One lump or two?

Portion size has never been a real concern to me.  In February of last year, my nutritionist turned a light bulb on in my head and it all changed.  Check out the below recommendation portion sizes then meet me below  :)

Portion size is always an issue.  Today, if you go out to eat the portions you are served are massive, often three times the healthy portion size.  60 million Americans, 20 yrs or older, are obese.  (A person is considered "obese" when their Body Mass Index (BMI) is 30 or greater.  A healthy BMI is 18.5 - 24.9  Before I lost all the weight, my BMI was 41.  Now it is 24.4.  What is yours?  Find out:  http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bminojs.htm  9 million children and teens between the ages of 6 & 19 are overweight!  For details: http://www.getamericafit.org/statistics-obesity-in-america.html
Look at the difference in portion sizes over the last twenty years:

                   

In a day of super sizing and preservative city, it is no wonder that we are taking in way more than what is necessary to sustain us.  But just because you are given this massive amount of food at the restaurant doesn't mean you have to eat it.  YOU are in control.  If you find that you lose control when you go out because of pressure from your company or you feel awkward limiting your portions because you are focusing on what the person across the table is thinking then either don't go OR ask the waitress to bring a take out box with your meal and put half of it in the box as soon as it arrives.  Seriously.  You have to start somewhere.  Every little bit helps.  Start now.  YOU are in control. 

That is all when you are out at a restaurant (I have drastically changed the frequency of eating out because it is so hard to control what I am putting into my mouth calorie wise vs. when I cook my own food, I know how much olive oil, salt, sugar etc I have used), what about when you eat at home?  I made a few changes which have made a huge difference for my family and I. 
1)  I use a small plates- not dinner size plates.  If you use a dinner size plate, the correct portion sizes look so tiny.  You feel deprived.  Use a small plate (this may mean you need to go out and purchase some new dishes) at every meal and then you are already shrinking your portion size.  If it doesn't fit on your plate- don't eat it.
2)  No more buffet style eating
I prepare a nice dinner for my family and I serve them a healthy portion -healthy as in recommended- not healthy as in robust ;).  Then I put it away.  Seriously, I put it up on the counter in left over Tupperware.  If anyone wants seconds after they have finished their entire meal (yes-even the veggies), they can have a bit, but it isn't laid out on the table for the taking.  What happens there is that it tastes so good, so you reach for more.  I have made it refilling our plate inconvenient and I have taken it out of the equation by removing it from the table.  Out of sight, out of mind.

3)  Your outta here!
After everyone is nearing the completion of their dinner (first helping!), I start talking about dessert.  (Dessert is a whole other blog topic, so just assume that is healthy too for now ;)   )  As soon as we start dessert, I pack up all the dinner food items and put it away.  No picking while cleaning up.  No seconds just because it tastes good.  If the temptation is removed, it helps A LOT!

Portion or serving size is a an under discussed topic.  Before February of 2011, I rarely even glanced at the serving sizes on food packaging.

(There is so much more on nutrition facts to discuss.  I'll save the dirt on reading labels & nutritional facts for another day)

 I ate what I wanted and made sure that everyone else could too, even if that meant buying two or three of whatever I was making so there was enough to go around.  I have always been careful about what I served and how much I served my little punkins, but when it came to my husband & I, we were eating more then we should've.  Now, everything that goes into my mouth (and each member of my family's mouth) is under portion control.  I do weigh food, but I also use the eyeball method (shown in the second picture).  Each night, my goal is to make enough for dinner so that there is just enough for everyone, again making it difficult to go for seconds and thirds. 

When you really think about it, we are machines.  Machines only need enough fuel to perform their duties.  There is absolutely no need to put more in (calories) then we are taking out (energy needed to perform).

You pay your bills, you take your dog out to pee, you bathe your kids, you deserve to take care of you too.  You are important enough to spend quality time preparing healthy meals and to spend the time determining what your body needs.  Bon appetit.