I discovered this article after a friend pinned it over at Pinterest - and I was instantly drawn to the paragraph I've bolded. It makes SO much sense why it is so hard to get yourself back on track after you've "fallen off the Clean Eating wagon."
I've reprinted the article verbatim; it's by a NYC nutritionist named Dana James.
Why The "Everything In Moderation" Rule Doesn't Work
by Dana James, MS, CNS, CDN.
Two squares of dark chocolate…every night. A glass of wine…every night. A coconut macaroon…every night. All perfectly acceptable, under the weight loss mantra “everything in moderation.”
But will this behavior actually give you a hot rockin’ body?
Unlikely.
Genetically,
we are not moderate beings. We are feast and famine. We thrive on the
polarity of extremes. We are pleasure seekers and moderation doesn’t
induce much pleasure.
Moderation is eating less
than you want, in the hope that it will assuage a more primal
gluttonous urge. For most people, it doesn’t. Nor does it take away
those social engagements that require us to be more fluid with our food
choices. The end result? Small treats on a daily basis AND indulgent
social eating.
Daily treat-eating also changes
your brain chemistry. After just seven days, the dopamine receptor cells
start to down-regulate. This means that more dopamine is required to
elicit the same mild and pleasurable response. When two squares of dark chocolate were enough to soothe you, it goes up to four pieces, six pieces, then half a bar.
Even
more insidious is that the daily treat-eating becomes a conditioned
response. After dinner, you’ll feel compelled to have a treat, much like
one of Pavlovian’s dogs.
You, however, are not a dog. You can consciously turn this response off. You do this, by stopping the everyday treat eating and trashing the “everything in moderation” rule.
Instead,
plan two meals per week where you savor and enjoy your chosen
pleasure-inducing food. When you’re tempted outside of these two meals,
remind yourself how truly enjoyable these meals are.
And
make them enjoyable. Pull out the silverware, use pretty plates, add a
napkin, engage with friends or an amour du jour, make it blissful and
quote Oscar Wilde, “everything in moderation, including moderation."