Moderation isn’t a plan

Moderation Is Not a Strategy

When I first became a dietitian, I did what most dietitians do: I put people on diets. It seemed straightforward. You’d create a plan, set calorie limits, cut out specific foods and wait for the results to roll in. And, sure enough, the results did come—but only for a while. Inevitably, people would slide back into old habits and I’d see them struggling with the same issues.

That’s when it hit me: I was part of the problem, not the solution I had hoped to be. I knew I had to rethink my approach. So, I asked myself: What now?

I looked around for a better approach.

I love food and the idea of enjoying all kinds of food in balance resonated with me. I never actually wanted to put people on restrictive diets in the first place. I wanted them to have the freedom to eat whatever they wanted, as long as it wasn’t “too much.” This idea of moderation felt healthy and balanced. It sounded lovely—like a little willpower was all it would take.

But as I’ve learned, moderation isn’t the magic key it seems. The problem with moderation is that it’s fuzzy, arbitrary, vague—it’s not a real strategy. What counts as “moderate” can vary widely from person to person and doesn’t necessarily align with what’s effective or healthy.

The Problem with “Moderation”

When we tell ourselves to eat in moderation, we’re setting ourselves up with a concept that our brain can’t quite picture. What exactly does “moderation” mean?

Without any clear boundaries, the brain has nothing concrete to work with and our old habits—the ones that helped us gain the weight in the first place—easily slide back into place.

Research in behavioural psychology confirms this: specific, actionable goals are the key to real change. When a goal is vague (like “eat less sugar”), it’s hard to stick to, because it doesn’t create a clear path to follow. “Moderation” might sound nice, but it’s about as non-specific as a goal can get, leaving us with little to guide our actions.

Another challenge is that moderation is a relative term. When we talk about “moderate” amounts of something, we relate it to what we unconsciously perceive as normal. This perception of “normal” has shifted over time and unfortunately, it’s not always a healthy benchmark. For example, young Australians now consume well over 16 teaspoons of added sugar per day—more than double the recommended limit of 6 teaspoons per day. Even if you cut back to half of this current average, which might feel “moderate” by today’s standards, it’s still more than what’s recommended for good health.

The same problem goes for things we’re not consuming enough of, like vegetables or exercise. In our current culture, where activity levels and vegetable intake are shockingly low, a “moderate” increase might feel like a lot but still be way short of what’s needed for optimal health. In these cases, relying on moderation can leave us feeling satisfied with far less than what we truly need to be in our best shape.

Creating an Actionable Strategy

To be clear, I’m not dismissing incremental improvements. Small changes, especially ones you can sustain, are incredibly valuable. But rather than aim for a vague ideal like “moderation,” your energy is better spent on forming specific, measurable habits. Rather than telling yourself to “eat less sugar,” try a habit like “take a piece of fruit to work so you don’t end up eating biscuits.” Instead of aiming to “exercise more,” try “go for a 15-minute walk after lunch each day.”

To build a habit effectively, you need to identify the specific time and place the behaviour occurs. By crafting a clear plan for these moments, you’re giving your brain a structure to follow—something far more actionable than the abstract idea of “moderation.”

So, next time you find yourself aiming for moderation, think about how you can break that down into a concrete step.

Ask yourself what exactly it means to eat moderately, exercise moderately, or rest moderately. Define the action, determine when you’re going to do it and put it in your diary.

Because what gets scheduled, gets done!