Moderation in Eating – A Real Silver Bullet - No Need To Give Up Your Favorites

You Can Eat Anything You Want

But Not

Everything You Want

Why should you practice moderation in your eating? If you eat all things in moderation you don’t have to totally eliminate things you love to eat.

I would rather control amounts than eliminate a food all together

You Can Keep Scones
Jam & Cream
Just Practice Moderation
Maybe just 1/2 it will still taste great and you can have the other 1/2 tomorrow


You Don't Have
To Give Up Sausages
Slow Down, Savor, Enjoy
Have a Limited Amount
Maybe 1 today with a good large serving of vegetables.




un poco de tacos
es muy bueno 
(A little bit of tacos is very good)
Consider the amount of meat cheese and tortilla and adjust how many you can eat

Learn To Cook, and Prepare Your Own
Of course it is better if you make it yourself. You will be pretty sure that your home cooked treat will be healthier than any mass produced, processed food you buy in a supermarket or take-away shop.
You will know exactly what is in it and there won’t be any hidden fats, sugars or names of food you don’t recognize. Those wonderful names that food factories search for so they can avoid saying sugar, fat, MSG and chemical preservatives.

Basically, once you understand moderation no food will be off limits, you will just restrict the amount that you eat and how often you eat it. Having to restrict anything is a pain, but less of a pain than totally abstaining.

A Fantastic Woman Who Practiced Moderation

My Mother truly understood Moderation. She would buy a giant box of Snickers. I think there were 24 in the box. She would put them in the fridge and every few days she would take one out. She would eat it slowly, it seemed like she was savouring every bite.
No walking by the fridge and the Snickers calling out to her. She had a plan as to when she would eat it. Usually, during a quiet moment. Maybe right after completing a task, maybe right before one. Some time she would just eat 1/2 and have the other 1/2 the next day.

My mother could have a dozen Snicker bars in the fridge and just eat 1 a week

She didn’t just grab the bar, rip of the wrapper and eat it in 2 bites. Instead she would get out a small plate, take the Snickers bar out of the fridge, unwrap it and put it on the plate. She would take a bite, chew it (long enough to really taste it) and just proceed to fully enjoy it.

I don’t think she gave it much thought. This is just how she ate. When she was growing up a candy bar was a real treat, so she learned to appreciate and ration

Man! If I Had Just paid attention to Mom’s habit, I wouldn’t be in the process of changing my eating habits to lose weight.

Another form of moderation is portion control. Which really means controlling the amount we eat.

Our eating habits are changing. Our ancestors ate until they weren't  hungry. We eat so we will be full. These two are not the same thing.

It is pretty much a cultural thing. In Americanised countries we eat until we are very full.  In other parts of the world they stop eating when they are no longer hungry. They may eat to 65 - 80% of stomach capacity, not 100%.

They eat slower, enjoy good company with their meals, have fun preparing the food.

We derive pleasure from being full. They get pleasure from enjoying the whole process from preparation, to sharing, to savouring the taste and enjoying the company.

When looking at the Western diet we see Fuel Gauges that don't work properly. We don’t turn off the supply at the proper time.

Here we are hours after our last meal. Our stomach is empty and we are hungry. We can’t wait to eat.

Good Time To Eat

In some countries They stop when no longer hungry.  At about the 65 to 80% capacity. 

This is a good place to be

Good Time To Stop Eating

Living in the US or an Americanised culture we might keep eating until we fill our stomachs to 100% full.

This is not a good place to be.

Should have Stopped in the 65 to 80% full range

So how do we adjust our appetite gauge? 

The video, below, is a discussion between Maya Adam MD and Michael Pollan. It shares some great information. And will explain our ways to improve your moderation. The video is under 5 minutes long and worth every second you spend watching it.

Maya is an MD and University Lecturer, Dept. of Paediatrics at Stanford University Medical School. She teaches on Children’s Health and Nutrition.

Michael is a noted author on the food we should eat. He has 4 books, related to food and our health, on the New York Times Bestseller list. He is also a professor of journalism at the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

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Bye For Now
Grandpa