As you may know by now, I looooooove food and I do NOT believe in restriction.
Throughout my fitness and wellness journey and after much trial and error, I’ve learned what works for my body and the power of moderation. There’s a difference between moderation/balance and restriction.
I’m an advocate of moderation for a number of reasons. One and the most important reasons is our health.
Over eating will throw off our blood sugar and when done on a constant basis, it can affect our health in the long term. Keep in mind this is NOT the same as restrictions which is why it’s important to differentiate between the two.
Restriction stems from a fear mindset whereas moderation stems from a place of self love/care and mindfulness. That’s not to say that we will always be perfect and that if you over eat one day then that must mean that you don’t love yourself. That’s not what I’m referring to here. It is perfectly normal to sometimes eat a little more than ideal because we’re in the moment and enjoying the food we’re consuming. My goal is to help you understand where the fine line between restriction and moderation is so you can have control of your health and choices without guilting yourself.
To me, moderation is allowing ourselves to enjoy the things we want when we want them without losing track of our health’s needs. Moderation involves an active choice/mindfulness. It is wanting to care for our bodies and health but also enjoying the things that are pleasurable to us and allowing ourselves to fulfill those needs when wanted. Moderation understands that being healthy doesn’t mean being perfect all the time but it makes choices that are beneficial to our health 80-90% of the time.
Restriction needs to be perfect ALL THE TIME and feels guilt and shame if it ever slips. Restriction will often lead to binging.
I don’t condone the notion that being healthy means we must be “perfect” at every choice and perfect with every little thing we put in our body.
Some days you will choose to have more of certain foods as an active choice. There will be days where you may get carried away without meaning to and in these moments it’s important to be mindful of not categorizing ourselves negatively. Simply let go any feelings of guilt or shame and move on to making different choices next time. As long as you don’t over do it constantly, it all evens out; I promise!
Developing a healthy relationship with food and our bodies requires an understanding of the active choices involved in moderation and the fine line between those choices and restriction so we do not allow the latter to take over.
I hope you found this post helpful and inspiring. If you have any questions or requests, feel free to reach out!
xo,
Vilmaliz
#VBMETHOD
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