Todays blog will tackle the importance of one specific subject, portion control.  Just wanted to clarify that in case the title didn’t make it obvious enough!

  Before we get into the importance of portion control, we would like to point out why it’s to significant to talk about this.  Making the decision to start a healthier life with healthy eating habits, specifically, is obviously great and, of course the first step.  So, what do you tend to do first when that motivation kicks in?  You start googling how to eat better and what do you get?  Endless amounts of information with statistics and numbers about how many calories you should consume a day or not, to cut crabs or not, to eat more protein or not, the list goes on. 

Quite frankly it is safe to say that it’s very overwhelming, and what do you do when you feel overwhelmed?…. “hmm okay maybe we’ll explore that later sometime” thanks google!

            Here is the thing, the intention behind this blog is not to dis the educational value all those articles or experts provide in any shape or form.  The intention behind this blog is to introduce you to an idea that might make things a bit simpler to get that jump start without feeling completely overwhelmed, behind due to lack of knowledge or maybe even just the lack of energy and time to completely amerce yourself in that life at full gear.  How can this be accomplished you ask?  Portion Control.  Let’s take a look at how you can master this and why this may be a good place to start.  If keeping up with a strategic plan is too much for you in the beginning, try to make an intentional difference not in necessarily what you eat but how much of it you are eating.

Now, don’t get crazy and just start eating a hot pocket for every meal but try to eat what you normally eat but listen to your hunger and fullness cues! Take a minute before a meal and let your body tell you how much you need.

  There is a term in the Japanese culture called “Hara hachi bu,” which literally means to only eat until you are 80% full.  How do you know if you are only 80% full? Simple, eat until you are no longer hungry and feel satisfied.  Most of us have a natural habit of eating all that is in front of us without making a conscious decision to order or serve ourselves a smaller portion.  Smaller portions don’t feel like a real meal sometimes, but it is plenty to quench our hunger. As children many of us were taught to clean our plate and some of us had to stay at the dinner table until we were, which subsequently has trained our minds to eat everything on our plate.

This, however may not necessarily be beneficial when there is too much on that plate, especially when your meal isn’t strategically well balanced.  You would benefit more by leaving at least a quarter of it on that plate and saving it for later, for when you are feeling hungry again, which whether it’s 4o minutes or 2 hours from that point, doesn’t matter.  You should feel recharged and comfortable after eating a meal, not like you are stuffed and ready to take a nap aka go into a food coma.  So, next time you serve your plate, try to serve yourself a little less than you would normally and go back for seconds if you are still hungry.  The goal here is NOT to starve yourself or shame yourself for eating a meal.  It is about controlling the amount you eat to a point that leaves you fulfilled, reenergized and comfortable after eating.  And if you don’t know where to start, start by slowly making a conscious effort to find awareness of what your body doesn’t and does need.