 1/2 pie is equivalent to approximately 2 slices. As for dessert there is none being ordered as Karen would rather have her daily snack of popcorn and myself would rather have the Suzie’s Thin Cake snacks I have been making for months now.
Being able to control your portions at a restaurant is not difficult.
Everything In Moderation
So this phrase is not a phrase I will use as I just don’t agree with it, either from the everything or from the point of moderation itself. We all have different levels of moderation when it comes to different ingredients. For me, I love waffles and average close to one meal per day that consists of waffles. For some of you moderation for waffles may mean that I only eat them 1x per week. That won’t work for me but some of you may eat ketchup on a daily basis. I don’t like ketchup so moderation means never consuming it.
I think that if we live sensibly and eat cleanly then there is no need for the phrases ‘everything in moderation’ or ‘cheat meal’ but portion control on the other hand must be exercised on a daily basis. Measure your plates and make sure that a lunch plate is no larger than 7″ and a dinner plate is 9″ or less. When you serve your food make sure that it fits on the plate and is not piled as high as the plate is round as that defeats the purpose.
For me I eat in the opposite manner with breakfast being on the largest plate and dinner being on the smallest as this fits my workout regiment. When I changed how I consumed my calories, carbohydrates, fats and proteins I noticed a change in energy before, during and after my workouts. I also saw my body change for the better with unanticipated weight loss and body fat percentage decrease while maintaining muscle mass.
Do You Use The Term Moderation In Your Diet?
Do You Consider Meals To Be Cheat Meals?
Do You Pay Attention To Portion Sizes?
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I completely agree with you on the “cheat meal” lingo. In my opinion having a “cheat meal” gives a person permission not to own their actions. And to me that – owning actions and choices and educating ourselves so that we can understand the choices and actions we make and take – is what healthy living is all about.
Nothing is off limits in the way that I eat although I am incredibly mindful about what I am choosing. That means I think about the ingredients, the sourcing, the portions – and if I decide to indulge by eating a whole pizza (yes, I can and have done that) then so be it – I make that choice with thought, mindfully.
On that note, for me, moderation is a perfectly acceptable word. Have you read the posts by Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project on the difference between moderators and abstainers? I completely relate to the moderator model she lays out. She writes about it a number of times, here is just one example: http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2012/10/back-by-popular-demand-are-you-an-abstainer-or-a-moderator/
Donna recently posted..Spring Bootie Buster Challenge? #BestFoot?
I haven’t read them but I will check out the link.
I think moderation can have a place but I think the phrase EVERYTHING in moderation is where I am pointing my finger at. I wouldn’t say coke in moderation but I would say that if you need it (I needed it after the Las Vegas marathon because it was so sticky hot and humid that a few sips helped me out) but that isn’t moderation since I never drink it.
If you eat healthy like you do do then the moderation factor is almost pointless because you will take care of yourself since you know how to practice a healthy living lifestyle. If you are obese and drinking 10 64oz sodas per day is moderation now 8? 6? 5? 2? What is moderation at that point?
Ah. So much posting about coca cola, I just had to crack one open ;-)
In your examples everything in moderation *does* work – if one first understands what the body needs in terms of portion and nutrition.
I do drink coca cola now and then – because everything can have a place in the way that I eat. When I do have a coke, I know that sugar is an inflammatory substance, I know that it can spike my blood sugar and leave me feeling low and tired and grumpy two hours after I have it, and I know that it can cause me to gain weight and hold onto water. But it can have a place – as a part of a ritual when I am powering through work (like an emotional throwback to all nighters in college) or as a post race thing to kill any bugs I may have swallowed or as a treat with friends from an icy glass bottle on a hot day.
Maybe the answer is education and awareness? And if a part of that is realising that you have an addiction, then just like alcoholics can have beer, maybe some seeking to conquer obesity can’t have coca cola as it their gateway and slippery slope back to poor health?
What is clear – when it comes to food, it is a highly individual and charged subject!
Donna recently posted..Spring Bootie Buster Challenge? #BestFoot?
You took the words right from my fingertips in the phrase ‘education and awareness’ and that comes through loud in clear when you mention that you know Coca-Cola causes you weight gain and to hold onto water.
Being able to educate and bring awareness to these ‘issues’ is the biggest challenge and as you say it is a highly individualized scenario. As for it being charged…..oh boy is it. I do my best to not preach and just bring discussions to the table. I would never tell anybody to be a vegetarian as that is not my place.
As a matter of fact this came up the other day (in my mind) when I was on Instagram liking pictures from a handle that is @breadandmeatnyc They have GREAT pictures of food and obviously, based on the name, there is meat in there. I thought to myself if you are a vegan AND a foodie would you be able to like this photo or would that be too much of a conflict of interest? I mean I am a vegetarian and when I see meat in pictures I don’t automatically unfollow or dislike the picture. If it is a great looking foodie picture I will like it since I am not going to stand on a soap box and say that people should eat this and not eat that.
CTER recently posted..Moderation, Portion Control, Cheat Meal: What Do They Mean?
if i had those waffles the want for chocolate would only increase…
i am just not good with “moderation”. i do better when i cut things out all together (as long as i don’t fall back down the slippery slope of course). for example: i haven’t had a soda since 2003. but then again i gave up m&m’s for a year and have been plowing through the easter bags (yes plural) in the past week. i suppose what i really need to work on is will-power to say no sometimes. like right now, since i’m yearning for m&m’s…
lindsay recently posted..Pain in the Rear: A Diagnosis
Here is something that is very odd. Since I joined Instagram and see all the pics of chocolate and sweets and muffins et al I don’t have the cravings for them that I used to have.
It would seem to be the opposite effect of what should happen. Seeing them, one would think would move me to baking and creating these types of dishes constantly but I don’t.
Maybe you should do the same for M&Ms. Just over-flood yourself with them so that you don’t have the yearnings…….MAYBE?
I have a hard time with “moderation”. Like Lindsay, I do much better with avoidance or external limits (i.e., if it’s not in the house, I probably won’t eat it; even though it’s not cost-effective, I just buy the small individual serving of nuts so I don’t eat an entire big package).
When I started eating a primarily Paleo diet, it was strangely easy because so many things were off the table; it’s not always easy to find replacement foods, but it’s been pretty easy to avoid the things I’m not supposed to eat. That said, if it’s a special occasion or we’re out to dinner (that almost qualifies as a special occasion because it’s so rare!), if there’s not a Paleo option that makes me happy/will satisfy me, I choose what I WANT to eat. I don’t think of it as a cheat meal, just that night’s meal which, like Donna said, might affect what I see on the scale short-term but not long-term if eating that way isn’t the norm.
Kate recently posted..Not gonna melt
I agree on the term ‘cheat meal’ as it is one that drives me crazy. What are you cheating on? You are having one meal and it is acceptable to have that meal as it won’t move the needle on the scale the way one workout won’t make you drop that weight permanently.