As you know, there are no forbidden foods in my healthy lifestyle. Forbidding things (like chocolate or Christmas cookies) can be a trigger for me. So in order to still enjoy certain things that I love, I've learned to embrace portion control. I'm not overly keen on the phrase "portion control" but I have yet to think of a clever euphemism. Moving on, portion control is something that takes a bit of practice but it's a skill worth having. It allows me to eat a wide variety of delicious foods while taking really good care of my health and continue working toward my weight loss goal.
One of my favorite tricks is to check the serving size of the particular recipe that I'm cooking. If the recipe serves 4, I portion out 4 servings. One for my husband, one for me and the other two servings go into two plastic containers and straight into the fridge for lunch or dinner at work on an upcoming shift. This keeps us from stuffing ourselves. It's not like we can't have a snack later on. And speaking of snacks, until I learned to eyeball a quarter cup (which is the serving size of most nuts, granola and trail mixes) I kept the quarter cup measure right in the pantry near where I keep the snacks. It's an easy trick when dealing with high calorie but otherwise nutritious foods.
Spark people has a quick guide to portion sizes you can print off and stick on the fridge or pantry door. Also, The Portion Teller Plan, which I reviewed here, is a really helpful guide to learning how to master portion control.
It took me a long time to learn that portion control isn't about restriction. It has actually allowed me to reclaim my health and lose over 93 pounds while still enjoying so many of the foods that I love.
One of my favorite tricks is to check the serving size of the particular recipe that I'm cooking. If the recipe serves 4, I portion out 4 servings. One for my husband, one for me and the other two servings go into two plastic containers and straight into the fridge for lunch or dinner at work on an upcoming shift. This keeps us from stuffing ourselves. It's not like we can't have a snack later on. And speaking of snacks, until I learned to eyeball a quarter cup (which is the serving size of most nuts, granola and trail mixes) I kept the quarter cup measure right in the pantry near where I keep the snacks. It's an easy trick when dealing with high calorie but otherwise nutritious foods.
Spark people has a quick guide to portion sizes you can print off and stick on the fridge or pantry door. Also, The Portion Teller Plan, which I reviewed here, is a really helpful guide to learning how to master portion control.
It took me a long time to learn that portion control isn't about restriction. It has actually allowed me to reclaim my health and lose over 93 pounds while still enjoying so many of the foods that I love.
i really like your blog
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