The Myths of Moderation

Food: 7 bananas, cherries, grapes, salad of beetroot, baby spinach, pomodorino tomatoes and half an avocado. It was absolutely delicious and beautiful to look at too. In the evening a green smoothie of mango, papaya and spinach. And some dates
Exercise: Bodyweight exercises, escalators

It doesn't matter what way of eating I have read, or am reading about, moderation is continually espoused. And I have always, always thought that 'everything in moderation' is one of the most unhelpful statements ever.

It's one of those things that sound right, but on closer inspection it's just a hollow drum. What the heck is moderation? One person's moderation is three avocados a day and another person's is one quarter. Do what your body tells you, you say. Wise words, but this only applies if you are operating/beginning to operate within certain universal principles for creating health, otherwise it has the potential to create more harm than good.

Without boundaries in every area of life we would not know that we had freedom. There is also an assumption in 'everything' that all things are created equal. I'll leave you to ponder that one.

In the 'Pleasure Trap' a book by Douglas J. Lisle and Alan Goldhammer explain the myths of moderation:

"There are two popular misconceptions about moderation with respect to dietary and lifestyle practices. The first is the myth of moderate consumption:the notion that any lifestyle is healthy and acceptable provided it is practised in moderation. The second is the myth of moderate change: the idea that the goal of healthy lasting change is best approached by beginning with only modest changes, slowly building towards greater success. It is often assumed that the validity of these two ideas is unquestionable. They sound so reasonable. They seem right. But both are false assumptions. They are the myths of moderation".

Interestingly they advocate a fully vegan diet dominated by fresh fruit and vegetables and the only cooking practices they advocate appear to be baking and steaming.

It is a spiritual principle of abundance to be specific and intentional about what we want. It's not a problem to fall off the wagon or fail along the way, it is a problem to be lukewarm and vague.