Eating in Moderation-Does it really work?

Many people, including the “experts” recommend that eating in moderation is the way to stay fit.  However, if you think about it, how many people do you know that are trying to lose weight have actually lost weight with this strategy?  I’ve come to the conclusion that this doesn’t work for some people for several reasons:

1. People have different ideas of eating in moderation How many cookies can someone eat and it be considered eating in moderation?  If they normally have 10 cookies then would 5 cookies be eating in moderation?  What if someone normally has 20 cookies, is eating 10 in moderation?  They may think so. If someone normally has 2 Big Macs, a large order of fries and a large Coke, is half of this entire meal OK?  I think we could all agree that doing this would not keep you fit. I went to dinner with a group of people who were indulging at the dessert table.  I noticed that one of them had a couple of plates of dessert.  It was a lot of dessert; I would guess at least 2000 calories worth.  However, at the end of the meal she said that she was glad that she didn’t overdo it!  I was shocked but it further supports my theory: eating in moderation is relative and not clearly defined.
2. Eating a lot of different food in moderation If you sit down to dinner and have a moderate amount of bread (2 instead of 4), a moderate amount of drinks (1 instead of 3), a moderate meal (which is normally huge at most restaurants), a moderate amount of an appetizer (you split it with someone), and a moderate amount of dessert (once again you split it), you may think (kid yourself) that you’re eating in moderation.  However, you just ate a lot of calories!  Yes, maybe each individual thing was relatively moderate, but when combined together, it’s a lot of calories and you would be gaining weight, not losing weight.  Anyway, you don’t have to have each part of the meal.  If you eat the bread, skip the appetizer and dessert.  You need to make a trade-off.
3. There are some things that people can’t eat in moderation If you think about the foods that tempt you the most, these are foods that you probably consume in excess amounts even if you intended to eat a small portion.  Chocolate is a great example.  If you love chocolate you may not be able to only have one piece.  It’s like a drug!  If you keep this type of foods in your diet and you can’t control yourself, you will never be able to eat it in moderation.  I’ve noticed that many diet plans claim that no foods are off limits.  They do this so that people will buy into it. However this doesn’t work because you will probably eat too much of it and you continue your craving by continuing to have it.  You just need to eliminate certain foods from your diet.  We cling too tightly to certain things that we claim that we just can’t give up.  I know that this is an unpopular recommendation, but it definitely works. Don’t worry, you can live without it.

When it comes to eating, you need to be aware of what you’re eating, in what quantities and the ingredients.  Look at overall calories based on how many you need per day instead of what you think is moderation. Also don’t eat anything if you don’t know the ingredients.  Certain foods have a lot of sugar which will definitely cause you to gain weight, be aware of this and eliminate these foods.  I recommend trying new recipes and new foods that you know are good for you and eventually you will “crowd out” the other foods.  Essentially you’ll start liking these new things and you won’t have the need to continue the other less healthy food.  A good place to start is to eliminate the foods that you don’t like that much.  Haven’t you eaten something but you could take it or leave it?  If it’s unhealthy, leave it!  At least you won’t miss it.  This will make you more likely to achieve your weight-loss goals and start to tone up and lose inches. The bottom line is that in many cases, eating in moderation doesn’t work but eating healthy food that you like, within the right calorie range, in addition to exercise will help you stay fit for a lifetime.