Friday, May 15, 2015

Is Eating Everything in Moderation for You?

I used to think eating everything in moderation was the sensible way to go about choosing what went in my mouth.  Then I read Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin.  In it, she talks about abstaining and moderating.  In a nutshell, moderators like to indulge in their favorites on a limited basis and consider one cookie a treat and stop there, while abstainers would rather go without any cookies because they know they can't stop at one.  

Well, especially since menopause kicked in several years ago, I've actually been eating like an abstainer who isn't abstaining.  Stop at one cookie or piece of chocolate?  Nope, not going to happen.  Unlike my husband who savors his favorite treats--mostly pastries--making them last, if there are chocolate bars or home-made chocolate chip cookies, or ice cream bars in the house, I will eat them until they are gone.  Actually, my appetite for food in general has increased dramatically since hitting menopause.

So, I've learned that I have got to abstain from eating those things that are the most tempting.  Has it happened?  No.  I'm working my way up to it by only allowing chocolate, etc., on the weekend.  I keep reminding myself that the longer I go without these tempting snacks, the less my body with crave them.  We'll see how successful I am at listening to myself.  

How about you?  Are you an abstainer or moderator?  Is it working for you? Let's talk about it.  I'd love to hear from you.

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