We all know that one of the key elements to maintaining or losing weight is portion control. We try to stay on target but often without a guideline we end up eating too much bread and not enough veggies. I remember someone suggesting you mentally divide your plate up in three sections with a large section for veggies and two smaller ones for meat and starch. Funny, I only remember that once I use the largest section for pasta and finish my plate. Can I make up for that by eating double veggies? No? Okay. So, if you are like … Continue reading →

Making small changes will amount to big changes in time. Robert Collier said, “Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.” That is a great quote and one which has many applications. I use it all the time to remind me that some goals take time and even the small stuff does count. Where dieting is concerned we often lose ground by thinking cutting out something small or walking a few extra feet will make no difference to our overall goals. However, when you live your goal purposefully this will manifest in constantly making decisions … Continue reading →

Yesterday my family went to the apple orchard. We go up to the apple orchard every year. I find it to be one of my favorite fall places to visit. The colors of the trees are beautiful the smell of the apples on the trees is so tempting. Letting the kids run around and pick apples, pose by pumpkins and measure sunflowers is just part of the fun we have spending the afternoon at the orchard. After all the running around we stop by the store for cider slush. This is a great treat since there is no additional sugar … Continue reading →

The short answer is yes! As with anything moderation is king. Peanut butter contains 16 grams of fat and 200 calories in a 2 tablespoon serving. This scares most dieters away from touching the stuff much less finding ways to continue to enjoy it in moderation. Besides, it is hard to moderate such a small serving size. However, there are ways to keep the peanut butter and still maintain your diet. If you love peanut butter it is best to keep it in or it will be your stumbling block later on. Another factor in peanut butter’s corner is the … Continue reading →

Now that we are armed with what proper portions really are from Keeping Portions in Mind: Part 1, we need to learn how to manage a slim sized order in a super sized world. Since the 1950s portion sizes have changed dramatically. A typical cheeseburger and fry meal in the 1950s would average about 600 calories while today the same meal would average double that amount. A bagel today contains over 200 calories more today than in the 1950s. When we sit down to a meal, we may be consuming not one but almost two complete meals at one time. … Continue reading →

“My doctor has advised me to give up those intimate little dinners for four, unless there are three other people eating with me.” –Orson Wells We live in a world where bigger is seen as better unless we are talking about dress size or thigh size. Super Sizing seems like it hits the spot when you are so hungry you could eat a horse. Our eyes have been trained to see proportions as bigger than what is real. We expect more food on our plate when we go out to eat. We want to eat until we have satisfied our … Continue reading →

My mother-in-law was so sweet and sent the kids Easter baskets that arrived today. Who sends a one-year-old candy? It is just staring at me, as if to say, “I dare you.” I usually give up sweets for Lent, but not this year. I don’t have that extra excuse to keep me strong and withstand the urge to eat the goodies. I broke into the sour cherry gummies. Okay, I actually finished them off. What is wrong with me? I usually have more self-control. Maybe it is the rain that has not let up for the past two days. Yes, … Continue reading →

If there is one deterrent to losing weight it is eating more than you should. Many of us eat beyond the point of feeling full but the reasons for doing so can vary. I know of some people who believe in the old “eat everything on your plate” adage. Many times this is because they come from a background where either they were taught the same or food may have been scarce growing up, so now they feel like it shouldn’t be wasted. There are also emotional eaters that eat just because they are feeling sad, bored or stressed. Other … Continue reading →

I think the reason that most of us are in need of losing a few pounds is that we do not listen to the tell-tale signs of our stomachs and instead listening to our minds. Food tastes good. There is no doubt about that. Most of us like food. I had always wished that I were one of those people that did not like food so much. There would be no problem then. If you will notice, most thin people do not like food that much and eat only to satisfy the need. They eat until satisfied and then push … Continue reading →

Attempted Sabotage! With Thanksgiving just behind us and Christmas hot on our heels, the quest for building up our self-control against self-indulgence is an all out challenge. It is a dieter’s worst nightmare to be surrounded by the vast amounts of delicious holiday food and know that we should not eat it lest we suffer all that we have gained during our journey in dieting. Too many bites could lead to regret, depression and self-loathing. Yet, there it is, right in front of our face and look at it! It is calling us to try “just a little bit”. Do … Continue reading →