Category: Healthy Diet

Lose Weight With These Easy Portion Control Tips

Did you know that the average restaurant meal is now four times larger than a meal in the 1950’s?  It’s no wonder that the average adult is 26 pounds heavier than sixty years ago!

You can lose weight with portion control. That’s one of the most important secrets behind weight loss.  When you cut back on portion sizes and take a balanced approach to healthy eating, you will see your weight drop.

Unlike restrictive diets which can lead to binging, portion control teaches you how to eat the foods you like in moderation. You may be asking how to control portion sizes without scales and various other measuring tools, or what to do when you eat out. Great questions!

Five Simple Tips for Portion Control:

1)  Read the fine print!  Yes! The labels will tell you how many calories, but make sure you read how many servings are in that bag of chips, energy drink, soda, box of crackers, etc.  Most snack size bags are actually two servings — not one!

2)  Are your plates super sized? Over the years it’s become fashionable to have large plates. Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you to get new dishes! However, a plate that is smaller will appear fuller and may satisfy you more.

If you feel like you need the extra visual help, you can purchase plates that have the portion sizes built into them. Everything from plastic to china. Another way I combat the empty looking plate is to use bowls. They appear fuller and I am able to scoop out the proper portion sizes with a ladle.

3)  Develop a simple visual system. Not all plates are created equal. so it’s helpful to know what a proper serving is. Here are some visual cues/examples to help you with portion size:

  1. Vegetables or fruit: about the size of your fist.
  2. Carbohydrates like pasta, rice, and starchy vegetables: A single serving is 1/2 cup or the size of a cupcake wrapper.
  3. Meat, fish, or poultry: the size of a deck of cards or the size of your palm (minus the fingers).
  4. Snacks such as pretzels and chips: about the size of a cupped handful.
  5. Apple: the size of a baseball.
  6. Potato: the size of a computer mouse.
  7. Bagel: the size of a hockey puck.
  8. Pancakes or lunch meat: the size of a compact disc.
  9. Cheese: the size of a pair of dice or the size of your whole thumb (from the tip to the base).
  10. A tablespoon of food such as peanut butter, salad dressing, hummus:  The size of your whole thumb.

4)  It’s okay to go back for seconds! Try serving from the kitchen counter to avoid reaching mindlessly for a second helping. If after 20 minutes you are still hungry, then go back and load up on veggies or a 1/4 to 1/2 second serving.

Eating out?  No problem. Ask your server about the portion sizes. Start with one or two dishes and then decide if you want more. The kitchen will still be there!

5)  You do not have to finish everything on your plate!  Many of us were raised not to waste. This was a really important thing to teach us as children, and I am grateful for that up-bringing. Unfortunately, this has been linked to overeating in adults.

I give you full permission to leave food on your plate. You will not be sent to your room! That may sound silly. However, so much of our childhood training affects the way we look at food. If you are like me and really dislike wasting food, then simply place whatever is left in a small container. You can have it as a snack or combine it with your lunch.

So there you go! These strategies can be implemented right away to help you with weight loss. Portion control is one of the best ways to begin cutting back on unnecessary calories without depriving yourself.

Have questions or tricks to share?  I’d love to hear from you below!

Blessings to you and yours!

Jennifer

 

If I Skip Meals Will I Lose Weight?

Woman is Hungry Dieting

Does your new year’s resolution have you tempted to skip meals to lose weight? If so, you’re not alone. It’s very common for people to experiment by skipping meals to accelerate their weight loss — especially in January after the holiday festivities!

It’s no secret that you must cut and/0r burn calories to lose weight. And, while skipping meals may produce quick weight loss in the beginning, the reality is, the long term results of a “starvation” type diet can be devastating.

Four Reasons not to skip meals!

1)  Slows down your metabolism. When you skip meals, your body goes into “starvation” mode. This causes the body to slow the metabolism for survival and use less calories throughout the day. That’s the last thing you want when you are trying to lose weight!

2)  Unsustainable! Skipping meals to lose weight does not create habits that will help maintain your weight loss for good. It actually does the opposite. Once you’ve lost the weight and begin eating normally again, you will most likely gain all of the weight back. In many cases more than you started with!

3)  Harmful to your health! Skipping meals deprives your body of the fuel it needs to operate properly. It affects your blood sugar, which will cloud your thinking and cause fatigue. People who skip meals are usually robbing their body of essential nutrients and can experience a weakened immune system as well as other negative side effects.

4)  Causes Overeating! When you allow yourself to get overly hungry, you are more likely to overeat and/or binge. This will cause you to consume more calories than you normally would in one sitting, sabotaging all of your efforts to cut back.

Lose weight the smart way!

1)  Knowledge is key! Start by figuring out how many calories you need to cut out in order to reach your goal. Use an app like loseit to calculate what you consume versus how much you burn. Once you determine the deficit, you can decide each day what changes you want to make.

2)  Make a plan! The best way to lose weight permanently is to create a healthy eating plan and an exercise routine you can stick to.

A healthy (balanced) eating plan is usually a combination of three larger meals (aka breakfast, lunch, and dinner) with two snacks in between. Depending on what time you eat dinner, an evening snack may be needed as well. Don’t go to bed hungry!

Here’s an example of a balanced approach to a healthy eating plan:

  • Breakfast 400 calories
  • Snack 200 calories
  • Lunch 400 calories
  • Snack 200 calories
  • Dinner 400 calories
  • Total calories 1600.
This is for sample purposes. You’ll want to calculate your own total. You may discover you need more than 1600 calories depending on how active you are or how much exercise you plan on doing.

Skipping meals may seen enticing in the beginning, but long term success comes from a more balanced approach.  Besides, a balanced approach should sound a whole lot more fun and realistic to you than being hungry all the time.

Please let me know if you have any questions by commenting below! I am here to help you succeed!

Blessings!

Jennifer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Six of the Best Healthy Christmas Food Gifts

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Are you considering a food gift for someone on your list? Food is a great Christmas gift for the people that are hard to buy for and almost everyone likes to receive a goody in the mail! However, many people are working hard to maintain their weight this time of year. So if you know your recipient is trying to watch calories, you may want to skip the giant box of truffles and go for something a bit easier on the waistline.

1)  Fruit Basket or box of fruit. Harry & David is a great option. One of their most popular gifts this time of year are fresh pears. They’re delicious and can be served in multiple ways. You can even suggest poaching them and topping them off with a bit of cinnamon for a dessert! 

 2)  Indoor Herb Garden. Great idea for families and people who love to cook! Kids will enjoy the gardening project, and it’s convenient to have your herbs fresh in the kitchen. 

3)  Flavored Oils. Heart healthy flavored olive oil is a treat that cooks might not buy for themselves, but would enjoy having in their kitchen.

4)  Coffee and Tea. Specialty coffees and teas with a nice mug are a great Christmas gift that won’t sabotage a person’s healthy eating plan. If you’re not sure about the caffeine, go for an herbal tea that is naturally caffeine free.

5)  Subscription to a healthy cooking magazine or a cookbook. If you know the person on your list likes to use “lighter” recipes, this is a great gift. If they’ve never mentioned a desire to use low-cal recipes, I would skip this idea. A random arrival of a magazine like “Cooking Light” could be taken the wrong way. Best to know for sure on this one.

6)  Gift Cards. Restaurant or coffee shop gift cards are excellent Christmas gifts to send someone. You can be sure it will get used and won’t linger around the house like a box of chocolates! Your recipient will be able to work the gift into their healthy eating plan and will love you for the treat!

So relax and enjoy that last bit of shopping! It’s easy with the gifts I mentioned above!

Have a gift idea you’d like to share? Please leave a comment below.  I’d love to hear your ideas!

Merry Christmas!

Jennifer