Are You Sure Making Moderate Changes Is a Good Idea? Moderation is Hard Work? I think there are two types of people in the diet world. There are some that can easily stop eating before they are full. These same people are the masters of portion control. They can truly just take a little bit of this and a little bit of that. They can flirt with food that is potentially addictive and overwhelming to the taste buds but not get hooked. Then there are people like me. I am not one of these portion controllers. I like to eat as much as I want, when I want, and I don't like to portion control. I have little or no willpower once I start digging into the macaroni and cheese; one bite soon becomes a whole plate. Eating a unprocessed pure vegetarian diet is easier for me. The rules are fairly simple. I know what foods I can eat, and I eat them with abandon. Studies have shown that this type of diet is not any harder than "moderation," and may be easier. If you are a truly moderate person, then limit your animal product intake or overly processed plant products like oils to 10-20% of total calories (150 to 300 calories per day). Studies of ethnic groups with remarkable longevity, such as the Okinawans, show that they got upwards to 90% of their calories from unrefined plant foods, such as sweet potatoes . They were not completely vegetarian. Though if you ate the way they did, it would feel that way. Realize that animal product intake has more than doubled and in many cultures more than tripled in the last fifty years. Highly processed plant products, like refined flours and extracted oils like canola oil are also much more plentiful. The modern Okinawans who have strayed from the diet of their elders have lost their edge on longevity. They are no longer all lean and healthy, but getting heavier and sicker. The elder Okinawans did have animal products in their diet; mostly in the form of small amounts of fish (about 1/4 the amount eaten currently by the modern Japanese and Okinawans), and no appreciable amounts of dairy or other meats except on holidays. The also practiced a policy of restraint. They felt you should stop eating well before you were full. Why are the modern Okinawans not following in the foot steps of their elders? One reason I believe is that most people cannot moderate their intake of modern processed foods and animal products. Sixty years ago, the elder Okinawans did not have access to the foods we now have available. Moderation was easy to practice in an environment with scarce animal products and no processed foods. Now with easy access to these foods, moderation is not so easy. Once these rich foods were limited to special holidays, now they are eaten every day. How about stopping before you get full like the elder Okinawan claim to have done? Well, that’s easy with foods low in caloric density but very difficult with today’s artificial processed fare. You know this already. Think of an example familiar to all of us. You’ve just about stuffed yourself silly at the all-you-can-eat buffet. You’ve got just a morsel sized pocket left in your stomach. I offer you an apple or some salad as desert. I think you’ll find these foods unattractive and decline. You really are just about full, you feel satisfied. But I offer you a piece of pie, and I bet you find room. My Advice 1. Make your rules simple. Avoid complicated point systems or counting calories. That's why I like the vegetarian diet -- simple rules. Design your environment with plenty of low calorie foods and few high calorie foods. If you have high calorie tasty foods like cookies, ice cream, chips, cheese, chicken, pork, and hot dogs in your house, then you will naturally eat them before you resort to the spinach. Heads of lettuce go bad in the refrigerator long after the cookies and cheese are eaten. Your environment is any place where you spend most of your time like the office or home. Late in the evening, sometimes I can be found prowling around the kitchen like a wild animal looking for a snack. I'll be seen opening the cabinets, standing at the refrigerator, or rooting around in the pantry. What am I doing? I'm looking for the most calorically dense food in the house. Since I'm not allowed to eat cookies or ice cream, even if they are even in the house, which is rare, I eventually settle for an apple or banana. And since the banana has more calories in a smaller package than an apple, I usually eat the banana first. Who can blame me, I'm just acting on my instincts. Design your environment so that you can act more on instinct and rely less on willpower. Get the high calorie foods out of your house. Otherwise, they will end up in your belly faster than you expected. 3. Be careful eating out. This one is dangerous. Simple rules can make you life so easy. For instance, since I have to eat vegetarian food, my choices are usually limited to mostly healthy, lower calorie foods than are available to everyone else. 4. Learn more about the psychological pitfalls of dieting. Watch Losing Weight Without Losing Your Mind by Douglas Lisle, Ph.D. Or read his book The Pleasure Trap One of my Favorite Articles on the Dangers of Making Moderate Changes Dr. McDougall has got it right. Moderate changes in diet result in mediocre changes that are difficult to feel. If you lose only a couple of pounds and don't come off any medications, then what's the point of suffering through change. Changing your diet can be painful. We all hate change. But change it completely, and you'll find that in six weeks you've completely adapted. Change it a little and you'll be struggling constantly. Dramatic changes result in tremendous benefit that only further reinforce the desire to continue with the change. Why is a moderate change in diet so hard? First, some foods are addictive and take several weeks of complete avoidance before the cravings decrease. Second, it takes several weeks for you to develop a liking for the new foods, and an appreciation for different tastes. If you make a moderate change, you struggle with both trying to reduce your cravings and adapt to new foods. It usually just doesn't work. Take the alternative approach. Give it your all for six weeks, see the benefit, lose the cravings, and enjoy new foods. Only after you've tried it without hesitation can you be sure of its benefits. Read Dr. McDougall's Article: Moderate Change is Impossible for Passionate People Return to Moving Toward a Plant-Based Diet or Continue with the Next Topic Is Eating Like this Pleasurable? Do I Have to be Completely Vegetarian?

Are You Sure Making Moderate Changes Is a Good Idea?

Moderation is Hard Work?

I think there are two types of people in the diet world. There are some that can easily stop eating before they are full. These same people are the masters of portion control. They can truly just take a little bit of this and a little bit of that. They can flirt with food that is potentially addictive and overwhelming to the taste buds but not get hooked.

Then there are people like me. I am not one of these portion controllers. I like to eat as much as I want, when I want, and I don't like to portion control. I have little or no willpower once I start digging into the macaroni and cheese; one bite soon becomes a whole plate. Eating a unprocessed pure vegetarian diet is easier for me. The rules are fairly simple. I know what foods I can eat, and I eat them with abandon. Studies have shown that this type of diet is not any harder than "moderation," and may be easier.

If you are a truly moderate person, then limit your animal product intake or overly processed plant products like oils to 10-20% of total calories (150 to 300 calories per day). Studies of ethnic groups with remarkable longevity, such as the Okinawans, show that they got upwards to 90% of their calories from unrefined plant foods, such as sweet potatoes . They were not completely vegetarian. Though if you ate the way they did, it would feel that way. Realize that animal product intake has more than doubled and in many cultures more than tripled in the last fifty years. Highly processed plant products, like refined flours and extracted oils like canola oil are also much more plentiful.

The modern Okinawans who have strayed from the diet of their elders have lost their edge on longevity. They are no longer all lean and healthy, but getting heavier and sicker. The elder Okinawans did have animal products in their diet; mostly in the form of small amounts of fish (about 1/4 the amount eaten currently by the modern Japanese and Okinawans), and no appreciable amounts of dairy or other meats except on holidays. The also practiced a policy of restraint. They felt you should stop eating well before you were full.

Why are the modern Okinawans not following in the foot steps of their elders? One reason I believe is that most people cannot moderate their intake of modern processed foods and animal products. Sixty years ago, the elder Okinawans did not have access to the foods we now have available. Moderation was easy to practice in an environment with scarce animal products and no processed foods. Now with easy access to these foods, moderation is not so easy. Once these rich foods were limited to special holidays, now they are eaten every day.

How about stopping before you get full like the elder Okinawan claim to have done? Well, that’s easy with foods low in caloric density but very difficult with today’s artificial processed fare. You know this already. Think of an example familiar to all of us. You’ve just about stuffed yourself silly at the all-you-can-eat buffet. You’ve got just a morsel sized pocket left in your stomach. I offer you an apple or some salad as desert. I think you’ll find these foods unattractive and decline. You really are just about full, you feel satisfied. But I offer you a piece of pie, and I bet you find room.

My Advice

1. Make your rules simple.

Avoid complicated point systems or counting calories. That's why I like the vegetarian diet -- simple rules.

2.Design your environment with plenty of low calorie foods and few high calorie foods.

If you have high calorie tasty foods like cookies, ice cream, chips, cheese, chicken, pork, and hot dogs in your house, then you will naturally eat them before you resort to the spinach. Heads of lettuce go bad in the refrigerator long after the cookies and cheese are eaten. Your environment is any place where you spend most of your time like the office or home.

Late in the evening, sometimes I can be found prowling around the kitchen like a wild animal looking for a snack. I'll be seen opening the cabinets, standing at the refrigerator, or rooting around in the pantry. What am I doing? I'm looking for the most calorically dense food in the house. Since I'm not allowed to eat cookies or ice cream, even if they are even in the house, which is rare, I eventually settle for an apple or banana. And since the banana has more calories in a smaller package than an apple, I usually eat the banana first. Who can blame me, I'm just acting on my instincts. Design your environment so that you can act more on instinct and rely less on willpower. Get the high calorie foods out of your house. Otherwise, they will end up in your belly faster than you expected.

3. Be careful eating out.

This one is dangerous. Simple rules can make you life so easy. For instance, since I have to eat vegetarian food, my choices are usually limited to mostly healthy, lower calorie foods than are available to everyone else.

4. Learn more about the psychological pitfalls of dieting.

Watch Losing Weight Without Losing Your Mind by Douglas Lisle, Ph.D. Or read his book The Pleasure Trap

One of my Favorite Articles on the Dangers of Making Moderate Changes

Dr. McDougall has got it right. Moderate changes in diet result in mediocre changes that are difficult to feel. If you lose only a couple of pounds and don't come off any medications, then what's the point of suffering through change. Changing your diet can be painful. We all hate change. But change it completely, and you'll find that in six weeks you've completely adapted. Change it a little and you'll be struggling constantly. Dramatic changes result in tremendous benefit that only further reinforce the desire to continue with the change.

Why is a moderate change in diet so hard? First, some foods are addictive and take several weeks of complete avoidance before the cravings decrease. Second, it takes several weeks for you to develop a liking for the new foods, and an appreciation for different tastes. If you make a moderate change, you struggle with both trying to reduce your cravings and adapt to new foods. It usually just doesn't work. Take the alternative approach. Give it your all for six weeks, see the benefit, lose the cravings, and enjoy new foods. Only after you've tried it without hesitation can you be sure of its benefits.

Read Dr. McDougall's Article: Moderate Change is Impossible for Passionate People

Return to Moving Toward a Plant-Based Diet

or Continue with the Next Topic Is Eating Like this Pleasurable? Do I Have to be Completely Vegetarian?