Choose a Proper Portion

    Ok I know all this, but time and time again I grab and eat more then I should.  I got my measuring cups out again and am measuring my food.  The great American plate shows you how to eyeball, palm of your hand etc.... but my eyeballs are looking through glasses that must make everything look smaller then it is.  Kind of like your car mirrors.  I'm thinking, OK this looks like a fourth of a cup and I heap my half cup on my plate.  Hummmmm...... was it 4 or 6 ounces this meal gives you credit for?  Must be 6!  Oh what a tangled web we weave......... So I am back to the basics.  Day one, learn it all over again, and again, and as often as it takes.   

 

    Hi my name is Julie....... I am a food addict.   I have a big problem with food and self denial.  I have really good taste buds,  I like the way food tastes.  If food tasted terrible I would be a skinny person.  I even love my plan foods, they taste great, I love veggies, fruit, rice, you name it.  I love it so much  I eat way to much of it at a sitting.  I super size my meals. 

 

     The last time I ate at a fast food restaurant was maybe 15 years ago so it's not like I was trained to eat that way, but I think it sneaks up on you, especially women.  We cook a great meal for our family and your little ones only eat half of it.  You eat your sane portion and then theirs because wasting food is a sin and you were one of those starving children as a child.  You get so eating 2 portions is nothing for you.  Your kids grow up and eat better but by then your used to your double portions.  You just cook more and continue on.   You eat a nice meal at home and then go to work.  Your wonderful co-workers have brought doughnuts, cakes, bars, pie, chips......... the list goes on.  You eat there also so as not to hurt anyone's feeling.  I was raised tobe very polite.  Wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

 

   Then those hormonal years.   Once a month you turn into the eating monster.  I think you could eat from sun up to sun down without making a dent in the ravenous monster I would become.   Trying to satisfy a craving that could never be satisfied.   Later on in life, when your older and your hormones are just a distant memory you finally slow down, eat less but your metabolism has also been completely destroyed by years of binging and losing and gaining weight.  Now you can take 4 months to lose a pound but gain it back instantly by reading a good recipe or going to bed a half hour earlier.  It is a life long challenge.  This is why women live longer then men.  We spend most of our life fighting to lose weight and living for tomorrow when our diet will start in earnest.  We forget to die.  Anyway, can you say gabby! 

 

   I am off work tonight.  Low census.  I think it is very nice out and a bike ride is called for.  Tomorrow I see the doctor.  I am still short of breath and still having chest pain.  But it is better.

 

Choose a Proper Portion

From Cooking Light Magazine

When it comes to eating better, less is definitely more.

You may have heard that you can have three quarts of hot air-popped popcorn for the same number of calories as half a cup of cashews. Those who make this comparison assume you'll gasp and go for the popcorn, because who would want half a cup of something when you could have three quarts?

Things that are really good don't need to be gigantic. That's why espresso is served in a "shot" rather than a "Big Gulp" and truffles are bite-sized instead of supersized. Unfortunately, most of us have lost sight of this and think bigger is always better.

But that's not necessarily true, as we demonstrate issue after issue with great-tasting recipes made from high-quality ingredients. Take a look at our Spaghetti with Parmesan and Bacon. It's made from real bacon, garlic, eggs, and Parmesan cheese -- ingredients that make this a rich, satisfying dish. Sure, our serving size of one-and-a-quarter cups is less than what's dished out at the Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill, but it's plenty when accompanied by a green salad, a vegetable, and bread to round out the meal. So "downsizing" your portions is not difficult if you approach your food in this way.

Here are a few strategies to help you go for quality over quantity.

• Pay attention to your food, and savor every bite. Eat sitting down, but not in your car or while watching 'Survivor' reruns. It's a lot easier to mindlessly wolf down a large order of fries when you're not paying attention to your food.
• Converse over your meal, and have fun. This, in turn, will slow you down, which is good, since it takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that you've eaten enough.
• Cook more. Get to know what real food tastes like -- cooking from scratch doesn't have to be difficult. You'll find that spending time in the kitchen gives you a greater appreciation of what you're eating. Plus, your house will smell wonderful.

Every meal can't be a fine dining experience, but if you think more about what and how you're eating, you'll be more likely to eat less and enjoy it more.

--Jill Melton

This article appeared in similar form in the April 2003 issue of Cooking Light magazine.

© 2003 Cooking Light magazine