Portion Control

Weight loss. It is about portion control, after all.

You will most likely eat what is on your plate as it is placed in front of you. We "eat with our eyes."
If you are "starving" you might want to load up your plate and eat quickly to satisfy your appetite. But eating quantity does not sate the appetite -- eating slowly does. If you believe having "seconds" is the only way to feel "full," then make them small servings.

We've all heard the guidelines for portion control: a serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards. A serving of spaghetti is the size of a baseball (not a Nerf ball, Patty!) An ounce of cheese -- the size of your thumb. A glass of milk is 8 ounces, not 16. One piece of bread is a serving, not two -- what it takes to make a sandwich.

Eat a half sandwich, but arrange it attractively, cut it diagonally. Folding over a piece of bread slathered with peanut butter feels like a snack, not a meal.

If you normally prepare your own dinner plate, let your spouse or your child do it for you. Then it is not YOU eating with YOUR eyes.

Make that plate one of your pretty-- but smaller-- salad plates. Dinner plates are large, more decorative than anything at this point. If you still want to use them, use them as chargers.

Always set your table. Use the good dishes, cloth napkins, crystal water goblets. Don't forget the tablecloth or the special place mats. Satisfaction really does have much to do with what you see.

I'm not a nutritionist, I am not a fitness instructor or a personal trainer. I am an overweight middle-aged woman who has loved the study of psychology all of my life. I can see many, many applications of how the mind can work in conjunction with a new life-style plan. If every journey begins with the first step, then every decision begins with a thought.

The brain generates solutions as it is presented with ideas; it produces more ideas. The brain does not decide what is wrong or right, it simply seeks to execute the plan it is given. Your mind gives it the plan. Your decisions activate the process.

"I can't help it." "I couldn't stop myself." "I forgot all about my resolution."
All of these statements reflect transitory thoughts that act on momentary impulses.
That's why the guilt follows -- because your brain is still on the right track! Your mind, your decisions, your impulses took you off course.

Be intentional. Act with purpose. Be in charge.

I lost TWO pounds this week!
Yay! Go, go, go, Patty!!!