“Men seldom, or rather never for a length of time and deliberately, rebel against anything that does not deserve rebelling against.” ~Thomas Carlyle
How many times have you heard, “You can eat anything you want, just eat it in moderation”? What the heck does that mean? How much is a moderate amount? And even if ”moderation” could be described, what if our body wants less than a moderate amount? Or more?
And does eating less than a moderate amount mean that we haven’t eaten enough? Or, God forbid, that we’ve eaten [private_membership circle]too much if we eat more than a moderate amount?
Where did this “eat in moderation” mantra come from?
Most often, we hear it from well-meaning health “experts.” So if health authorities are recommending it, then surely “eating in moderation” will improve our health and help us to find and stabilize at our natural weight. Right?
Wrong.
Why not?
Because, first of all, we’ll need to determine what a moderate amount is, and we may be tempted to seek advice from another health “expert” —perhaps someone who works with the portion control police. Or, we may decide that we’ve paid enough to those portion control people, so we’ll try to figure it out ourselves, by going up into our heads and thinking about the word “moderation.” Then, before we know it, we’re moving on to words like “should,” “shouldn’t,” and “shame on me.” Either way, we’re tuning out instead of tuning in to our body’s trustworthy hunger and fullness signals.
Second, the recommendation to “eat in moderation” is just a spiffed-up version of “eat less,” “control yourself,” or eat a certain number of points or calories. In other words, be on a diet. And for most of us, diets and being told not to do something ultimately generate rebellion and deprivation-driven overeating.
So if “eating in moderation” isn’t the answer, what is?
If we can move away from the “eat in moderation” mumbo-jumbo message and move toward eating with attunement, we will, with confidence and clarity, eat the “right” amount every time.
Affirming Statement: “I tune in and trust my body’s signals.”
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Nutrition therapists Amy Tuttle, RD, LCSW and Karin Kratina, RD, PhD provide no-diet articles and resources including “Stay Attuned: The E-zine for Nourishing Connections” at their Nourishing Connections website. www.nourishingconnections.com
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