{"id":11670,"date":"2010-10-18T13:18:36","date_gmt":"2010-10-18T17:18:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nomeatathlete.com\/?p=11670"},"modified":"2020-04-07T15:38:50","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T19:38:50","slug":"the-great-moderation-hoax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nomeatathlete.com\/the-great-moderation-hoax\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great 'Moderation' Hoax"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few weeks ago, I went to a vegetarian potluck dinner.\u00a0 I was hoping to meet some fellow vegetarians and vegans in my suburbia of a hometown, and to eat some good vegan food.<\/p>\n

That much was a success, but it’s not why I’m telling this story.<\/p>\n

What made the night memorable (and pretty entertaining) was the presence of a older woman that came to it.\u00a0 She was there for one purpose: to argue with everyone, trying to convince us that this vegetarian stuff was all “bullshit,” and that eating meat is healthy and there’s nothing at all wrong with it.<\/p>\n

Though I completely disagreed with what she was saying, I actually found some bit of respect for this woman for having the balls to do something like this.\u00a0 She knew she’d be alone in her views and the antagonist at the dinner, yet she felt strongly enough about her views to do it anyway.\u00a0 Sort of badass, really.<\/p>\n

But then she said something that made me think.\u00a0 Backpedaling a little bit in an argument with someone, she said the words, “Meat is just fine, in moderation.”<\/p>\n

“In moderation”<\/h3>\n

I know that this woman doesn’t eat meat in moderation.\u00a0 She wouldn’t have been so anti-vegetarian if she did.\u00a0 But she probably tells herself that it’s moderation.<\/p>\n

And that’s why I hate moderation as a diet strategy: “Moderation” can be any amount that’s convenient, and it’s a slippery slope from healthy moderation to excess.<\/p>\n

For me, moderation only works with things I don’t like all that much anyway.\u00a0 I can drink a soda once every two months, really enjoy it, and not want it again for another two months.\u00a0 But that’s because I just don’t like soda that much.<\/p>\n

For things I really like, such as a cup of coffee or a good craft beer, that doesn’t work.\u00a0 I’m either on a kick where I’m trying to avoid it, or on a kick where I’m having one every day.\u00a0 (The beer waits until evening, I swear.)<\/p>\n

I can understand that moderation in diet does work for some people, even if not for me.\u00a0 But when the “moderation” argument goes beyond diet, I have no patience for it.<\/p>\n

Moderation is a recipe for mediocrity<\/h3>\n

You’ve heard it a million times, applied to diet, exercise, and pretty much anything else:<\/p>\n

Everything in moderation.<\/p>\n

I think that’s the worst advice ever.\u00a0 If we listened to that, we’d all be the same boring person.<\/p>\n

Most of you don’t eat meat in moderation.\u00a0 Instead, you don’t eat it at all.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because you’re passionate about it.\u00a0 You believe that it’s either terribly unhealthy or very wrong.\u00a0 Because you care about one of these things, you don’t eat meat, ever.<\/p>\n

If you’re not vegetarian, it’s something else.\u00a0 Maybe it’s running.\u00a0 I know that if I had run in moderation, I sure as hell would have never qualified for Boston<\/a>.\u00a0 Running is not something that came naturally to me, at all.\u00a0 But when I signed up this morning to run Boston next year, it sure felt good to know that all those hours on the track and the refusal to miss a workout were worth it.\u00a0 (If you’re planning to run Boston in 2011, by the way, you had better get over there and sign up<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Michael Phelps didn’t win eight gold medals in one Olympics by practicing swimming in moderation.\u00a0 He does multiple workouts every day, at the expense, I’m sure, of other interests and even relationships.\u00a0 But swimming is more important than these other things to him, and that’s why he’s the best at it.<\/p>\n

My friend Robert Cheeke doesn’t practice moderation when he tours the country to reach as many people as he can as an advocate for veganism and health.\u00a0 Karol Gajda wouldn’t be Ridiculously Extraordinary<\/a> if he traveled in moderation or practiced minimalism in moderation.\u00a0 “Own 500 things” just doesn’t have the same power to inspire that 100 or 50 or fewer does.<\/p>\n

When people tell you to practice moderation, it’s because they like the status quo<\/h3>\n

I learned this from Tony Robbins, and I didn’t believe it at first.\u00a0 But looking back, I realize that anytime someone told me to take it easy with a certain interest that I was spending all my time on, whether it was playing drums in high school, gambling<\/a> and lifting weights in college, and more recently, running like a madman or experimenting with diets that seem excessive, it was because they didn’t want me to change.<\/p>\n

They liked me the way I was, and change was threatening to them in some way.\u00a0 It wasn’t for my own good they did it, but for theirs.<\/p>\n

I’m not saying people are wrong for this.\u00a0 I probably do it to my friends too.\u00a0 But it’s what happens, and I’m glad that I’m aware of it now.<\/p>\n

If you’ve practiced moderation all your life, starting practicing moderation in moderation.\u00a0 For a while, go batshit crazy with whatever you’re passionate about at the moment.\u00a0 Ignore anyone who tells you to chill out.\u00a0 See how that treats you.\u00a0 I can’t imagine being happy any other way.<\/p>\n

(There is, of course, one good kind of moderation…the kind I do in the NMA forums!\u00a0 Get in there and join the conversation<\/a> if you haven’t yet.)<\/p>\n

Congrats to Baltimore Running Festival finishers!<\/h3>\n

Just a quick shout out to a few friends who I got to see at the Baltimore Running Festival this weekend.\u00a0 Congratulations to Pete, who ran his first half, his brother Matt, Joe, and other NMA readers who said they’d be there but that I didn’t get a chance to see.<\/p>\n

I was planning to run part of the relay in place of my cousin, who got injured, but I woke up puking on Thursday and didn’t eat for two days, so I figured running would be a be a bad idea.\u00a0 Fortunately, my wife, Erin, filled in for me and did a great job on such short notice.\u00a0 Thanks, E! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few weeks ago, I went to a vegetarian potluck dinner.\u00a0 I was hoping to meet some fellow vegetarians and vegans in my suburbia of a hometown, and to eat some good vegan food. That much was a success, but it’s not why I’m telling this story. What made the night memorable (and pretty entertaining) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":11676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11670","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motivation","8":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Great 'Moderation' Hoax | No Meat Athlete<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why moderation is not the goal, but the status quo and what should focus on instead.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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