I love food, I can eat til I'm fit to burst. I have, on one occasion, eaten that much food that I was physically sick.
If I'm at a party and there's a buffet, it's getting destroyed.
Food left on my wife or daughters plate? You know I want it.
Double up my burger for an extra £1? I'm doubling up all day long.
Or at least that's how it used to be. Now I focus on portion control, especially if I'm having food that I is not beneficial to my goals.
If you can decrease your portions, you decrease your intake of food and decrease the amount of calories, therefore decreasing the amount of weight you can gain. This rule applies for unhealthy foods.
This rule applies for healthy foods such as veg. If I increase my portions of healthy food, then I can have as much as I want.
Say I'm having a pizza. Instead of ordering a large, I'll order a medium.
Say I'm having a salad, I'll have a massive one.
If your goal is to lose weight but you struggle with eating healthy then portion control is for you.
If you say you don't have big portions yet you are still overweight and are struggling to lose weight then I'm going to say that you do in fact have portions that are too big.
There may be a chance you have a condition that means you do in fact struggle to lose weight and if you think this is true then go to your Doctor before you pay any attention to me.
How To Control Your Portions
It's quite simple really, chuck food straight in the bin once you have made it or had it delivered.
If you are good at judging food before you cook it then cook less, but if you are out for a meal then you can't cook less.
The aim here is to reduce the amount of food you eat.
How Does Any Of This Help Me?
First of all, I want you to realise that the main point here is that me, you and lots of people over eat, especially with the wrong foods. By following what I have said and starting slow, you will realise that you don't need to eat as much as you currently do.
Secondly, I want you to learn how much you actually need to eat so that when you are cooking, you will be able to judge your portions better.
Last, but definitely not least, you need to take it slow. Why? Because making changes with your body takes time. You can't just expect results straight away. It is a step by step process. Succeed with one step, move on to the next.
What To Throw Away
Processed food. So anything like chicken nuggets, cheese, ready made pizzas, bread. If you don't know if it's processed just look at the ingredients, if it's got things in in that aren't food such as preservatives then it's processed.
Fried food. You cooked it in oil? It goes.
Fatty meats such as lamb or 20% fat beef mince.
What Food Do I Keep
Salad, fruit and veg.
Lean meat such as chicken breasts and turkey.
How Much Do I Throw Away?
Start with about 10%. Just grab some fries and bin them. Same goes with pizza, get a slice or 2 and bin it. Throw away some of your chicken nuggets. Just do it.
My aim was to reduce portions by about 30% and I built up to that.
If you throw away too much too soon then you'll starve yourself and eat more food later which defeats the whole purpose. Start slow, let your stomach adjust to less food, and build on it.
Isn't Throwing Food Away A Waste Of Money?
God damn right it is. It pissed me off no end wasting money like that.
When I felt like that I had two options;
- Eat all the food and be unhappy with myself
or
- Learn to cook less/order less food from take out.
I wasn't going with option number 1 so I settled with number 2.
Now I can judge my portions when cooking it and not have to throw anything away.
I want to leave you with some figures to think about.
The recommended amount of calories per day is 2000-2500. If you are over eating then you are definitely getting more than the daily allowance.
Let's say you consume 3000 calories a day (it's easily done). If you were to reduce your intake by 30%, you would save roughly 1000 calories a day and 7000 a week. That's over 2 days worth of food you didn't eat in a week.
Just think about that.
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