Restart and Refresh 2014 - Portion sizes, Day Nine

Portion control, accurate portion sizes.....we are told from the beginning that this is so important to our health that we make sure we are eating correct amounts of food. There have been many resources created to help lay the foundation and inform people of this. One of those is the Food Guide, which unfortunately is very accurate portion sizes, but for the mega sizes that we are used to eating in this day and age.

Contrary to popular belief, we are NOT supposed to be eating so much food we are stuffed every meal, every snack. We are not to be eating off of a 12 inch dinner plate. The world has evolved to the point where people started eating bigger and bigger portions, so they created a bigger plate. The traditional/original dinner plate is only 9 inches across. Imagine how much food you would have to take off a plate these days to make it fit onto a traditional dinner plate. 

We ARE however supposed to eat smaller meals and snacks, every few hours throughout the day. If everyone was actually able to do this, then portion control would be much less of a problem as we wouldn't be feeling so hungry between meals. But alas, not everyone's schedule works that way.

Let's talk about HOW we would recognize portion sizes and keep ourselves in check. There are many ways to portion out your food, one easy method is to use these fantastic containers. They are colour coded based on what you are putting into them, and really give you a good visual about the portion size. My favourite part? They are portable and I can use them to make my lunches, and take it to work in them too.

Another quick method (if you don't have those containers) is using our hand, demonstrated in the picture below. This is rather useful because lets face it, we all bring our hands with us everywhere and it is rather simple to learn and use.

I have learned a few things are important for maintaining, or starting a healthy lifestyle BUT they are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Exercising every day, hydrating yourself properly, eating whole, clean foods and eating the correct portions throughout the day. I challenge you to do these things, every day for 1 week and see how you feel. I guarantee you will feel better, inside and out, and have more energy.

Join my FREE facebook group to challenge yourself and learn clean eating principles.