Moderation: It’s not a shotgun approach

Posted by Erik Chopin on November 5, 2009 under Weight Loss Tips | Comments

Crazy fad diets are all the rage, right? People fall for them like a largemouth bass. They’re easy. They’re easy to track, and easy to execute (in theory). But do they really work?

If anything, people who go on these crash diets are probably more likely to wind up gaining weight. Why? They get frustrated when weight loss isn’t working as quickly as they think it should, so they give up. Or, they get so desperate for that double-quarter-pounder that they finally give in.

We’re human. We have urges. In our case, that urge is delicious food. So why are we killing ourselves to keep that food from going in our stomachs? Is it that bad?

Sure. It is – if you eat it every day. We’ve all heard the stories of people who sued McDonald’s because they ate there seven times a day and got fat. But not everybody that eats at McDonald’s is obese and unhealthy.

The key is moderation. That doesn’t mean having a day every week where you can pig out. It means allowing yourself a little treat. Those couple cookies won’t make you fat. Those forty cookies will. That double-quarter-pounder won’t kill you, but it will if you eat it for lunch and dinner.

The beauty in moderation is that, if you eat healthy all the time, those few little treats will taste extra delicious, and you’re not depriving yourself of them. That means you will build a little more willpower and determination. It’s that kind of momentum that you need to keep going. Work a little moderation into your diet – enjoy your life while you save it!