Prone to eating too much? Here are 5 simple ways to manage your portions.
I get it, food tastes amazing, so it’s easy to get carried away and end up eating too much in one sitting, especially as the holiday season is upon us. Well, as your very own personal Health Coach, I am here to help you and my clients figure out simple ways to still enjoy your meals, while ensuring you also feel comfortable and guilt free afterwards.
Photo by Kari Humphrey | Kari Anne Photography www.kariannephotography.com
5 WAYS TO MANAGE PORTIONS:
1. Balance your meal plate or bowl by not overfilling it. Aim for ¼ high quality protein and the rest nutrient dense plant foods. Veggies ideally take up ½ of your plate and are a great way to fill up guilt free (and no I don’t mean white potatoes and corn, I am talking about dark leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables and other non-starchy veg. Some people like to use smaller dinner plates to manage their portion sizes. Figure out what works best for you.
2. You really don’t need to go back for seconds. It takes approx. 20 minutes after you finish your meal for your brain to get the message that your stomach has had enough. So best to stop eating just before you feel full, when you are comfortable yet satisfied. Unless you are a super athlete, one plate of food is usually enough for most people in one sitting.
3. Add foods to your meal that fill you up in small quantities. High quality animal protein is a great example of this. Protein such as wild salmon or eggs from pasture raised chickens keeps you feeling satiated for a long period of time. Aim for no more than 4oz. in a meal. Don’t have a scale to weight it? Then use the size of your palm as a rough guide.
4. Healthy fats are another food group that create satiety in little amounts. I love to drizzle 1 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil on almost everything savory. ½ a creamy avocado is another great “go to”. Or a ¼ cup of raw or dry roasted nuts chopped up and sprinkled over a salad.
5. Embrace raw foods. The fiber from raw veggies will fill your tummy up super quick, with no impact on your waistline. Raw veggies are 100% pure nourishment for your body, and provide energy that will fuel your life force. It’s very difficult to overeat raw veggies, your jaw would get sore from all the chewing it takes to break them down in part 1 of the digestion process. Aim for a wide variety including all colors of the rainbow. They are packed with important vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, enzymes and water.
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