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Learning Portion Control and Avoid Portion Distortion

Controlling how much we eat is a problem for most of us; unless you happen to have a bird's appetite. My dear departed Mother was one of those people who really wasn't that interested in food. She used to say, "we should eat to live" not "live to eat." But for most of us food is one of life's pleasures and with so much choice all around us in supermarkets, coffee shops, restaurants and fast-food outlets we have never had it so good and that is why we need to use self-control if we're going to live long healthy lives. Invariably the portions are huge and are definitely getting bigger and so are we!
Yes, a healthy diet and regular exercise are essential if we want to improve our well-being and an important combination to weight loss. However, there is something else we can do to help us from gaining weight and that is 'Portion Control'. In point of fact it is vital in maintaining a steady weight. Our stomach is only as big as our fist so imagine what happens when we jam all that food down our gullet. It wrecks havoc with our digestive system and all those extra calories turn into fat. Imagine stuffing a cushion until it bursts at the seams - well that's what we're doing to our poor bodies. The more food we eat, the more our bodies get used to it and the bigger we get. So how can we help ourselves if we don't have strong will-power?
Eat from smaller 'portion control plates' and drink from smaller glasses
The size of our plates to the shape of our glasses may be telling us to eat and drink more. What happens when we have a bigger plate? We fill it, the same with drink especially alcohol. It's known as 'Portion Distortion' and our crockery and glassware could be conspiring against us. What looks like a hearty meal on a small to medium-sized plate can look like a mere snack on a large one. So what we do is fill up the plate and it's an example of how some of the important choices we make are done subconsciously. According to Professor Brian Wansink, author of 'Mindless Eating', "Each of the innocuous looking items on the table - packages, dishes, glasses and the variety of foods - can increase how much we eat by more than 20%."
Different coloured plates can help
Studies show that people put less on their plate if the colour of the food contrasts with the plate. The contrast is more like a 'wake-up' call to the brain, making us more aware of portion size.
Use smaller serving spoons
By using smaller serving spoons we fool ourselves into thinking that we are getting more food when in actual fact we're probably not.
No serving dishes on the table
It is too tempting to serve 2nd helpings when food is accessible on the table. It is better to serve up individual servings in the kitchen. It requires a little more effort to go to the kitchen for additional food so this will help portion control.
Weighing food is better than guesswork
Pasta, rice and potatoes are the foods we tend to over indulge in. We need to control our measurements. It's all too easy to run riot when preparing dishes made with these foods. 75 g of rice or pasta is sufficient per person and 100 g of potato.
Individual Servings
Instead of buying lunch at work make up individual boxed portions of tuna pasta salad or chicken salad etc at home. Plan the menu ahead and keep in the fridge ready to go. It will be far healthier and cheaper for your pocket. As for dinner, don't forget portion control, any left-over food can be kept in individual containers and frozen ready for another meal. It simplifies life when you have had a busy day at work and don't want the bother of cooking and it's economical too!
Of course it is much easier to eat less in the summer months than in the wintertime when we need more insulation and tend to do less exercise. All those stews and stodgy puddings are delicious but there is no excuse for being a glutton. We should still watch our intake.
Another tip we should adhere to is again something my dear departed Mother used to say to me which was "Masticate your food." In other words we should chew our food slowly and refrain from shovelling our food down. Then we get to enjoy every mouth full and our stomachs have time to digest the food.
Two more don'ts -
(1) Never eat whilst watching TV as we tend to eat more. Always sit at a table.
(2) Try not to buy food when feeling hungry because we always buy more.
When all is said and done, portion control is a routine we should all adopt if we want to get back on track to where human beings should be - healthy and fit, not unhealthy and overweight with far too many of us today suffering from obesity.
My name is Suzy Dorning and I'm passionate about all aspects of weight management and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Through my vast experience and knowledge that I have gained over the years I would like to help others find effective solutions. You can follow me through my blog http://healthybeautywellbeing.blogspot.com/ and come and see what exactly I have to offer you on my website http://slimminghelp4u.com/

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