11/19/2025
Thanksgiving is just around the corner.
And I already know what you’re thinking: “I’ll just do everything in moderation.”
Here’s what I’ve learned after 25+ years: Moderation doesn’t work.
Not because you lack willpower. But because sugary, carby, processed foods are literally addictive.
You wouldn’t tell someone to do drugs “in moderation,” would you?
Yet that’s exactly what we’re told to do with foods that trigger the same dopamine pathways, the same addictive cascade in your brain.
One bite becomes one plate. One plate becomes three days of “I’ll get back on track Monday.”
These foods trigger blood sugar crashes, inflammation surges, cortisol floods - making it almost impossible to stop once you start.
And when your cells are already toxic, your nervous system already dysregulated, your hormones already struggling…
That “moderate” amount doesn’t just set you back a little. It derails everything.
This is why moderation sets you up for failure.
But you don’t have to show up feeling deprived.
You just need “better bad” options:
instead of potato chips
instead of sugar-loaded candy
Monk fruit instead of sugar
Organic flax meal instead of flour
instead of regular soda
instead of cocktails
Strategic swaps let you enjoy the day without triggering the cascade.
I’ve watched too many women derail months of progress because they thought “moderation” would protect them.
It won’t. But smart choices? Those actually work.
What’s your biggest Thanksgiving trigger food? Drop it below and I’ll give you a better option.
