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.
Okay, here’s a question you probably haven’t been asked lately. What color is your pee? The reason I ask is that it’s the best indicator of how much water you need to drink. If you have light yellow pee you are drinking enough water. The darker the color of yellow, the more water you need. That’s a caution indicator as well.
So why is it yellow? Your kidneys do a couple of things that show up in your pee. They keep the salt content of the blood constant, and they filter waste out of your blood. So pee is water, salt, ammonia cell waste converted by the liver to urea and pigments from bilirubin, the waste from blood, is degraded to urobilins. Salt, water, and urea are all colorless, but urobilins are yellow. If you get dehydrated, your urine will contain less water and be darker yellow.
Now you know why I nag about drinking your water. If the stuff is concentrated it’s hard on your kidneys and bad for you.
TODAY: SEE HOW LIGHT YELLOW YOU CAN MAKE YOUR PEE.
Orson Welles, the Oscar winning actor, writer and director unfortunately also became known for his weight. But some advice from his doctor will work for you. He said: “Stop having a dinner for four unless there are three other people there with you.” Keeping your portions smaller is an easy first step to losing weight. It will also train you to think more about what you eat and make some better choices.
- Start by using a smaller plate.
- Don’t fill it to overflowing.
- Never have seconds.
- When you get full DON’T KEEP EATING.
You CAN leave food on the plate. Nobody will yell at you if you do. But if you keep eating too much, I’ll raise Kane!
TODAY: START EATING SMALLER PORTIONS OF EVERYTHING.
You may have some spare bites left in the fridge from eating less at each meal. Today is the day for you to have a smorgesboard of bites. It will give you a nice variety and a cheap meal. Actually, don’t let those leftovers go to waste at any time. A diet is a great way to save money and those hunks of meat and portions of veggies that you didn’t eat because you were reducing portions can be mixed together into a nice hash. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different combinations. It’s a great opportunity to experiment because if it doesn’t taste good… it’s no big loss! I find that a good spicy hot sauce, with little or no added calories, gives a nice boost and tickles your taste-buds with a new experience as well.
TODAY: MAKE A MEAL OF LEFTOVERS.
At this point in the week we are dropping six or seven bites from each meal. So skip leaving them behind on your plate and simply reduce your portion size. It should be easy to judge that. It’s probably almost half of the portions you have been eating. Share it or save it but know that it won’t end up wasted or on your waist.
TODAY: TRY HALF PORTIONS.
Daily Nag, Tips & Tricks | Diet Nag | 
October 26, 2010 6:14 am | 
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