Healthy Living: Portion Control
Healthy eating can be difficult, with all the fad diets and vilifying of foods or even food groups. It’s hard to know if you’re getting it right. Any nutritionist will tell you that when eating healthy it’s not just what you eat but how much you eat. Understanding the right portions of food can be tricky. So in tonight’s healthy living we offer some simple tips for portion control.
Marleni Cuellar, Reporting
One of the main contributing factors to being overweight and obese is how much eat. You can exercise every day, but if you’re still eating too large portions of food; then your weight loss journey is sure to be tough. Nutritionist Doris Sutherland offers some helpful tips on knowing your portions. The first step is choosing the right plate.
Doris Sutherland
Doris Sutherland, Nutritionist, Belize Healthcare Partners
“When you choose a large plate about this size then the food appears to be smaller and then we tend to overeat and feel the need to fill that plate. So we start with a medium sized plate.”
The next step is splitting that medium plate in three.
Doris Sutherland
“The first thing you want to put on your plate would e the vegetables. Normally the recommended portion for an average adult would be two cups. Two cups can be explained by using two fists. For example on fist will e one cup and the other fist the other cup. So these cups would occupy half of the plate whether raw steamed or boiled you do want to use the whole half of the plate with vegetables. Starch for example rice, potatoes pasta you may want to use one fourth of the plate which is equivalent to one fist. The protein is normally measured in ounces. You may want to use three ounces whether chicken fish or lean meat. And you may want to measure that by using the palm of the hand.”
It is important to note, that not all salads are equal. So when filling half your plate with salad, here are some tips to keep in mind.
Doris Sutherland
“Vegetables need to be either green or raw or steamed or boiled and in vegetables we would want to include the leafy greens the tomatoes the carrots the onions. Not the potato or the corn. These would fall under the starch category. So we do want to include green leafy vegetables mixed with any other color of vegetables.”
Marleni Cuellar
“Dressing?”
Doris Sutherland
“Dressing would come under the fat category so the minimum amount you use the better and if you choose not to use any then the less categories you’ll be consuming.”
While these guidelines are great for a midday meal, the old cliché of having breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper is solid advice.
Doris Sutherland
“Different potions for different meals. For example; in the morning we should have larger portions of specific food groups, at midday a little less and at night time our portions should be a lot less than the other meals throughout the day.”
Sutherland encourages that you be mindful of portions even when dining out or picking up fast food.
Doris Sutherland
“Research has shown that the portions have tripled over the past years especially when we buy food at restaurants. They serve us three times more than what is recommended for us to eat. This is where we learn how many portions to eat in order for us to lose weight or even maintain our weight. We want to bring our senses to the table. Do come with an appetite but not too hungry because that will make us eat a lot more. So don’t want to see food as I need to eat a lot to feel full but I do need to eat some to have some energy for the rest of the day.”
Here are some other helpful tips she offered:
Consider a snack mid morning or afternoon or drinking water before meals to prevent overeating.
Cut down slowly if you’re accustomed to eating very large portions. If you are used to three cups of rice, cut down to two cups for two weeks then down to the recommended one.
If you have three large meals a day, focus on controlling the portions of one meal at a time. This can make you more successful at becoming a healthier eater.
Be mindful of sugary drinks and alcohol which may be adding on the calories to each meal.
And lastly, whatever you do try not to eliminate any one food group as it can lead to your downfall in attempting to eat healthy.
Doris Sutherland
“When we eliminate food groups we restrict foods the body is already use to eating so you don’t want to completely eliminate carbs or completely eliminate proteins you may want to get the exact amount of certain foods so you don’t fall into the cravings and find that you may start all over again.”
