Canyon Ranch Health Resorts
Americans have to face the fact that restaurant value meals and heaping portions are leading to their horizontal growth. The findings of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study should not be astonishing to most. The study revealed that portion sizes have grown at restaurants and in American homes over the last 20 years. Coincidentally, the waistlines of Americans have also grown. Keeping portions small is the ticket to weight maintenance and weight loss.

Here’s a portion-control breakfast tip: Buy several medium-sized measuring bowls. Use these as your cereal bowls. Fill the bowl to what the label uses as one portion size and you will know exactly how many calories you are consuming. Add 1 cup of skim or soymilk, six almonds, and a small piece of fruit the size of a tennis ball, and you have a 300-calorie (approximate), power-packed, portion-controlled meal.

Using scales and measuring cups and spoons is a useful way of learning what a proper portion looks like. You can also use these common objects to help you visualize healthy portion sizes:

Palm of your hand/deck of cards for a portion of lean meat, chicken, or fish

One-inch cube (dice) for the portion of cheese

D-cell battery for a portion of dried fruit or salad dressing

Tennis ball for rice or potatoes

Large marshmallow for salad dressing

Ping-pong ball for the serving of nuts or nut butter

When you trim your portions, it is especially important to practice mindful eating to make the food last longer and to feel more satisfied:

Be sure to take time to appreciate the wide array of nutrients you are about to eat, which will contribute to your health, wellness and vitality.

Periodically place your utensils on the table and fold your hands in your lap and take a few minutes to appreciate your meal.

Eat slowly in order to give your body the chance to feel full.

Try stretching mealtime to twenty-five minutes to assess your fullness.

It may be a good idea to take time to write in a journal about your food intake and meal plans for the immediate future.