portion control

I ate a sandwich slowly today!!! I cut it up into quarters and ate one piece at a time while I wrote. I want soup now though!

I’m a little girl and I eat more than my boyfriend. It’s not good for my body. I have a feeling that not only the weight, but the food coming in at such a fast and heavy rate is bad for my system. I am starting my plan tomorrow.

Some things I’ve decided to do is to portion size my ground meat and other foods the second that I get home from the grocery store. Say that I have ground meat, I will quarter them so that I will make smaller meals and I wont have the temptation to overeat.

Also I need to get back into the habit of snacking on things like almonds, and ruby red grapefruit, and pears, so that I’m not left starving during the day. Also I’ll get some more whole wheat bread. That’s good for me too.

PORTION, PORTION, PORTION: Please have the strength to be nice to my body.

Now I know what it feels like to eat the recommended Ayurvedic measurement—eat no more than what fits inside your cupped hands.

So far away from completing this. So far away.

Or for the most part, at least. However, what I have not mastered is portion-control…which is the main issue with regards to my weight loss, as well as my relationship with food.

Although I did quite well at portion control between the hours of midnight and 8pm, I’ve been sabotaging my good efforts during the remaining four hours of the day, and it’s unlikely that any amount of “will power” will change that.

This leads me to a new solution. If I can do this, at least five nights a week, I’m sure I will eat less in the evenings, be hungrier at breakfast (a meal I’ve had to force myself to embrace), and get on the path to some real weight loss.

This is how good intentions get thwarted.

I was good all day long. Coffee and a bowl of cereal for breakfast; orange juice and half a bagel with cream cheese for lunch. We plan a healthy meal for dinner. I fire up the Bar-B and grill pork chops for her and an 8-ounce swordfish steak for me. Good lean protein. She prepares a simple green salad, easy on the Ranch dressing, and stuffed baked potato jackets (a medium potato apiece). I grill the jackets over the coals to give them a smoky taste. So far so good. Carbs, fats and portions under control. Some Miller Lite complements the meal.

Then she goes and opens a box of Texas Toast topped with herbs, Mozzarella and Monterey Jack. There are six slices. Each one has 160 calories. She toasts them all. Of course, they taste quite good. She has two, and I end up eating the other four over the course of the evening. I might as well have added a cheeseburger to the dinner menu. And I have nobody to blame but myself. I was tired, hungry, and the food was delicious. I sabotaged the evening and lost control. Now there are only eight days left to regain it. Ah, how weak the flesh can be.

I’ve been more mindful recently of the portions and what I eat in the evening. The rest of the day has not been a problem. It’s just between the hours of 6pm-10pm that I give in. If I can get those four hours under control, I’ll have accomplished this.

I’ve had the same weight loss goal for nearly a year and a half. I drink water. I eat moderately most of the day. Then comes a healthy dinner and I almost always take seconds if we have them, or I snack later in the evening. It’s got to stop this month. I also need to limit myself to no more than one glass of beer or wine. It’s so easy to pour a second or third.

Portion control or control lose. That’s my theme for April.

Today was the first day that I decided that I was going to be more aware of the portion size that i eat. Portion control is definitely something that I want to work on. So therefore I’m going to put it on my list of 43 things. That way I can work on it and accomplish it.