Portion Control; Why We All Need It

When I was younger I used to hate if my foods on my dinner plate touched. Like hated it so much my mom purchased a plate that was divided in three parts to avoid the food run-ins. As I got older I got over it, but the plate we never got rid of. As an adult who is certified in all health, wellness, and fitness endeavors I always found that preparing meals ahead of time and portioned out was a great way to stay on track. And it is! There is nothing easier than grabbing a container of food thats already made for you and being able to eat it instantly. Which is also why so many of us love fast food!

Although I've pretty much always meal prepped I never believed in measuring out my foods. I knew portion control was a thing- but I was never eating an excess amount of cake or chips (or usually). What I didn't realize was that portion control isn't just about the bad foods we eat but the good ones too! For example, I love avocado toast and I mean who doesn't? But I would eat two slices of toast with a half of avocado on each. It was delicious and way better than grabbing a pop-tart but it wasn't aiding towards weight loss. Yes I was eating whole grain bread and a healthy fat but I was starting my days off with already way too much. 

I began to think back to that plate. It wasn't just so my food wouldn't touch but it had the perfect size for your protein, vegetable and carbohydrate all on one plate. If you look at any diagram when it comes to eating a balanced meal its exactly that. Or you'll hear your protein should be the size of your fist and fat the size of the top of your thumb. Who has time to measure it out like that? Doesn't everyone have different sized hands? There must be a more accurate way. 

So I began to change my ways. With my program that I always follow it has ounces, cups and tablespoons. That's how I measure it all out. And maybe you think it sounds completely anal to do so, but try this. I used to buy organic long grain brown rice from Trader Joe's. It came frozen and you can heat the bag up in only a few minutes. So I'd make that with chicken and vegetables, put a little bit of sauce on top and I was good to go! When I started to measure, I measured out this exact meal. I was eating almost a cup and a half of rice in one sitting. I was eating way more protein than my body knew what to do with, so it was excreting it (aka not absorbing and literally coming out of my body) and the sauce that I felt was only a little bit, was a lot! 

Interesting, right? Even if you are eating completely clean, you can still be over eating. 

I have a good friend who loves peanut butter. She used to eat it all the time and would say but it's good for you. Yes it is good for you, but she didn't realize the excess amounts she was eating. It's a great healthy fat and protein but too much of anything can always have a negative side effect. Once she started to measure out how much she was eating she was still able to enjoy her favorite snack, without all the extra calories. 

Don't let your eating habits get in the way of reaching your goals! Tweek the bad habits and keep the great ones!