Moderation is the key to healthy eating

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/10/2015 (3838 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Do you feel guilty when you eat a piece a cake, a couple of chips or the occasional piece of chocolate? When you eat them, do you tell everyone you are being bad and will have to go for a run to burn those extra calories?

If so, my advice to you is to stop. You are not doing anything wrong by having the odd piece of cake or hunk of chocolate. And you needn’t apologize for having done so.

After all, food is a necessity of life. It’s OK to enjoy what we eat, as long as we do so moderately.

The concept of moderation is difficult for some to grasp because so many people think about food in terms of black and white, or good versus bad.

But the dictionary defines moderation as the “avoidance of extremes or excesses.” Applied to food, it means eating a variety of food, but only as much as your body needs.

So how much food do we need?

This answer varies from person to person, depending on factors such as age, health, sex and activity level. Rather than being black and white, it can come in 50 shades of grey. Enjoying your food, eating mindfully and understanding hunger and fullness cues are the best answers to that question.

Every baby is born with this ability. Underfeeding or overfeeding children messes with this ability. So does restrictive dieting and binge eating.

But all things in moderation does not mean all foods are created equal.

People need to eat more nutritious, health-promoting foods such as vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, lean meats, nuts and seeds. We need to limit food that is overly processed and high in sugar, trans and saturated fat, salt and void of nutrition.

So if eating healthy is the core of moderation, is the person who eats a hot-fudge sundae on the weekend practising it? What about the person who sits down with a carton of ice cream while watching television?

The first person is practising moderation as a size serving of ice cream is provided. When you are finished, you are finished. The second person is not because they are eating endlessly — one spoon at a time — while being distracted by a TV show.

How do you become a moderate eater? Here are a few tips:

— Eat mindfully. We need to listen to our body’s built-in cues to tell us when to eat and when to stop eating.

Practise engaging all your senses when you eat. Food will taste better and this practice will guide you in your eating decisions.

— Don’t attach stigma to food. Accept that some foods are better for you and some are not. Eat healthier food more often, but don’t feel guilty about a food choice. It is about balance, if not within that day, than the week.

— Eat when you are physically hungry. Emotional eating related to stress and anxiety can have a person craving higher caloric foods. The aftermath emotions of eating these foods could be guilt and regret. Think of other ways to reduce stress, because reaching for these foods can become habit-forming. But if you are truly hungry, just eat something.

— Eat regularly. Food gives you energy. Eating regularly allows you to do a day’s work and keep your mood in check.

— Sit down and eat. Make time in your day to do this. Eating quickly just to get rid of hunger is not the answer. Food needs to be savoured and enjoyed.

— Don’t eat for what you see on the scale. Eat to feel good. Being restrictive and rigid about healthy eating can cause other problems such as eating disorders.

The key to healthy eating is not just what you eat, but how much you eat and when. In other words, it’s about moderation.

Rosemary Szabadka is a registered dietitian with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.