7 Steps to Mastering Moderation

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“Hey bro, you should try this new diet, it’s so extreme.”

 

Extremism – in the dieting industry, that shit sells.

 

“I’m doing that eating plan where you juice everything on days of the week with an “S” in them, go vegetarian every other Wednesday, only eat carbs between 6:30 and 8:30 am on training days, and get a cheat meal when it’s a full moon.”

 

I might sound like a stark raving loony, but the above diet, to me, really doesn’t seem any more ridiculous and stupid than some plans I hear of people following.

I talked about the extensively in yesterday’s post – but it seems that anyone who wants to make it big in the world of diet and weight loss has to have some sort of mad USP (unique selling point) to their diet.

And this USP usually involves cutting something out completely.

We have –

 

Atkins – no carbs

The Ornish diet – no animal fat

Paleo – no grains, beans and dairy

Raw food diets – nothing cooked

Vegan – no animal products whatsoever

 

You get the picture.

 

Extremism – It Sucks

 

By cutting something out of your diet entirely, all you do is crave it more.

It’s like telling a naughty child “you can’t have that toy” – all they want from then on is that toy.

Tell me I can’t eat cake ever again – you can bet your arse all I’m thinking about from now on is cake.

And this is exactly why people simply cannot stick to these extreme diets long-term.

Sure, I know a couple of guys who do stick to a low-carb diet virtually year-round. They might have the odd bowl of pasta once every few weeks, or a few beers on holiday, but even at birthdays, special events, etc. they stick to their meat, fish, copious amounts of green veggies and a truckload of fats.

The one caveat to extreme diet adherence tends to be those who have their diet guidelines based around ethics – ie. vegetarians and vegans. Though I’d put money on even the most hardcore of vegans succumbing to a crispy bacon sandwich in thick white bread, oozing with butter and ketchup.

On the whole though, cut something from your diet, and it becomes your new favourite food.

Then, when you get a chance to have it, or your willpower breaks, you can’t have just a taste, you binge.

I wrote about this a couple of times before in a blog for Layne Norton’s site and for HLHL –

http://www.biolayne.com/news/guest-biolayne-blog-post-how-to-recover-from-clean-eating-by-mike-samuels/

http://www.healthylivingheavylifting.com/how-clean-eating-made-me-fat-but-ice-cream-and-subway-got-me-lean/

 

Additionally, in an industry where eating disorders are already rife (refs 1-5) why do we want to through yet another potential mindf*ck into the pot, by demonising certain, perfectly healthy, foods.

 

Becoming Mr. Moderation

 

I’m often berated my nutritional zealot counterparts for saying that people don’t need to cut out any of these foods, and that my clients can eat “junk” in moderation.

Apparently, this is the approach of someone who isn’t truly dedicated to the dieting cause, and that because I try to make things easy for my clients, that somehow means that they don’t want it enough.

Some folk just can’t seem to get their head around moderation, and I’ll admit, it was a concept I really struggled to grasp for a long time..

I came from a clean eating background, and before hiring Layne Norton as my coach, would eat clean 6-and-a-half days per week, and binge on all the foods I’d restricted on the seventh.

I couldn’t understand that eating a small amount of food that wasn’t 100% “clean” would not screw up my progress or health at all, provided it was factored into my diet.

This led to an extremely disordered relationship with food, and came to a head on my 22^nd birthday.

 

The Chinese Buffet Saga

 

I’d gradually started getting a bit of a handle on my once-a-week binges (purely because I was fed up of feeling sick and bloated every Sunday afternoon) but built myself up for the mother of all cheat weekends for my birthday.

I actually planned each meal, from Friday lunchtime up until Sunday evening, so I could decide exactly how much food I could force down my throat. The goal of the weekend was to eat as much as physically possible, to satisfy my need for “cheat food.”

To cut a long story short, I ended up with immense stomach pains, horrendous bloating and I felt faint following an all-you-can-eat Chinese halfway through the weekend.

But that didn’t stop me from having breakfast and lunch out the next day, and gorging on ice cream again in the evening.

The following morning I hopped (read: dragged my arse on to) the scales, only to see the dial read 6 kg (13 lbs) heavier than I’d been before that weekend.

A mix of shame, guilt and self-loathing made me realise there was only one way forward, and that way was moderation.

 

 

7 Steps to Mastering Moderation

 

Since that weekend, I can proudly say I haven’t binged once. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever even gone over my prescribed daily calories by more than a few hundred, and I’ve certainly not made myself feel sick from eating.

Here’s how I’ve managed it …..

 

1. Stop Associating the words “Good” and “Bad” with foods

 

Foods aren’t good and bad – those are ambiguous terms that have no meaning. A good food to a vegetarian might be a bad food to someone on a low-carb diet, and vice versa.

Foods can be looked at as having anywhere between a low to high nutrient value.

That is quantifiable. Good and bad, or clean and dirty are not.

 

2. Realise that you’re active, and as you’re active, you can have more discretionary calories than someone who sits on their arse all day

 

No one serious about strength and performance can really fuel their recovery on chicken and broccoli all the time. Ice cream, pasta, bread and cookies are all fine foods (in moderation) for an athlete.

 

3. It’s okay not to eat until you feel stuffed

 

My biggest problem with eating “cheat” food was that I knew I wouldn’t be able to have any again for a while, so felt I had to make the most of it by eating as much as possible.

If you know that you can have whatever you like, any day of the week however, you really don’t crave anything in large quantities.

I split my nutrient-deficient foods up through the week. For instance last night I had some gelato, today I’ve got some Jaffa cakes, tomorrow I might get some popcorn at the cinema. In days gone by, all of that (and more) would have passed my lips in just one day.

 

4. Give Yourself a “Junk Food Budget”

 

http://www.jmaxfitness.com/blog/need-junk-food-budget/

 

5. Train Yourself Moderation

 

This is super tough, but it is doable.

My kryptonite was buffets, as all the food was there, presented in front of you, and I’m a volume eater.

Therefore, I did completely abstain from any buffets for around 6 months.

After that, I would go, but I’d tell myself I could only have 2 plates of food. (On that point, does anyone else think it’s weird that cooking for yourself at home, you’d only ever have 1 plate of food, yet anything less than 3 or 4 at a buffet and you feel you’re missing out!?)

 

6. If you want something, have it

 

Feeling like you really need some ice cream?

Have some ice cream. Just work out how you’re going to fit it into your diet.

I always ask clients to hit their protein intake, and a minimum fibre goal each day, then they can fill the rest of their calorie allowance with whatever they want within reason.

I’d much rather a client had 300-calories worth of ice cream, pretzels, alcohol, etc. and still hit their daily targets, than force-fed themselves 300-calories of “clean” food, only to binge on their craving later.

If the worst comes to the worst, have a small portion of whatever it is, then subtract a few calories from tomorrow’s food. You might not want to get into the habit of doing this, but once in a while, it is A-OK.

 

7. Build Up Your Macros

 

You know what’s awesome?

HAVING to eat high-calorie, low-volume foods to hit your macros.

How does one go about this?

Build up your macros by building muscle.

By dieting for fat loss carefully (ie. not drastically slashing your calorie intake or performing hours of cardio) you keep your metabolism in decent working order. This then means you can reverse diet, or lean gain, adding in calories and building muscle with minimal fat gain.

During a reverse diet, your goal is to bump up your calorie intake without adding too much body fat. A sensible reverse (whereby you add between 25 and 100 calories to your diet each week) will enable you to build up the number of calories you can maintain your weight at, giving you a much higher calorie intake, so more room for your treats.

For how to lose body fat optimally, check out –

Flexible Fat Loss Download

 

And for how to plan a successful lean bulk –

http://www.healthylivingheavylifting.com/how-to-calculate-macros-for-bulking/

 

Moderation: It IS All It’s Cracked Up to Be

 

In a world of extremism, it’s surprisingly hard to sell moderation. People seem to be resistant to not suffering, to losing fat while actually enjoying life and having fun, but trust me, moderation is the way forward. It takes some work to get there, but the graft will pay off in your physique, your relationships and your physical and mental health.

 

References

 

1. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/athletes-and-eating-disorders
2. http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/
3. http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/eating-disorders-among-athletes
4. http://byttpassord.nih.no/documents_intranett/Seksjon%20for%20idrettsmedisinske%20fag/FOU/Sundgot-Borgen_2004_Clinical%20J%20of%20Sp.%20Med_Prevalence%20of%20eating%20disorders%20in%20elite%20athletes%20is%20higher%20than%20in%20general%20population.pdf
5. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/buffed.htm

Tags: fat loss, flexible dieting, IIFYM, moderation