Positive Portion Size for Weight Loss

When you set a goal to achieve weight loss, one major change you need to make is your portion size. You can't stack your plate to the maximum and expect to lose weight. You must eat smaller portions and eat more often. Five to Six meals a day with smaller portions is much better for you than three meals a day with your plate loaded up.

I know sometimes it can be very confusing when reading a food label of what the portion size actually is. "Your" portion size is most likely more than the "label" portion size; which means you are eating too much - possibly two or three times the amount you should be eating.

There are ways to estimate portion sizes, such as;

a handful is equal to approximately 1/2 cup of fruit, vegetables, or pasta
a tennis ball is equal to approximately 1/2 cup of ice cream
a golf ball is equal to approximately 1/4 cup of seeds or nuts
the palm of your hand is equal to approximately one breast of chicken

Keep in mind, for kids, it is best to give them smaller portions to start out with and give them more if they ask for it. The term "eat until you clean your plate" should not be told to children. That will be the start of a bad habit. Kids should eat until they are full - just like adults. You do not have to clean your plate. When you are full - stop eating.

One very simple tip to help control your portions is to use a smaller plate. And eat slow. Put your fork or spoon down after each bite. Chew your food. Chew eat bite at least 25 times. When you eat slow, you will actually feel your stomach getting full sooner than if you gulp your food down and then get that stuffed, uncomfortable feeling. If you are still feeling hungry, wait about 10 minutes. Your stomach will signal the brain that it is full. Just by waiting, you may prevent yourself from filling your plate again!

Keep in mind that it is more important for maintaining a healthy weight or to lose weight by controlling your portion size; than the current diet programs offer.

You should have variety in your daily eating plan. Choose foods that are good for you. Choose only the "good" fats, healthy whole grains, fruits and vegetables and lean meats. Enjoy what you are eating.

Most people still think of the "normal" dinner plate to consist of a large 6-8 ounce piece of meat, a big stack of potatoes, and peas or corn! Studies by the American Institute of Cancer Research believe that this type of dinner plate is way to high in calories, has way to much fat and not enough nutrients. We can help to reduce our risk of certain health issues including cancer by changing what we eat, and reducing our portion sizes.

The American Institute of Cancer Research is encouraging we change our dinner plate to consist of four foods instead of three. They suggest a small 3 ounce serving of fish or meat, 2 vegetables, whole grain, and fruit. Research shows that diets rich in vegetables, whole grains, fruit, and a small amount of saturated fat, sugar and salt can help to prevent gaining weight, and can reduce the risk of chronic disease.

An easy step to follow when eating out at a restaurant is to have the server divide your plate in half and put half in a to-go box right away. That way you will be less tempted to "finish your plate". This is a great way to control your portion size. Another tip is to order from the kids menu. Their portions are smaller, less calories and also cheaper!

I know we all get the cravings for snacks, and it is hard to have just one! But, we shouldn't have one "whole" bag! If you feel you really want some chips, it's ok, once in awhile. Just don't buy the large bag and eat them all. It is much better to buy the smallest bag. Mostly, the small bag will "hit the spot" and you will be satisfied without being tempted to eat the whole large bag.

Cutting down the portion sizes may seem hard at first, but you will get used to it. Your stomach will start to feel full sooner with the smaller portions. If you stick to eating 5-6 smaller portions a day, you will be on your way to eating healthy, feeling healthy, and achieving your weight loss.

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5 Easy And Fast Weight Loss Tips

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Are you looking for weight loss tips that will help you lose weight fast or weight loss tips that will keep the weight off for good? There's a big difference. It's tempting to opt for the former type of tip. Looking for shortcuts and quick results are just a part of human nature. The problem is that you'll be right back to square one when the weight comes back (and it will) when you lose weight quickly. Here are some weight loss tips that will help you do what is necessary to achieve permanent weight loss and look forward to a lifetime of being healthy.

Weight loss tip #1:

Keep a food and exercise journal for one week. Keep track of calories eaten per day and calories burned per day. Don't cheat! Put everything down. Being honest with yourself is a critical step towards weight loss. At the end of the week, you'll have a good idea of your average calories consumed and burned per day. Then, move on to the next one of these weight loss tips and determine what you should be consuming per day.

Weight loss tip #2:

Learn the basic formula for weight loss. Calories in must be less than calories out. We all have a certain amount of calories that for our height, weight, sex, age and activity level that will just maintain our current weight. These calories are spent on the daily requirements for our bodily activities like breathing and digestion as well as our normal task activities, whatever those may be. Figure this amount of calories using a calorie calculator. If you wish to lose weight you must do two things:

1. Lower this calorie intake.

2. Increase the amount of calories burned.

Weight loss tip #3:

A healthy, lasting weight loss occurs over time. One to two pounds per week is the recommendation to achieve this. A pound of fat equals roughly 3500 calories. Therefore, if your goal is to lose one pound per week, you must have a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day. If you are aiming for two pounds per week, then this deficit should be 1000 calories per day. If you determined that your calories per day to maintain your current weight are 2000 calories, then reduce your intake to 1750 per day and burn an additional 250 calories. This could be as simple as eating a half a sandwich for lunch instead of a whole sandwich and going for a brisk two mile walk. If you wish to achieve a two pound per week weight loss, don't lower your calories too drastically.

Weight loss tip #4:

Read food labels. Nobody wants to spend the rest of their lives counting the calories of everything they put in their mouths. In the beginning, understanding portion sizes and caloric amounts is crucial, but after awhile, you'll be able to ball park most of what you eat. You'll probably be surprised in the beginning as well. It hardly seems fair that a portion size of ice cream is a half a cup! As painful as it is, you need to know this so that when you think you're eating 350 calories of non-reduced fat ice cream, you'll understand that filling that cereal bowl with what you used to think was a portion is really more like 1000 calories. One slice of bread is a serving of bread and is usually around 100 calories. I started eating open-faced sandwiches when I figured that one out!

Weight loss tip #5:

Realize that what you are doing now is one of the most important things you could be doing for yourself! Healthy, lasting weight loss is a priceless reward for all your hard work. Patience is the key. Pay no attention to that co-worker that lost ten pounds last week on whatever fad diet she tried! In five to six weeks, I guarantee you, she'll have gained most of that back and you'll be reaping the rewards of your slow, steady weight loss. Not only that, but you'll have built up the tools and knowledge to keep the weight off for good!

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My Weight Loss Journey

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The great thing about Juicing is that it creates immediate weight loss results. You can choose to do extreme juicing - replacing 2 or 3 meals a day with healthy vegetable and fruit juice. Or you can choose to take the slow road to weight loss and replace one meal a day with juicing.

In the beginning the fat loss can be high (depending on the individual amount of body fat) but as you continue juicing the progress slows down.

Self-esteem is given a boost and for the first time in their life,

All industrial food -Carbs, fats, and refined sugars in the form of breakfast cereals, cookies, ice cream, and white breads are bad for our weight. They make sugar levels in the blood peak, which makes the body store the excess calories as body fat.

Juicing addresses addiction to food. It's one of the best quick weight loss tips I know.

Medical weight loss resources today acknowledge the fact that Cookies, cakes, ice cream and chocolate are not only fattening, they also raise the risk of cancer, diabetes and other chronic diseases.

My Weight loss Journey involved juicing in order to lose stubborn fat that has resisted every known diet. Dieting always lasted a few days-2 weeks max. for me. The short victory, transformed quickly into binging, resulting in being even more weight than before the diet. That's because I was going to the extreme. I did juice fasting for several days in a row, which resulted in sleeping problems and more binging at the end of the fasting. This cycle was very harmful.

That's why I recommend taking a milder approach - Change one of your meal into a healthy vegetable & fruit juice. You'll find the pounds come off gradually and effortlessly. Today's juicers are so efficient, you can use the pulp to make soups, pies and vegetable patties, which allow you to include even more vitamins in your diet. You will feel the difference in appearance, in your skin. how tight your clothes are, and levels of energy.

I hope you found My Weight Loss Journey helpful!

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