As we go into the New Year most of us have put on a few pounds though the holidays. Yes, some of it was from eating the wrong food, but often it is eating too much of the right food. I was a guest at the home of a wonderful long-term friend last night who had put on a few extra pounds since I have seen her. She is a fantastic cook. This is what she said to me when we met at the door, “ I have been eating the right food but just too much.” Now when I put on a few pounds that fit me too.”
So what is the right amount? Even I was surprised when I got out my scale and weighed ½ cup of low fat cottage cheese yesterday to find out I have been eating about ¼ cup too much every time that I spooned it out of the container.
There are three ways to portion out your food:
1. Eyeball the amount you will eat.
2. Measure with a measuring spoon, a cup or a scoop
3. Weigh it with a scale.
I tend to use all three but I am by far more accurate when I use a scale. Stop into a Weight Watcher store or go to Amazon.com and you can find an excellent scale that can be your guide. I like one that weighs both in grams and ounces and that will let me put a container on the scale and then push “0”. This allows me to only measure the portion and not the container.
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Now where do you find out how much is a serving? On the back of every package is a label. At the top of the label is the portion size. Usually it is given both in weight and in grams. If you do not find it on the package or you buy a fruit, vegetable or meat go to Google and put in “serving size for item (like banana).”
Measuring out you portions is a way to tell your self when to stop. It is a way to put boundaries on what you eat. I notice when I eat out of a bowl or open contain I seem to have a “brain chip” in my head that says I can go back for “just a little” more. When it is measured out my “brain chip” says, “you must stop you have had your serving.”
I found some excellent guidelines from the Cleveland Clinic:
Quick and easy household measurements to use as portion control guides
- 3 ounces of meat is about the size and thickness of a deck of playing cards.
- A medium sized piece of fruit is the size of a tennis ball.
- 1 ounce of cheese is about the size of four stacked dice.
1. ½ cup of ice cream is the size of a tennis ball.
- 1 cup of mashed potatoes is the size of your fist (depending on your size; commonly the size of a female fist).
- 1 ounce of nuts should fit into the small of your hand.
1 teaspoon of margarine or butter is about the size of the tip of your thumb.
For a detailed listing of portion sized got to:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/weight/servingsize.aspx
The five big keys for me to lose 125 lbs and keep it off have been:
1. Portion size
2. Eating nutritious food
3. Getting adequate exercise and sleep
4. Having the desire to do and stick with the program
5. Taking small steps in the right direction day after day.
You can be a “big winner” at the losing game. As Churchill said, Never, Never, Never give up.” Start today to get into the shape you desire.
