It is the time of year where many new years resolutions are hitting there intended targets. I hear patients who have done certain cleanses or diets with time limits on them that have reached their one month goal or they have reached a target weight that they set out for. So when the detox, 30 day challenge or diet plan ends where do we go from there. We all know that living yo-yo dieting and exercising is not the answer to health. We as a society seem to be increasingly worried about what is healthy and what is not healthy. This seems to get worse with the intense diets and eating regimens that people are trying. The reason for this in my opinion is that true health comes from moderation. Yes eating only whole foods and a wide variety of them that meets all of our nutritional requirements is the ideal while exercising at least 30 minutes a day 5 days a week would be ideal for all of us but life happens and this is difficult for most of us to achieve in real life. This is why I want us to start thinking about moderation. We cannot exercise intensely one month out of the year and eat a extremely strict diet for that same month and then live off fast food the next 11 months and expect this to make us healthy. In return much like how a short period of exercise wont get us in shape a occasional lazy day or fast food stop is not going to ruin our health either. I would of course prefer all my patients to never eat fast food, drink alcohol, eat sugar or processed foods but again that is impractical you just must keep it in moderation. As you reach the goals that you have set for your self during this resolution season please try to add in your bad habits in moderation because for most things a little bit is tolerable it is excess that hurts us. 

This is why a variety of exercises and food is important. If you only run on the treadmill for exercise you are missing out on working many muscle groups. If you only eat one or two different foods each meal even if it is just chicken and broccoli you will be missing out on key nutrients that your body needs to survive and thrive. 

Please live with variety and with moderation.