Don't Supersize Me!

We need to change "value for money" from size and amount of food to nutrition value of food -- this needs to be our new thinking. As restaurants "super size" their food, we "super size" our bodies. Make sure you know what constitutes a serving and stick to it -- portion distortion is real and it affects all of us. Most people to do not realize that their bottle of soda contains 2.5 servings (8 oz is a serving for most beverages, but 4 oz is a serving of 100% juice). Read the nutrition label and look at the serving size, you will start to notice that packages that appear to be a single serving actually contain several servings. Repeat after me, "it is OK to leave food on my plate, in the bag, in the wrapper and not drink the full bottle or glass." Save the leftovers for tomorrow or when you are thirsty later in the day. Also, teach your kids what a serving of food really looks like. Here are some helpful hints from the book, The Portion Teller --
— 3 ounces of meat = 1 deck of cards
— 1 cup of cereal = a baseball
— 2 tablespoons salad dressing = a small shot glass
— ¼ cup nuts = a golf ball
Source: The Portion Teller Plan: The No-Diet Reality Guide to Eating, Cheating, and Losing Weight Permanently -- check out this book for more information. I saw the author speak, she is very visual with her examples and provides compelling information concerning how our food portions have changed. Also, a recent report on MSNBC reveals how many restaurants are serving crazy portions of food, one example are sandwiches from Hardee's, Wendy's and Burger King that include two days worth of meat (click here to read the MSNBC article).

Baby Fat Portion Sizes for Moms

"Portion control" -- this is now the "buzz" phrase for controlling how much we eat. You can now see the food companies responding by the increase in 100 calorie (or less) snack packs now on the market, for example, one of my favorites is the Quaker Mini Delights 90 Calorie Packs, Chocolatey Drizzle. Too see a report on what people think of portion control click here.

Portion control is how we eat in our house -- we eat all the foods we like and through "portion control" manage how much we eat of all foods. What most do not realize, is that portion-control is not just about limiting the bad foods but it is also about including portions of good foods. For example, this past weekend I indulged in a juicy, grilled cheeseburger and made sure to add onions and green leafys, ate plenty of fruit off of the fruit tray and avoided eating my son's left over real beef hot dog and potato chips (this was not easy). We would love to hear how you "portion-control" your foods.