Is Moderation For You?

Picture this. You come home from a long day of work and there is a piece of your favorite cake sitting on the counter.

What do you do? Do you have a couple of bites and having satisfied your craving, save the rest for another day? Or do you have a debate in your head for a few minutes about whether to eat the cake, and, having decided to have some, end up eating the entire piece? 

If you relate to the first scenario, then you are probably an everything in moderation person. You are able to have a couple bites of a cake, eat just a handful of chips, and can easily put your spoon down after one bite of ice cream. The thought of giving something up forever is enough to send you into a panic, while occasionally indulging in that thing helps you stick to your goals. Having a little bit of something makes you want that thing less.

If you are the second person, you are most likely an all-or-nothing person. The idea of moderation doesn’t seem to work for you, but you generally have no problem giving something up completely. You think that abstaining from something is much easier than having or doing that thing occasionally. You will either eat zero cake or the entire cake. You will have no chips or the whole bag of chips. 

I am 100% an all or nothing person. In all areas of my life. When I am in it, I am in it. When I’m not, I’m not. 

If you are having trouble knowing which you are, think about your strongest temptation - are you able to have just a little? Or is it easier for you to abstain from it altogether? 

If I can speak directly to my fellow go big or go home people for a second. I’ll be honest - a lot of advice is for the moderation group and people will probably try to force you to become more like them. 

But know yourself and what works best for you. Then learn how to work with it. 

For example, chocolate is my favorite indulgence. I don’t try to moderate and have it occasionally. That doesn’t work for me. So instead I know that I will indulge when I really want something, such as on my birthday. This also allows me to really enjoy the thing and stop wasting precious energy and brainpower debating if I actually want it at other times. 

So do not feel bad because you are not the type of person who can have 1/2 a cup of ice cream once a week. Or if you are unable to just finally and completely give up candy. 

The quickest path to changing your habits and achieving your goals is doing it the way that works best and is easiest for YOU.