Column: Guilty pleasures innocent in moderation

Everyone has a guilty pleasure, or probably more than just one.

According to Women’s Health magazine, women’s guilty pleasures generally include chocolate (shocker), ice cream, potato chips and pizza.

Men tend to be more carnivorous and tend to indulge in steak, fried foods and beer.
I would first like to point out my complete and utter distaste for the phrase “guilty pleasure.”

To have a healthy relationship with food, no one should have certain foods that are off-limits or feel bad after eating a certain item.

While many individuals might not necessarily have an eating disorder, countless people, especially women, have disordered eating patterns.

From a psychological standpoint, restricting yourself from any food will only make you want it that much more and cause you to binge or overeat when you eventually cave in
and eat it.    

As I say this, I would like to point out that I am far from perfect and have guilty pleasures myself. While I deem few foods off-limits, two drinks serve as the Achilles’ heel of
my diet.

For one thing, sitting next to me at the moment is a Diet Coke. I have to admit that I love Diet Coke. There is something about the delicious carbonation of the drink that gets me every time.

However, I hate that unnatural sweeteners give the drink its sweet taste, and I worry about its long-term effect on my body.

The second drink I love is beer: My two favorites are Stella Artois and Guinness. I currently am in training to ride in the Little 500 bicycle race, so these favorites are unfortunately off my regular menu.

With the weather all around Bloomington warming up, not being able to crack open a cold one anytime I want and sit outside and enjoy a burger has been difficult.

At this point, however, the guilt I would feel for regularly drinking and jeopardizing my team’s chances of doing well in the race outweighs my need for the brew.

And by not treating myself regularly, my first post-race beer will taste all the better.

At the end of the day, every individual has some sort of guilty pleasure. To lead a healthy life, we all must learn how to indulge sensibly and not obsess about these things.

I will probably never be able to fully give up drinking Diet Coke or beer even though I know these two drinks are not the best way to hydrate my body.

Nevertheless, despite not being able to conquer my weaknesses, I can embrace them on occasion and learn how to enjoy in moderation.

And though I am losing some small battles, I am taking one step closer to winning the overall war of eating a healthy and balanced diet.

­— hsspence@indiana.edu