Moderator or Abstainer, Which Are You?

Kendrawinn

* Moderators: find that occasional indulgence heightens their pleasure (while strengthening their resolve), and they get panicky at the thought of “never” getting or doing something

*Abstainers: have trouble stopping something once they’ve started, but aren’t tempted by things that they’ve decided are off-limits (or are tempted less)

ishallnotwant

Definitely a Moderator. I love being able to still eat stuff I enjoy.

Kendrawinn

Im Deff an abstainer.... Cause once i get some sugar in me.... its on!! And I can't stop untill it just makes me sick to my stomach.

AZDizzy

Abstainer.

dad106

Moderator... I need my sweets/burgers/sub sandwich every now and then.

If I abstain, then I binge once I have it... and that's not good!

LorinaLynn

Moderator... except that I tend to work my butt off so my definition of "occasional" is a little more frequent than others' definition might be. :laugh:

shaycat

I use to be a moderator before when I didnt have to watch my weight. Now I'm abstainer as in if I eat one cookie, I cant stop till they are all gone.
I am trying to get back to moderator or I am going to gain a ton of weight back.

UpEarly

I'm a moderator. It's the only thing that seems to work for me. Abstaining makes me feel bitter and sad.

dakitten2

Moderator. I feel I can eat anything and have the strength to eat it in moderation unlike my previous behavior.

bigdawg025

Moderator... nothing is off limits for me. For me abstaining leads to binging.

LittleMissDoll

Moderator for sure.

blueham5

Abstaining is easier for me. So that's what I do. I like to eat clean anyway.

hongruss

Moderator- I turned down chocolate cookies the other night whilst my partner indulged & once I hit my cals for day(usually pre-planned) then I don't eat "treats" unless I can trade out & still keep within my macros

Russ

theflyingartist

Moderator... except that I tend to work my butt off so my definition of "occasional" is a little more frequent than others' definition might be. :laugh:

Thought I was an Abstainer until I read your comment

Meggles63

Moderator! Life is to be enjoyed..

carolann_22

Abstainer - I cant seem to succeed in moderation.

Linalaila

Abstainer when it comes to sugar and bread.

Sheila1968

Moderator, except for alcohol, which I never drink cause I HATE it! LOL

Jipples

Abstainer fo sho

LabRat529

Moderator.

That's not to say I don't screw up and binge. But... to me, this diet game is about teaching myself to have a healthy relationship with food- ALL FOOD- and I can't do that if I say 'no, never!' about food.

jennsteff

Depends on the item...if it's something I find I don't think about at all once I abstain for a week or two (like for me, alcohol or bread), then I stick with abstaining. Chocolate? No way - I get one or two andes mints a day and it keeps that anxiety of 'never again' away...

qtiekiki

Moderator. I've always been able to enjoy foods without binging. I am a believer in everything in moderation.

KandieLantz

More of a Moderator.. although I don't get panicky I just know that I can enjoy them and still succeed :drinker:

aippolito1

I'm a bit of both. I typically abstain from alcohol unless I know I can only have ONE. I'm a moderator because I like to have sweets every now and then, and I don't like to deprive myself. If I'm craving pizza for a few days, eventually, I'll just get it. But if it's a random craving and I'm perfectly, HONESTLY, happy with the lunch I packed, I won't get what I'm craving. Usually a craving has to last a while for me to give into it. Then I know it's more of a genuine craving than just a random cop out.

luvmybaby333

I'm a little bit of both. When it comes to certain substance addictions I have to be very much an abstainer... for a period of time. I had to quit drinking caffeine cold turkey. NOW I can have some in moderation, but during the initial habit-breaking phase I just couldn't touch it. I've quit smoking cigarettes twice but I know that if I ever smoked another, then I *would* become addicted again. There are other worse things that fall into this sort of category... and with those I have to exercise complete abstinence.

With everything else, moderation is key. I cannot get through this life change without the knowing that I can have *anything* I crave, I just have to limit myself. I can have pizza, cookies, chocolate, cheese, etc. I simply can't have as *much* of it as I want. That was my problem before. I ate well past the point of satiety. These foods are not what made me fat. Eating entirely too much of them, while moving entirely too little afterward, is what made me fat. So cutting these foods out isn't necessary. All I would be doing in that case is setting myself up for failure. I love food. It's not wrong to love food. I just need to love myself more, and be mindful of portion sizes. :-)

beach_chelle

Moderator all the way through

MaximalLife

Moderator - for sure!
I am just unwilling to give anything up totally as I know it would lead to failure.
Having said that, I found that over time, I just simply stopped wanting certain things.

Go figure....

luvmybaby333

I should have refreshed. Add a "Yeah that" to the poster above my last post. :laugh:

Crystal_Pistol

Moderator- but I wouldn't say I am moderate really. I actually eat as much of what I want within my macro and calorie bounds. Sometimes half a serving, sometimes 5 servings...

witrixie2011

Moderator... nothing is off limits for me. For me abstaining leads to binging.

Definitely this.

CuteAndCurvy83

I'm a little bit of both. If I want oreos I'll do what I can to find the single serving pack at the store, because I know myself and my thought process, so while I'll allow myself to have what I want, I also make sure I only buy enough for that time otherwise it's easy to find reasons and moments as to why it would be ok to have more.