Warning, this post may ruffle some feathers.
I like to promote balance in food choices. In my Coaching, I promote an 80/20 or 90/10 Lifestyle, eating whole foods the majority of the time. So often I will say, “Make this a lifestyle. Find your balance!”
There is also another key phrase in wellness that seems like it is the same, yet I don’t agree with it. The line “Everything in moderation” to me is NOT the same as balance. “Everything in moderation” implies that small quantity does not have side effects, impact or effect on the body, that everything is doable. If you eat just a little of anything, you won’t feel the outcome.
I disagree.
Here is the difference between balance and “everything in moderation”: Balance has boundaries. “I’ll have one x to hit the spot” and is measurable. Moderation has no definition. It’s open ended. It’s in the moment in any amount because nothing is off limits and without limits. Where do you stop?
An example: You go to the State Fair and decide that you are going to enjoy the Fair fare! Balance tells you that you’ve eaten whole foods before and after the event and choosing one treat while there is just enough to feel fulfilled. “Everything in moderation” tells your mind that a little of this, a little of that, a little of x and a little of z is safe because little is harmful. It does not show a connection between different food choices over time because we tend to disconnect separate foods in our minds rather than looking at the big-picture impact on the body. Lots o’ little bits over time add up quickly to make a BIG difference. Progress to me is not made in big movements, it’s made in small increments. So when we choose not to give impact to something because it is small, we devalue the accumulation or compound effect on our bodies and on our life.
Have we as a nation grown our obesity rates because of our “Everything in moderation” mindset? Where is the boundary and how does food addiction factor in to this? It’s a serious issue and to someone who battles issues with food addition and emotional eating, I’m just asking, is a moderation mindset for or against you?
That’s a personal call. Only you can decide!
It’s no longer about calling foods “good” or “bad”, but learning them and figuring out how they impact your body. And for each person, that looks different. I promote a flexible dieting lifestyle, but still to me, each person’s knowledge using my motto of “Become a student of You” still trumps moderation and helps one make an optimal fun-food choice. Given the chemistry of some foods, knowing my system, there are just some options, even deemed with a “healthy” status, that I cannot digest or tolerate in any quantity because I know my body and I know what those foods are made of.
To me, once I learned about the chemical make-up of some foods, I realized that those foods were not going in this body after all the physical and diet-system revamp I had done. I find balance in eating foods in my 10% that don’t set off a metabolic downward spiral to me internally. I have a decent list of foods I shop from when I want a treat, but outside of that, “everything” just doesn’t get to make it in anymore. It can’t. I want to protect this temple from little hits adding up over time.
Mindset shift does impact our food choices which impacts our life as a whole. Is it time to let go of moderation and get territorial? It’s a personal call, but I do believe a collection of pennies does add up to make a dollar….little bits do make a big impact!
Interested in learning how to balance your nutrition? I’d love to help!