Is total abstention easier than moderation?

"A piece of advice I often see is, “Be moderate. Don’t have ice cream every night, but if you try to deny yourself altogether, you’ll fall off the wagon. Allow yourself to have the occasional treat, it will help you stick to your plan.”

I’ve come to believe that this is good advice for some people: the “moderators.” They do better when they try to make moderate changes, when they avoid absolutes and bright lines.

For a long time, I kept trying this strategy of moderation–and failing. Then I read a line from Samuel Johnson, who said, when someone offered him wine: “Abstinence is as easy to me as temperance would be difficult.”

Ah ha! Like Dr. Johnson, I’m an “abstainer.”

I find it far easier to give something up altogether than to indulge moderately. When I admitted to myself that I was eating my favorite frozen yogurt treat very often, two and even three times a day, I gave it up cold turkey. That was far easier for me to do than to eat it twice a week. If I try to be moderate, I exhaust myself debating, “Today, tomorrow?” “Does this time ‘count’?” etc. If I never do something, it requires no self-control for me; if I do something sometimes, it requires enormous self-control.

There’s no right way or wrong way–it’s just a matter of knowing which strategy works better for you. "

So, what about you guys? Are you moderators or abstainers?

For the rest of the article: http://happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2012/05/quiz-are-you-an-abstainer-or-a-moderator/

I do moderation because it's harder. Anything to help me improve self control

I also tend to question those who claim they do/believe in "everything in moderation." I've witnessed far too many people proudly claim this mantra, when in reality, their extremism only surfaces in different areas in their life. ...maybe I'm just a little jealous that they can enjoy a small treat; meanwhile, if I attempt to do the same, a war is raged inside my head, lol.

Most people simply don't have the self-control to completely deny themselves all of the unhealthy delicious foods they love. We can hold on for a certain amount of time but the rubber band eventually snaps and a binge results.

For people who can abstain, that's great. It's certainly ideal to not eat those unhealthy foods.

For the rest of us, it's just building up pressure that's bound to explode sooner or later. It's much easier to keep your head balanced if you plan for the occasional treat and keep it within the boundaries of your diary and goals.

I work in a lunch every couple weeks where I have a couple slices of pizza. This prevents me from spending a month thinking about nothing but pizza, and eventually caving and eating a whole pie.

For some people, I'm sure abstention is easier. I am of the opinion that those lucky folks are the minority.

Most people simply don't have the self-control to completely deny themselves all of the unhealthy delicious foods they love. We can hold on for a certain amount of time but the rubber band eventually snaps and a binge results.

For people who can abstain, that's great. It's certainly ideal to not eat those unhealthy foods.

For the rest of us, it's just building up pressure that's bound to explode sooner or later. It's much easier to keep your head balanced if you plan for the occasional treat and keep it within the boundaries of your diary and goals.

I work in a lunch every couple weeks where I have a couple slices of pizza. This prevents me from spending a month thinking about nothing but pizza, and eventually caving and eating a whole pie.

For some people, I'm sure abstention is easier. I am of the opinion that those lucky folks are the minority.

SIDE NOTE: Is your display pic a picture of the Dr. Seuss story about the pale green pants with nobody inside them? Cause I used to read that story to my daughter lol She loved it!!! (and so did I haha)

I think there are trigger foods that must be abstained from and others that can be enjoyed in moderation and that is what makes this so difficult.