everything in moderation? i respectfully disagree

i noticed a lot of excuses as to why a lifestyle like this wouldn't work for everyone, time and money being the main ones. i get it, we're all busy and poor. especially me! i'm a freaking preschool teacher, i barely make above minimum wage. i have to go to the free clinic at the hospital for routine checkups and such because i make so little money and my job doesn't offer insurance. but i make it work, i just choose to spend less on things like clothes, entertainment, getting my nails done, etc. and i make my own cleaning products, which saves a ton of money. and as for time, i understand that too, believe me. including my commute i work 8 am - 7 pm everyday, then i go to the gym on my way home for 1.5 - 2 hrs. i get home around 9 - 9:30 pm each night. i just choose to spend my free time cooking, as opposed to watching TV, or whatever it is other people do in their free time. to me it's worth it, the food i cook makes me feel so, so good. so i make sacrifices for it.

i'm not at all saying this is the only way to live, i never said that. this is what has worked for me, worked exceedingly well, so why wouldn't i share it on a site where people are supposedly trying to make healthier choices in their lives? and i mean... junk food IS bad for you! i can't apologize for saying that - but i will absolutely apologize if anyone felt like i was attacking them, or if i came off as condescending. it doesn't bother me if people want to attack my lifestyle, the drink in my hand, my past issues with food, or any of that. but i do find it odd that telling you something you already know caused such an uproar.

I appreciate that you apologized for people feeling like you came off as condescending. It’s easy to get all excited when the light bulb goes off for you and want to share it with everyone, and it’s hard to remember that your “a-ha moment” may be different from someone else’s. I understand that. You make choices based on your values. Others make choices based on their values. And that’s all OK. What is so very clearly “right” for any of us may not be so right for someone else with different values and a different set of circumstances. It’s obviously worth it to you to give up your TV time to cook. Someone else may already be giving up their TV time to care for a child or an sick or elderly family member. You just never know.

I'm sorry, I disagree with you. In moderation to me means once in a blue moon. When I crave it but not EVERYTIME I crave it. Such as... I bought 2 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies in March or so and I still have a full sleeve of Thin Mints left in my freezer. I JUST finished my box of Samoas yesterday. Do I have amazing self-control? No. Did I forget they were in my freezer? Maaaaybe. But still. I don't indulge in them often and it doesn't kill my diet.

And there's the keyword: Diet. I'm not ON a diet. My food that I put into my body is my diet. A diet is anything you put into your mouth that is food. It's just a word that has been commercialized and scrutinized. The way I eat is my lifestyle. I'm not giving up soda or thin mints or ice cream or cheeseburgers for the rest of my life. But I am putting them out of my lifestyle for the rest of my life, meaning... I don't eat them 7 days a week like I used to. I don't drink 3 Dr Peppers a day like I used to but if I have a craving, I won't deny myself a glass - but then, if I keep having that craving, I don't keep giving into it.


I treat my body as well as I can. Since I've put certain things on my taste buds and into my body, my body and my tastebuds still crave them. I can't reverse that. I'm not one of those people who can say "I ate a cheeseburger and it tasted disgusting!" Growing up, my mom had a budget of $2-3 per child when eating out so we ate at McDonald's a LOT. I can't tell you I seriously crave a cheeseburger very often, but when I do crave it, I get one, and it tastes AMAZING. I'm sorry if that offends you, but... I've lost 22 lbs and have kept 20 of those off in the last year. I think I look fabulous and the last time I had a physical which was during a time when I wasn't eating the healthiest or working out a lot...my numbers my doctor said were "excellent".

but don't you guys realize it's the american mindset to worry about consequences only after the damage has been done? (i don't mean to sound ethnocentric either, but the majority of people with diet-related illness live in america). since when is information so offensive? how about research for yourselves what the adverse effects of these substances are, then. and if it doesn't concern you, then by all means don't. but don't get offended because i told you twinkies are bad for you. if a smoker was told it would be in his/her best interest to quit smoking, would you all be up in arms about that? why is junk food such a sensitive issue?

People aren't riled up because you told us that twinkies or Cokes or whatever are bad for us. People are riled up because you presumed to judge what was "never ok" for us to eat.

Information isn't offensive. Judgment and attempting to dictate what is or is not acceptable for others do based on your own convictions is.

I can't speak for anyone else but this was a great piece and it motivates me to clean up my diet even more. I just told my wife this weekend that taking our children (teenage boys) to McDonalds is child abuse. We should be charged by CPS (Child Protection Services).

I concur...everything in moderation? I respectfully disagree!

what is that you are drinking in your profile picture?

I know you probably meant well with what you were trying to say - to educate about the chemicals and crap. But it did come off very harsh and high and mighty. Trying to eat better and healthier is really hard. If it wasn't hard then this site wouldn't be in existence cuz it wouldn't be needed!!! I hate when I get on here and see threads like this that come off as if you should be ashamed and such if you are not eating 100% perfect and there fore must not take healthy living serious enough. It might even make some people think why bother trying if people are going to yell because I am not perfect at this. We are all trying to do what we can with what we got and the cards we are dealt with. I would love love LOVE to be organic at my house but where I live, off of one income with a child, there is no reasonably priced place to buy organic foods all the time.

Lets just be friggin supportive of each other's efforts!!!!! Is that way to much to ask?!?!!

Wow...you really struck a nerve
Everything in moderation? Maybe not...but almost everything is what works for me. I try to eat as simply as possible about 80% of the time. I have a couple treats every day that probably aren't the best choices, but I don't ever binge or have uncontrollable urges to eat everything in sight. And I've lost 64 lbs, so I'm probably healthier than I was.

I have some friends who preached clean eating, NO processed foods, raw fruits and veggies only...etc to me for years. They raised their children that way from about ages 5-10. Their children were allowed no candy, no sugar, no "junk" food. After mom couldn't take the deprivation any more, she gave up on that even though she still believed it was the "right" way to eat. Now she just felt guilty all the time and her kids went hog wild. It was so sad to see. They had never been allowed anything "bad" so once the bars were lifted, they could not get enough. If she bought a box a cereal with the least amount of sugar in it, they would eat the whole box within hours. To this day, her kids have weight problems (she gained more than 50 lbs). They can't be around sweets anywhere without devouring them in minutes. It's crazy. If I buy a gallon of ice cream, 3 months later, I usually end up throwing it away still half full (I have 2 teenagers & a 7 year old). In her house it would last maybe 5 minutes. When you make foods that you truly love completely off limits, you are asking for trouble eventually IMO. I don't think people should live on prepackaged meals or fast food but if you eat great 80% of the time I think you are doing pretty good!

For the most part my grandparents raised me, my gramp had a huge garden and we always had fresh salad and a fresh home cooked meal from my gramma. Now when I was with my mom, she didn't cook and we had all processed food, frozen pizza, McD's and so on. Thanks to spending most of my child hood with my grandparents, I grew up loving fruit, veggies and all the good for you foods. It's carried into my adult life, and I unlike a lot of people enjoy very simple food such as brussel sprouts simply steamed with maybe a little salt, or just steamed broccoli. I like the taste of veggies and of course love fruit. I work out twice a day not just to stay in shape but mostly because despite eating healthfully and living an active lifestyle, there are a lot of heart problems in my family. I do however enjoy a coke now and then and I certainly enjoyed my deconstructed germain chocolate cake the other night at dinner with my boyfriend. It was a very small portion that was enough for one person but he and I split it. For the most part, I eat plain and simple fruits, veggies and lean proteins but I do enjoy some not so good for me foods as well. Difference is, I use moderation and don't eat a huge portion or don't eat them everyday. One thing can work for one person but not for another, I'm happy that I love plain veggies and that health food appeals to my taste buds but for many, it doesn't and they need to jazz it up with things such as you do with your brussel sprouts. I'm also very thankful that I don't have much of a sweet tooth or a taste for most not so good for you foods.

On a side note, twinkie diet anyone? Anyone see how that guys stats dropped and his health did basically a 180. Now he fully stated as did others that he would not recommend it and that they have no idea what the long term effects would be but he dropped serious weight and dropped his cholesterol and blood pressure. It was very interesting to read.

I do drink alcohol occasionally, but in general, I eat exactly as the OP suggests. I do it because it's the way I was brought up, but I take issue with preaching. There is a lot of unsolicited advise on this site, and it's not helpful, it's just rude.

You can eat as healthily as you like, but occasionally, if the rest of the family are having a home made apple crumble, with home grown apples, I will say yeah, ok, because there are worse things in the world than sugar and white flour. Like boredom. Far more dangerous. Inertia. Losing the will to live.

I won't ever eat fast food, or fizzy drinks, or meat, but I'm not going to preach that other people shouldn't because that is between them and the cow they just heartlessly killed for their organic burger.

one of my favorite foods on earth is brussels sprouts. it's not because i like the taste, they taste like *kitten*! but i cook them in such a way that makes them really, seriously delicious. i roast them with unrefined coconut oil, oregano, rosemary, salt and cinnamon, and sometimes if i'm feeling crazy i'll toss them with maple glazed pecans. i almost died when i tried one. i realize some of you are dry-heaving right now but hear me out. healthy food can taste good if you prepare it right! everyone seems to think that a life without snickers would be a hellhole. and they'd rather die than eat brownies made with barley flour. but the thing about your taste buds is they are extraordinarily adaptable, as is your entire body. if you cut sugar out of your diet, you will crave it less. if you start eating clean, and get your sweet fix from bananas, or barley brownies, or coconut date rolls instead of twinkies and candy, your body will start to recognize these healthy alternatives as sweet.

Okay, I had to laugh when I read this.

I love Brussels sprouts, but I'd be hard put to eat them as you described because it's just too fussy. I like them steamed. That is, in fact how I prefer most of my vegetables, with a few exceptions. No sauces, no seasonings, just the plain ol' good taste of the vegetable itself. It's a hold over from a childhood period on weight watchers in the 70s when they weren't near as forgiving as they are now about what you could eat.

I also couldn't touch your coconut date rolls simply because they'd be a danger food for me. Dates are far, far too sweet for me to indulge it because they'd kick me in to cravings. Heck, I have to be careful when I eat carrots because they contain too much sugar and kick in my cravings. In fact, I can't eat any dried fruit because of that, and have to be careful about what fresh fruits and vegetables I eat for the same reason.

That oft mentioned snickers bar? I could eat one and not have a problem, not crave anything else. Give me a raw carrot and I'll probably see about eating every one that's in sight.

I haven't had McDonald's in years, or food from any other fast food outlet you can name. I've never eaten a twinkie.

Part of my point here is that people view things differently. I happen to like my food 'clean', no sauces, few seasonings, and never, ever overcooked.

The other part of my point is that foods deemed healthy aren't necessarily good for us for other reasons.

Just some other things to think about.

Affording organic is easy.... Hit up your local farmers market or simply buy what is on sale. Cuts down costs and increases variety as things on sale are different every week.

Or, buy the "dirty dozen" items organic and buy the rest conventional vegetables.

Work Long hours? Well, I am going from 3:45 am - until after 10 pm at night. Sundays are cooking and prep day for me. Cut up and clean fruits and veggies well in advance, put in containers and you have them all week long. Boil your eggs so you can grab and go. Always cook left overs and take them in containers with you.

Bag your nuts so you have them readily available as snacks.


I am sorry, but I find the whole "I work long hours", my kids have practice, all as excuses. If you want a different lifestyle, you find the time to do so accordingly.

I currently work 2 jobs (1 full time, 1 part time), cook breakfast every morning for my husband and I, take care of our dogs (includes training, play time and walks), the house, pay bills, do shopping, workout and study for classes (going full time), make my own cleaning supplies, cook everything from scratch and still have time for me (getting hair, nails, tanning, massage and facials).

It just takes time and dedication.

I agree whole heartedly with the OP.

There's the problem, you don't know anything about my circumstances. Or anyone elses, so keep your judgy pants in the closet. My case in point. My JOB is travelling from one hotel to another and evaluating it. The only place I'm ALLOWED to eat is at the hotel restaurant. When I'm home, there is one grocery store. Tell me...what would you have me do? Quit a job I love? Can I move in with you?



And again, because I keep getting sucked in...