On The Second Day of Christmas....
Let's talk about portion control!! Tis the season of eating and drinking and chocolate and marshmallows and mince pies and christmas cake and pork pies and mulled wine and turkey and ham and mint sauce and brussel sprouts!! I'll share a yummy sprouts recipe soon...
Back to portion control! My mum is a superstar!! She generally served our meals out of the same bowl for breakfast, lunch and dinner and I don't know if this was portion control motivated but even now, I get a little anxious when I see a loaded plate because my brain tells me to always start with a medium sized bowl portion and then go for seconds if I need them. You're wondering about the bowls right? Think 6inch diameter and 3-4 inch height. Thank me later!
I'm not a nutritionist or health coach or any of that fancy wellness stuff! I just believe in taking care of yourself from the inside out! No amount of spanx is going to fix the bloat if you haven't been sensible about what you're eating. Have a look at the photo above. A 35g portion of rice, 2 chicken drumsticks and a god portion of veggies. It's not a sparse plate now is it?
Now with that in mind, here are a few tips that I have found work for me with managing the munchies...
1. Drink a glass of water about 20mins before you eat. It'll help you figure out if you're just thirsty or truly hungry.
2. Wait 10 mins before you indulge in that second helping! Sometimes the food just tastes amazing and it's nothing to do with hunger.
3. Look at your food groups. Are you making sure that there is a good mix of vegetables, carbohydrates and protein going on? Slow release carbs are great! Carbs are NOT the enemy!! I love my pasta and rice thank you very much!
4. Try using the same plate for all your meals. Of course you'll have to wash it after each meal😋 but at least you'll recognise which meal is your most indulgent and you can get into a healthy pattern of eating consistent portions of each food group so that when you're sat in a restaurant and the food comes out, you know immediately what's excess or what you can indulge in a little more.
5. Try keeping a food diary. Much of the time the naughty stuff comes at snack time!
Remember, EVERYTHING IN MODERATION!!
