Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

If you haven’t been following the comments on my post called Supersize Me Rebuttal, you might want to check them out. This following comment was so interesting that I thought I should highlight it:

I just saw this movie last night. The DVD has bonus materials that caught my eye. Specifically the “scientific” mold test he did on fries and a burger from a restaraunt that actually makes their stuff fresh.. then he took the sandwiches and fries from McD’s and put them all in a jar to promote mold growth… the real burger & fries molded in about a week… the McD’s fries didn’t mold after 10 weeks.. the burgers were alient planets all by themselves by that time.. but it took a while.

Point is. What are you actually eating when you eat their fries? I wouldn’t even want to know. I’m sure all of us have performed a variation of this experiment w/out even knowing it… you clean out your car and discover some fries that missed your mouth that have fallen under your seat … God only knows how long it’s been there.. but looks as perfect as the day it was purchased. NO biological breakdown or mold at all… makes ya wonder what you’re really eating.

I, for one, will never eat fast food again.

Comment by Ben — 3/26/2005 @ 8:08 pm

Ben,

You said, “I, for one, will never eat fast food again.” That is just the kind of thinking that can send some people into a purge/binge cycle. If I told myself that I could never eat fast food ever again, I would follow that rule to the letter… for about three-four months (I’ve tried this before, I know my limits).

After three to four months of DENIAL, I would end up bingeing on fast food and end up eating far more than I ever would have if I had told myself that I could eat at fast food restaurants whenever I wanted. Given permission to eat whatever I want, I tend to choose healthier options than if I tell myself that I CAN’T have something.

What we should focus on is being healthy. Which is healthier?

Restricting something from your diet until it becomes the only thing you can think about and bingeing on it beyond comfort.
OR
Allowing small quantities of unhealthy food into your diet tempered by healthy food most of the time.

In my case, I have found that allowing myself permission to eat whatever I want paradoxically helps me eat less. It has been the method that allows me to eat healthier than I ever have in my entire life.

Thanks,
Laura Moncur