Do you pile your plate ?
Do you go for smaller servings or do you pile up your plate ? Which one do you do ?
What we don’t understand is that portion sizes have more to do about our habits and less to do with actual hunger.
Are you eating far too much routinely ? Let’s talk about portion distortion !
Be absolutely honest with yourself – who are you ? modest portions or piles of food on your plate ?
Is your plate clean post eating or are you leaving some on the plate ? Habits dictate who we are in this situation.
The majority of us today are eating much more than our grandparents or parents did. Did you know that studies say that the average meal or snack today is 50% bigger than it was 20 years ago ! so on top of eating more refined, processed, convenience foods, we are also being told and encouraged to eat even more of it. Those convenience foods are on every corner – cakes, cookies, chips, granola bars are always on display at the check-outs of every supermarket or store so there is no hiding from it. We are bombarded at every single turn and the pricing of that convenience food is on sale most of the time also. Junk food is easier to find and cheaper to purchase. We need willpower on top of willpower on top of willpower to make healthy choices.
We don’t have an internal mechanism to tell us not to eat the food that is bad for us because in our past, obesity didn’t pose some survival threat when compared to the dangers that being underweight brought to our health. Our body will expect more food the more that we choose to overeat. If we are not careful, a big portion will become our norm.
Where’s the good news then ? well by making a reduction in your portions, you can to some degree shrink your stomach to want less food and to also expect less food. Many studies have studied “smaller plates” and there are benefits of tricking yourself into taking a smaller portion. If you choose to have a smaller plate you could see up to a 30% reduction in the amount of food you are going to consume. If you are trying to avoid a re-gain or get out of a stall, maybe it’s time to purchase yourself some new kitchen plates and then begin to combine this idea with other techniques such as adding more vegetables or reducing refined carbohydrates.
Be honest with yourself and take a good look at your plate – are there ways to make improvements ? Do you have portion distortion ?
About the Author: Sheri Burke is a Registered Nutritionist and Bariatric Coordinator at International Patient Facilitators in Tijuana and Cancun, Mexico. She has worked with bariatric surgery patients for 10 years and especially enjoys providing nutritional guidance to pre and post bariatric patients. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teens and cooking up a nutritional storm in the kitchen.
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