The Myth of Moderation

The topic for today is the phenomenon I call the Myth of Moderation. You know how this one goes: there are no bad foods as long as you practice moderation. This is the core belief behind the assertion that “one little cookie won’t hurt.”

In my former life as a fat girl, my habits were as far away from moderation as it was possible to be. I did not eat a scoop of ice cream, I ate an entire half gallon. Now, I eat ice cream only on rare occasions. You could say I have learned moderation when it comes to ice cream. So, what’s wrong with that?

There’s nothing wrong with that, except that actual moderation and the Myth of Moderation have very little to do with each other. The Myth of Moderation goes something like this: Let’s say I’m an average obese person and I want to lose weight. The Myth tells me that all I need to do is change my habits to habits of moderation, you know, do more exercise, eat a “sensible diet.” If I do those things consistently (this is sometimes referred to as a “lifestyle change”), then over time I will lose weight; I may even lose weight “effortlessly.” This sounds plausible if you believe in the concept of calories in, calories out, but the body is a wondrous thing. The one of the key goals of your body is to keep you from starving. When you eat a few less calories every day, as part of your “sensible diet,” the body does something magical; it slows down your metabolism so you need fewer calories to maintain your weight. Pretty neat trick! Diabolical also, as any intrepid dieter will attest.

In my experience, losing a large amount of weight and keeping it off is not something that can be attained by a “sensible diet” or a “lifestyle change.” Moderation just won’t do – this kind of weight loss requires radical action. In my case, I followed a very low calorie, very low carb diet that essentially tricked my body into thinking it was starving, and thus it allowed my precious, life-preserving fat stores to be burned. Since I reached my goal weight, I’ve had to convince my body that it should stay at this smaller size, something it seems reluctant to do. And so I find I must watch my diet with a rigor that is meticulous and unforgiving – if I eat even one cookie, my weight starts to creep up immediately. I must also exercise nearly every day, preferably for at least an hour, doing something that works up a good sweat. It’s not a routine remotely related to anything I’d call moderate.

But the main reason “one little cookie” hurts has nothing to do with calories or metabolism. “One little cookie” sends the message that losing weight and keeping it off is just a “sensible” nip/tuck, something any and everyone should be able to do with ease. If you’re a person struggling with excess weight, you might wonder if you’re the only one who can’t get the hang of it. You might feel like a failure. When weight becomes synonymous with personal shame, it becomes that much more difficult to reach out to others for help and community and solidarity.

The Myth of Moderation makes the seductive promise that maintaining a healthy weight is easy, except it’s not. Obesity, it turns out, is one tough little cookie.