Lose Weight Eating In Moderation

This article was co-authored by Claudia Carberry, RD, MS. Claudia Carberry is a Registered Dietitian specializing in kidney transplants and counseling patients for weight loss at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She is a member of the Arkansas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Claudia received her MS in Nutrition from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in 2010.

Thankfully fads--like cabbage soup diets and weight-loss shakes--are becoming things of the past! Now fitness experts, nutritionists, and health-conscious celebrities all tout the benefits of eating in moderation. Extreme diets are simply unsustainable. By contrast, eating in moderation establishes healthy habits that can last a lifetime. The practices are simple: all you have to do is eat moderately-sized portions and balanced food types. Just plan your meals ahead of time, learn to control portions, and get ready to embrace a healthy lifestyle!

This article was co-authored by Claudia Carberry, RD, MS. Claudia Carberry is a Registered Dietitian specializing in kidney transplants and counseling patients for weight loss at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She is a member of the Arkansas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Claudia received her MS in Nutrition from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in 2010. This article has been viewed 106, 519 times.

Ways To Eat In Moderation

To eat in moderation, follow the guideline that a balanced meal includes half a plate of vegetables, a quarter plate of lean protein, and a quarter of a plate of carbs. To help yourself stick to this guideline, put away excess food right after serving meals. It’ll keep you from going back for seconds, plus, you’ll have leftovers tomorrow. Additionally, don’t eat when you’re distracted. Instead of eating in front of the TV, bring your food to the table, eat one bite at a time, and put down your fork between bites. To learn our Dietary reviewer’s tips on how to avoid temptation when eating out, keep reading!What does it mean to “eat in moderation”? We must define it if we’re to practice it properly. The definition varies widely depending on what beliefs someone has about nutrition, but here’s a simplified answer that’s void of stupid nonsense (calling any food group “evil” or “forbidden” or claiming one macronutrient is solely responsible for fat gain) and harmful dichotomous thinking (labeling foods good/bad):

Primarily eat a variety of whole foods most of the time — fruits and veggies, lean meats, fish, beans and legumes, nuts and seeds, herbs and spices, dairy, eggs, whole grains; don’t have “forbidden” or “off-limit” foods; enjoy your other favorite foods (alcohol, doughnuts, cookies, fried foods) occasionally, in reasonable quantities.

Eating in moderation is a logical approach and can eliminate a lot of unnecessary stress and frustration that often accompanies nutrition. However, many people either (a) understand what

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Being “good” during the week and eating the “bad” things over the weekend they successfully abstained from during the week is what some people consider eating in moderation. When you look at the quantity of not-super-healthy foods consumed on the weekend, it’s clear that they constitute a large amount of the weekly average food choices; not so moderate after all.

This is one possible example of how to work in reasonable quantities of treats/refined foods into daily eating choices to successfully practice eating in moderation. This isn’t the only option, however, as some people may prefer to have a larger meal less frequently.

The above images are mere examples. I’m not suggesting you must eat the same foods every day or those foods specifically — the images are examples of whole-food meals that include a good source of protein. The number of daily meals and food choices should be tailored to your eating preferences.

Moderate Eating Is An Ineffective Way To Maintain Or Lose Weight

Eating mostly whole foods and including your other favorite foods in reasonable amounts is not only effective for improving health while allowing you to reach your physique and performance goals, but it’s great for your sanity; you needn’t avoid your favorite foods to reach your goals.

Perception is critical when discussing how to eat in moderation; you need to objectively see what’s happening. Here are three common categories people can fall into when having problems eating in moderation, and the solution for each one.

This category is the most common and the problem isn’t moderation; it’s the execution and perception of what eating in moderation looks like. Many people claim to eat not-super-healthy foods moderately, saying:

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“Yesterday I had coffee and oatmeal with a piece of fruit for breakfast, a chicken salad for lunch, a protein shake in the afternoon, and I eat lean meat and vegetables for dinner.”

That’s what they’re eating, but the reality, oftentimes, is different. This can be proven by keeping a food journal. Yesterday’s food choices actually looks like this: A large latte made with whole milk and sugar, an instant oatmeal packet that was loaded with sugar, and a banana for breakfast; chicken salad topped with a pile of cheese and bacon and full-fat ranch dressing with a couple breadsticks on the side, and a sugary soft drink for lunch; a meal-replacement shake in the afternoon; a late afternoon doughnut in the breakroom at work; grilled fish with steamed vegetables for dinner, followed by half a dozen cookies and a large glass of milk.

This person claims they’re eating not-super-healthy foods moderately, when they actually make up a large portion of their eating choices. The reason they can’t lose weight is simple math; they’re eating too many calories. Many of their eating choices are calorie dense: full-fat dressing, lattes made with whole milk and sugar, soda, doughnuts, cookies. Those foods aren’t satiating, so they’re easy to overeat.

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Solution: Keep a food journal for a week and record everything you eat and drink. This way you see what you are, and are not, eating. Afterward, aim to eat whole foods at least 80% of the time and track again for a week or two.

Thanks to diets with obsessive, non-negotiable rules that come complete with a list of forbidden foods and food groups, this category is growing rapidly. The diet mentality has made people think they have to follow an eating plan

This individual eats plenty of protein and whole foods at least 90% of the time, but if she enjoys a food in moderation, like a bowl of her favorite ice cream or a couple pieces of pizza, she thinks she over indulged and failed to eat moderately, even though those foods were 10% or less of her weekly average food choices.

Eating In Moderation: How To Do It Right

This person is struck with guilt, shame, and concern that she screwed up her diet and instantly erased the previous week of work and effort. The problem here isn’t eating in moderation; it’s her mindset and the language she uses about food, and herself. (

Solution: Vigilant, patient mental training and an abundance of self-compassion. Begin by erasing good/bad food labels. Tracking what you eat and drink for a week may help, so you can see what you’re actually eating, and what you’re not. For instance, someone who eats a scoop of ice cream and two pieces of pizza spread throughout the week will be able to see those foods are a very small portion of her eating choices and not some drastic over indulgence.

. Certain foods trigger them into a downward spiral of less-than-ideal food choices for an entire day or two. This individual struggles to enjoy treats and certain foods in moderation; like a row of dominos, eating a treat builds inertia that leads to her making a string of less-than-ideal food choices.

How To Stop Binge Eating

Solution: This isn’t one size fits all, but it can be helpful to first become aware of the situation and identify the trigger foods, then decide how to handle them. If eating peanut butter causes you to

, how can you handle it? One solution for trigger foods is to portion them into individual-sized servings. This way when you want that food, you grab the container with the appropriate serving size without being tempted to keep digging in for more.

For other foods, it could be best to keep them out of the house and buy a serving when you want it. If you can’t keep a carton of ice cream in the freezer without dipping into it every day, and dividing it into individual servings just doesn’t work, don’t keep it in the house. When you want ice cream, go to your favorite place and buy a couple scoops. (Speaking of ice cream, you need to try this recipe: The Chocolate Protein Shake That Actually Tastes Like a Milkshake.)

Strategies For Eating In Moderation

Eating in moderation won’t look identical for everyone. The challenge is finding the balance that allows you to reach your physique, health, and performance goals while allowing you to enjoy the lifestyle you’re building and to socialize with ease.

Take emotion out of it. Guilt, shame, pride and other emotions have no place when it comes to responding to what we put in our mouths. Responding emotionally is not the answer to overindulging; it helps absolutely nothing. If you tend to value yourself, positively or negatively, by what you eat, become aware of it and work on changing it.

Avoid

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