Portion Control .......by Heather

My Mum would call this 'eyes bigger than' syndrome; and it's true. Problem is often my eyes fully understand what my stomach wants; and, even when I am well intentioned, I can still very much get it wrong.

Correct portion sizes take some getting used to. My breakfast portion of 30g of oats is actually tiny and over the course of time, by degrees, if I don't weigh out those 30g, it will inch up and up and up. 'Thats close enough' usually isn't, and by quite a long way.

I have deliberately set out to live with a livable diet - one that isn't going to impinge on the just 'being' that is my normal life.

Despite giving up sugar and reducing carbs - I still can't eat what the hell I like. I want to lose those excess lbs, not just maintain what I have; and at my age and in my condition - this isn't just going to give up and submit. I have to manage the expectation of both my eyes and stomach!

Be aware too, that correct portion sizes may vary between cooked and uncooked variations - 40g of uncooked pasta is vastly different if the recommended portion size is 40g of cooked pasta for example.

And food labels give every appearance of trying to be helpful and honest - but they can obscure key pieces of information. The fact that they are unstandardised helps with the confusion too.

Even if you are pretty confident about the portions you should be eating - like with me and breakfast cereal, its worth just weighing a portion every now and again to see how far your eyes have given in at your stomach's behest!!

It's a hackneyed old practice, but changing plate size can help - there is nothing more disconsolate that a tiny portion swimming in space on your dinner plate. And large plates encourage you to load up. Downsizing is a good ploy to help when its all hard work in the early days.

And in maintenance mode; keep mis calculating what you're supposed to be eating, and it will just add on calories you don't need - because you'll never see them mounting up.

I was actually very shocked at what I thought was an acceptable portion as against what I read was the recommended portion. Very shocked indeed. And I don't consider myself a particularly large eater.

Exercising some restraint when eating those meals that I can have, is helping - I can feel it helping. It gives me some faith that what I am attempting isn't impossible.

Taking A Look At Food

I love food, have always enjoyed cooking, baking, eating out...trying something new.  As a kid I was spoiled as my mom was a great cook...she cooked for 9 of us with varying likes and dislikes but kept us well-rounded with nutritious food.  And on a budget!  I miss you mom!

Fast forward to me moving out, on my own with my own apartment.  I was 18 and ready for the 'new life' I had been waiting for.  Well it wasn't as easy as it seemed!  Meal planning and ideas for one person?  I found myself floundering.  I would have a few basics I could rely on...but really my main meals came from work (all home cooked in cafeteria) and many dinners at mom and dads!  I know...what a wimp eh? 

10 Years or so later and divorced, I'm cooking for myself and daughter, I have been vegetarian for about 16 years -  not that I feel animal products are evil but after my schooling in herbal medicine I was turned off when ex CEO's from the meat and dairy industry were some of our speakers!  While I was very adamant during those years about what is right or wrong for overall good health, over the years I have softened my views to a less judgmental approach of any one food - and simply am trying to start getting back to basics.  It's the processing I have trouble with and GMO foods which have turned me off and how they are turning up even more health and allergy issues than ever before. I have never felt any one food is the enemy - it's the kind of foods and how much of it we eat.  I like to think I'm on track with this mindset as I've always felt I was a 'farmer' in a different life!  lol  I certainly can appreciate going back to the basics of growing my own - even the meats if I so chose! I am big supporter of local farmers markets and will even be venturing out to the local cheese maker I recently found out about.  If I'm really feeling adventurous I will take a trip out to 'Amish country' as folks call it around here - everyone says their cheese is top notch!  Again...limits to any one thing, but if I am going to enjoy a treat now and then, this would be it! 

I know Heather is cutting out sugar and I know there are some things I am avoiding and putting on the back burner as well - but more due to my quest to get back to basics than anything else.  My only comments on sugar, for me would be to say I don't overly crave sugar.  The only time I do is that time of the month...and even then I will 'treat' myself to the local candy store who makes it in house or the nearby family owned Ice-cream parlor who also makes a creamy frozen yogurt from unprocessed ingredients.  I don't keep treats in the house.  If I do use sugar in baking - I am always happy to see that one can cut the amount in half and not affect the taste.  Hence yet another benefit of cooking from scratch.  But I don't do enough baking to worry about it and end up throwing out any sugar as it has sat there too long anyway to be fresh!  White flour products will be something I am omitting as much as possible and will be an effort as of course they are 'convenient' but also from the standpoint as they are mucus-forming in the body and due to over processing - void of any real nutrients!   

My daughter has since grown and on her own and I find myself back to cooking for one most of the time, unless my daughter or my boyfriend are in residence. :)  So I realize I have been feeling like I was when I was 18 and unsure of what to eat!  

I do supplement with nutrient rich 'green foods' in my organic green drink and other supplements for where I am in life - so I do feel good about that at least.  In my quest to shed some extra pounds, I'd say for me, I am trying to approach my food intake with as much unprocessed  as possible, more fruits and veggies,  lower sugar and processed salt/sodium (I only use celtic sea salt) and spacing out meals so that my blood sugar levels don’t get too low. This will mean some serious recipe gathering and raiding my mom's recipe box as well. That’s really it.  Fingers crossed!!  I may even treat myself to an apron!

Katy