Dear Diary,
Today I ate…
That might be how you start keeping a food diary. It’s the first step in figuring out the rest of your diet. It’s also key to long-term weight management. Don’t lie though. A study showed that women can tend to have some “inaccuracies” when keeping a food record being short by about 1,000 calories. But why go to the trouble of keeping a diary if you aren’t going to be honest? Nobody is going to see it but you.
Include:
- What you ate
- How much you ate
- When you ate it
- Your cravings
- How much water you drink
If you don’t want to track fat and calories that’s fine. Just writing down how much you eat over the course of the day. You may find that you’re overeating and don’t know it. After a few days, go back and read your diary to see where you might want to change your habits or reduce calories. Remember you should also make sure you’re eating something every four hours. It keeps your body from slowing your metabolism.
TODAY: WALK, WALK, WALK!
I don’t mean the kind where your tongue hangs out. I mean when your belly hangs out!
The weekend is here and you are going to get those temptations again. Go ahead. Eat out. Enjoy your meals. Just don’t eat it all at one sitting. The reality is that food portions in the US have increased over the past 20 years. It’s helped to contribute to the obesity epidemic. Or it’s an excuse for it. But either way, restaurant portions are often much more than you should eat at one sitting. So here’s a trick. Order what you want. But have them splt it in the kitchen before it’s sent out to you. Have them go ahead and put half in a to-go box. You’ll have a filling meal and then have another one with your favorites later in the week. Just take it home and pop it in the freezer. That way you won’t waste anything and you won’t WAIST anything either.
TODAY: HAVE HALF OF ANY RESTAURANT MEAL PREPARED TO GO.
We worked on reducing portions last week. But there is an easy way to gauge portion sizes of most of the foods you eat. A single portion of cooked grains, beans, pasta, cereal, cooked vegetables, and raw fruit is the size of a billiard ball. If you stick to a single portion size like that at your meals, you wont be behind the… “weight” ball.
TODAY: MEASURE YOUR PORTION SIZES.
The American Institute for Cancer Research found that 67% of Americans eat everything on their plates, regardless of size. So you could use a smaller plate! I know you’ve heard that trick before. But the fact is that by watching portion sizes you can cut the most calories the quickest. That means you literally lose weight by doing nothing more than eating single servings of your favorite foods instead of eating as much as you can.
TODAY: ERASE THE TERM “ALL YOU CAN EAT” (AYCE) FROM YOUR VOCABULARY.
We’re working our way down to smaller portions this week, one less bite per meal per day. You’ll start to see a portion size that will satisfy you. In the meantime view every bite left behind as a small victory. Those are calories that aren’t getting in. Feel good about it.
TODAY: EAT ANOTHER BITE LESS AT EACH MEAL.
As we ease into smaller portions this week. Let’s make all your meals one bite smaller.
TODAY: LEAVE FOUR BITES ON YOUR PLATE AT EVERY MEAL.
This week you’re going to send back your membership card to “The Clean Plate Club”. We’re going to ease into smaller portions by eating a few bites less at each meal. Now don’t cheat by taking more than you know you could eat. Serve yourself normal portions, or order them when you eat out. Then pull back on your munching throttle when you near the end of the meal. Finishing by leaving a few bites. I know, the guilt at leaving perfectly good food may bother you. If you must, save them to combine into a variety meal later in the week. Of course, you will leave a few bites of that too.
It should be easy. A few less bites, for a few less pounds.
TODAY: LEAVE THREE BITES ON YOUR PLATE AT EVERY MEAL.
Tags: calorie reduction, diet portions, eat smaller portions, eating less, portion control, portion sizes, reducing caloires, Reducing Calorie Intake, weight loss help
Daily Nag, Tips & Tricks | Diet Nag | 
October 15, 2009 6:07 am | 
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