Can’t I just eat whatever I want in moderation and forget all this diet crap.

Yep. Common sense. "Everything in moderation, even moderation".

Yes: if you have self-control, remain active, understand balance, know your limits, and know your goals, you can (and should) eat some moderate amount of whatever foods you want.

Very few people have all of that, especially the self-control and activity parts. And now that I think about it, most people lack balance. And usually people don't know when to stop. Plus many people don't have any goals.

So yeah. We have dietary recommendations for very good reason. People love having something to ignore.

vonschnapps wrote:

I’ve been in good health, weight is fine, all metabolic indicators are fine and have been for a long time. Run 20-30mpw plus swim and bike, and lift. Should I even care what I eat? I’m burning off everything. So why do I feel guilty for eating pizza, ice cream, a coke, or McDonalds? If I don’t overdo it, eat a variety of everything, does it matter. I love eggs, meat, potatoes, honey, sweet stuff, dairy products, etc. Also love fish, veggies, grains and all that. Do the ‘dietary rules’ really apply to me, or aren’t they really for the inactive bunch of society?

Dietary rules aren't all about just keeping the weight off. Sugar is the new poison...leads not just to obesity (which can be kept in check with exercise and low overall caloric intake), but also is now a main potential (some say for sure) culprit of Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia. More processed foods are cancer-causing culprits.

Variety in your diet is the best idea. They now say olive oil is so good for you that you could drink it. Fruit isn't thought of as highly as it once was due to so much sugar in it, even if eating whole fruit and not just drinking juice.

Best diet would be fish and nuts and seeds and vegetables (especially colorful ones) with just enough carbs in there from other sources to sustain your level of running. Recent studies suggest that even white meat (chicken and turkey) is as bad for you in as red meat wieh concerning elevating levels of cholesterol.

That said, I'm headed to Chipotle tonight for a burrito.

If you just wanna be thin, and roll the dice on health, then yes. Help yourself.

If you see any wisdom in avoiding substances associated with disease, then you may want to consider whether you feel there are legitimate concerns related to the foods we eat.

Foods that i believe are bad for heart health, are not foods that i would enjoy seeing you eat, but it is your heart. Thin people can have disastrously clogged arteries and have early heart attacks. You might feel invincible, until you’re not.

Carcinogens aren’t a great way to eat either. Lots of thin people develop cancer. Athletes don’t get a free pass. You can decide for yourself whether certain dietary patterns are associated with cancer, but it seems like we would be burying our heads in the sand, to think that mcdonalds gives a crap about whether they contribute to cancer. Betty crocker will not be at your bedside when the sh*t has hit the fan!

Sadly, i don’t believe thin equals healthy.

Lots of people whose health is failing now, were skinny as kids, and ate their fill of candy and processed foods. It did not turn out well for them, even though at one point, they seemed to be getting away with murder.

Sounds like you are arguing with yourself.

I don't know, why do you feel guilty about eating those things if you don't think it's an issue in moderation?

What you can "get away with" at 18 is very different than at age 36, much less older.

No bacon, easy on the butter, and watch out for sugar in foods where you wouldn't even expect to find it. For an active person, anything else is fine. As someone who has been both very athletic and very sedentary, I can tell you that intense exercise actually regulates (usually involving lots of perspiration) cravings. When you run regularly, you don't have a craving for enormous amounts of crap food. If you're not active, and you start getting into the crap food, you'll want more and more crap food. You know that thing they say about how you can feel really hungry when you're not really hungry at all? That happens.

To what "dietary rules" are you referring? In the absence of any kind of pathology that would create specific dietary needs, "exercise moderation and eat a wide variety of foods including plenty of vegetables" is pretty much the standard advice I received from everyone from my grandmother to my med school professors.

As We Speak wrote:

No bacon, easy on the butter, and watch out for sugar in foods where you wouldn't even expect to find it. For an active person, anything else is fine. As someone who has been both very athletic and very sedentary, I can tell you that intense exercise actually regulates (usually involving lots of perspiration) cravings. When you run regularly, you don't have a craving for enormous amounts of crap food. If you're not active, and you start getting into the crap food, you'll want more and more crap food. You know that thing they say about how you can feel really hungry when you're not really hungry at all? That happens.

Bacon is perfectly healthy and butter (preferably grassfed) is very good for you. Seed oils (canola, corn, safflower, etc.) are toxic, atherosclerotic and carciogenic.

Sugars, processed foods and schnapps are great ingredients for a bad diet.

I don’t feel guilty for eating but I do for masterbation.

My guilty pleasure wrote:

I don’t feel guilty for eating but I do for masterbation.

Well then just eat your semen so that you can tell yourself that you aren't jerking off, but rather just having a snack.

YMMV wrote:

As We Speak wrote:

No bacon, easy on the butter, and watch out for sugar in foods where you wouldn't even expect to find it. For an active person, anything else is fine. As someone who has been both very athletic and very sedentary, I can tell you that intense exercise actually regulates (usually involving lots of perspiration) cravings. When you run regularly, you don't have a craving for enormous amounts of crap food. If you're not active, and you start getting into the crap food, you'll want more and more crap food. You know that thing they say about how you can feel really hungry when you're not really hungry at all? That happens.

Bacon is perfectly healthy and butter (preferably grassfed) is very good for you. Seed oils (canola, corn, safflower, etc.) are toxic, atherosclerotic and carciogenic.

Hail YMMV, the king of bacon! Predictable as f..k.

vonschnapps wrote:

I’ve been in good health, weight is fine, all metabolic indicators are fine and have been for a long time. Run 20-30mpw plus swim and bike, and lift. Should I even care what I eat? I’m burning off everything. So why do I feel guilty for eating pizza, ice cream, a coke, or McDonalds? If I don’t overdo it, eat a variety of everything, does it matter. I love eggs, meat, potatoes, honey, sweet stuff, dairy products, etc. Also love fish, veggies, grains and all that. Do the ‘dietary rules’ really apply to me, or aren’t they really for the inactive bunch of society?

This is basically what's been on my mind recently. Coming from someone who at times is insanely strict with calorie counting, I'm wondering constantly what's the point? I agree with your mantra.

you again wrote:

YMMV wrote:

Bacon is perfectly healthy and butter (preferably grassfed) is very good for you. Seed oils (canola, corn, safflower, etc.) are toxic, atherosclerotic and carciogenic.

Hail YMMV, the king of bacon! Predictable as f..k.

Right as f..k too. And proving it everyday.

if what you are doing is working, then keep doing it

however, as one ages the idea of "eat whatever I want" but do it in moderation usually - in reality - is a slippery slope to a big gut...but if you don't have one then you are good to go

that's how it see it....proof is in the pudding

I have to follow a key-toe diet, carbs no more than 20mg daily, or I instantly gain 20 pounds.

But I can eat an absolute crapton of protein and fat, as long as NO sugar, and maintain weight. Calories-in calories-out is BS.

YMMV wrote:

Bacon is perfectly healthy and butter (preferably grassfed) is very good for you. Seed oils (canola, corn, safflower, etc.) are toxic, atherosclerotic and carciogenic.

Bacon is bad for you. Just look at YMMV. Do you want to be like him?

If you eat whole unprocessed foods or cook your own food you don't need to worry about dieting or splurging every now and then (ie. on a daily basis)