Many fitness people seem to prescribe moderation as a way for overweight people to lose weight. But presumably the only way you become overweight in the first place is if you struggle with moderation. So for someone who hasn’t really had problems with moderation, or who has incredibly high self-control, prescribing moderation — i.e. “it’s fine to have a little bit of ice cream every now and then” — to an overweight person just seems like a terrible idea, because that little bit of ice cream ends up turning into the whole pot of Ben & Jerry’s.
If you’re overweight, it’s because you struggle with moderation; it’s not exactly rocket science. So to me, it makes more sense to say: no, since you struggle with moderation, you shouldn’t have any junk food in your house at all. Your core issue is that you struggle with moderation.
Calories in, calories out
Is the biggest load of horseshit I’ve ever heard in my life.
Obviously, when someone claims to be in a calorie deficit but they “aren’t losing weight”, it’s because they aren’t in a calorie deficit. It’s basic thermodynamics — your body isn’t magically creating energy.
The other end of this argument is the fitness influencer pushing the “calories in, calories out” lie. If you have a 500-cal Starbucks fat-and-sugar bomb, you’re going to immediately feel hungry after, versus if you’d had something satiating like a piece of meat or eggs. Yes, 500 cal IS 500 cal — but the Starbucks drink will give you man boobs because of the hormone reaction, and you’ll just end up (over)eating because you feel hungry.
Addictive personalities
I’m not overweight, but many people in my family struggle with their weight. At its core, I feel it’s mostly emotional eating. Fortunately, I’ve always been able to channel that same energy into the gym and my work.
I have an addictive personality: when I find something I like, I go 150%, always. I’m a social drinker; whenever I have a few whiskey cokes I immediately think, wow, this is incredible, I should do this all the time. Then I have a moment of realisation. I can have periods with my work where I’m completely absorbed in it for weeks at a time — not talking to family or friends. Genuinely getting lost.
This carries over into my eating habits: when I have some food that I enjoy, I’ll eat the whole thing. My girlfriend’s “why don’t you have it bit by bit?” has just never been a thing for me. I may put it down for an hour or two, but at some point during the day I’ll think, “hmm, there’s 2/3rds of a cake in the fridge for me to finish”.
The only way I’ve ever found to eat healthy consistently is to have absolutely zero “moderation”. I don’t moderate my junk-food consumption because I literally don’t buy it or have it in my house. When someone brings me a cookie they baked, or some chocolate, I’ll thank them and then often (secretly) throw it away — otherwise I’ll gorge myself on it almost immediately, have an insulin spike that makes me feel retarded and ill for the rest of the day, and completely blow past my calorie allowance.
The way I stick to my goals is to never allow temptations near me; when they do end up around me, I get rid of them quick so I don’t have the opportunity to break.
Clearly, the issue with this is “what if you’re around temptation and you don’t have a choice?” Yes, that’s the risk and the downside. But I’ve curated my life to be this way, and I find it works well.
