Fortunate Friday: Knowledge

Administrator’s Note

This wonderful Friday, I am fortunate to have professionals as a part of this blog to teach us about our bodies and the health that we all want to have.  The knowledge that others offer freely is imperative to our growth as humans and as women.  Be thankful with me.

Donna Martelli has written a stellar post about portion control that we all need.  Have you ever dined out and had the server plop a plate of food down in front of you that could feed a football team?  We are constantly bombarded with food portions that are WAY out of line with those that we should be eating.  The key here is knowledge.  The only defense we have against the imbalance in our society is educating ourselves about health and eating right to obtain it.

˜Kellie

Eating Healthy: Portion Control

By Donna Martelli

We all know we should eat the right things and in the right amount… but how?  What are the practical steps we should take?  Read on to learn how to get portion control down to a science.

1. Know that your body is very adaptable. It can be trained! It will do what you tell it to do. You must take control!

2. Knowledge is power! What is a healthy portion? Your entire meal should be 2 handfuls! Ouch! Sorry! BUT the good news is you can have 4-6 meals a day!! Does that help?

3. Meat – If you like meat, it’s OK, but a serving is to be the size of your fist!

4. Getting Your Veggies – You can have lots of green and yellow veggies and salads but use olive oil and red wine vinegar as a dressing. Olive oil is so good for you and it tastes great!

5. Feeling tired and hungry? Enjoy a teaspoon of natural peanut butter or a handful of walnuts! Yum!! You will be amazed at how these can curb your hunger.

6. Curb the Hunger – I find that if I eat even a small amount of protein I am not hungry for several hours. Suggestions: `1 oz of low fat cheese, 2 tsp hummus. 1 tsp natural peanut butter (ingredients: peanuts. period).

7. Portable Snacks – If you will be away from home for awhile and are afraid you may be hungry, take your own snack of nuts and fruit…use your imagination and create your own healthy delight. Note: nuts are to be natural, without salt or additives! Walnuts are just wonderful!

8. Water: A Food Substitute – What do you do if you are out and you are hungry – no food in sight?? Drink water, water, water!! It will fill you up and take care of the problem until you can get to your healthy food!

9. IF YOU ARE NOT HUNGRY, DO NOT EAT!! We eat because “it is time” or because everyone else is hungry. So go along with your hungry friends and drink your water or green tea! Why should what you put in your mouth (or don’t put in your mouth) affect your ability to have an enjoyable time with others?

10. If you ARE hungry, do eat and enjoy! Choose veggies, fruits, whole grains and love your life! Find recipes on the net and experiment! Spices and herbs do wonders to make foods interesting and many offer great health benefits!

11. Don’t Stuff Yourself– Many Asian cultures eat only until they are 80% full. I think this is a good rule. You know feeling stuffed is a BAD feeling!! So, stop before you are stuffed, it is OK, you will NOT starve, I promise! Remember, you get to eat again in just a few more hours and if you are hungry before that you can have your protein snack (#6).

12. Make Good Choices! When I go to a restaurant, the salad/soup, entrée and sides are too much – and they should be too much for you too! Eat 1/2 or 1/3 of everything and take the rest home…makes a great lunch (or 2).

13. One Day at a Time – It won’t happen overnight, but if you change to healthy eating your body will be happy! You will feel great! You will have energy like never before! You will not want those processed sugary foods ever again! And, believe it or not, they won’t even taste good to you! I know! I no longer like cake!! I used to think it was a food group!

14. Shrink your stomach? I don’t know – but if you eat less your body will adapt and you will want less…again not overnight!

15. Motivation! You can do it and you will feel so much better! Stuffed is out – lean is in!

16. Contribute to Someone Else’s Health – If you are invited to a pitch-in or potluck where everyone else is bringing ugly things, bring a salad or fruit dish – you will have something healthy to eat there!

17. Portion Guidelines – Here is a guideline as to what portion sizes should be:

1 small baked potato – computer mouse

1½ ounces hard cheese – 3 dice

¼ cup almonds (12 nuts) – golf ball

1 medium sized apple – baseball

1 Tbs butter, margarine or salad dressing – poker chip

1 cup soup – baseball.

There you have it!  Now you can make good choices when it comes to portion control.  Knowledge is POWER!

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