7/23 Myth Busting Monday

Jessie benches a moderate amount of weight:-) 

The Myth of "Everything in Moderation"

"Everything in moderation," is something I hear everyday and it makes me crazy. This ridiculous and illogical saying has gained traction in our culture of, "I deserve it," and today I'm calling bullshit on the myth of moderation. 
The problem with "everything in moderation," is that it's a moving target. There is no objective, one size fits all, definitive Moderation. What we consider moderate  while we're on the last week of the Whole Life Challenge and kicking ass, taking names, over 30 days of Paleo, Thank-You-Very-Much is VASTLY different than what we consider moderate in that last week of December between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Right? Think about that for a moment. If there wasn't a huge cavernous span in our decision between what's moderate now versus December 28th, we wouldn't need to be doing, yet another, Whole Life Challenge, or Whole30, or Isagenix cleanse, or any kind of time dependent fix-my-bad-decisions-challenge. 
"Everything in moderation," is a LIE that we tell ourselves to justify a decision we know is not moving us toward our goal. It is the justification we use to allow ourselves to eat the thing, drink the drink, take the days off from the gym, and do whatever we want to do right now, "'Cause YOLO." This simple lie enables us to dodge discipline, avoid accountability, and trick ourselves out of temperance. 
It is also used by other people to pressure us into a behavior that makes THEM feel better. Far too any times have I been pressured by friends, co-workers, and family to eat the cookies, cakes, pies, candy, etc., because it makes them feel better to see me do it. Why? Because my discipline makes people uncomfortable. Our actions and decisions often are a mirror for the people around us. So many times have I seen people wrestle with the consequences of their decisions once they see me stand-firm with mine. 
Our culture resolutely accepts that moderation does not work for an alcoholic. Rarely do you see people pressuring sober folks into having "just one, because everything in moderation, yo." Why do we not afford this same consideration to people who don't want to eat sugar? Or grains? Or meat? Or anything else about which they have personally decided that abstinence is their moderation?
Everything in moderation is a myth because some things, even in moderation, will kill you. Everything in moderation is a myth because some things we need in more than moderate amounts, like 78% nitrogen and some in less than moderate amounts, like 21% oxygen. Everything in moderation is a myth because some things we want to achieve, i.e. our goals, require discipline.  Everything in moderation is a myth that keeps us bound to the hell of our own status quo.

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