We know that losing weight seems to be a challenging process for many. Most people feel like they will have to deprive themselves or miss out on their favourite foods. As a matter of fact this doesn't have to be the case at all. If you're not ready to count calories or have no desire to then I encourage you to consider portion control as your next step. It's easier to do than you might think.
Do Calories Matter?
The science behind weight loss is calories in versus calories out. We are not talking about health or health issues here which requires that you eat certain foods but in terms of weight loss, it doesn't matter what foods you eat. What matters is that you are in a calorie deficit. If you're not losing weight then this means you're eating enough calories to maintain your weight. We can make tiny adjustments that will make a world of difference and finally produce results. Portion control to the rescue!
Portion Sizes For Weight Loss
Let's have a look at suitable portion sizes for weight loss. Our hands are our built-in portion control meters. Our palm size and thickness represents our protein portion for a meal. Our closed fist represents the size and thickness of our vegetable serving. Our cupped hand represents a fruit serving and a complex carbohydrate serving such as rice, pasta, beans or potatoes. And lastly, our thumb length represents our fat serving such as nuts and oils.
How Many Portions Per Day?
If you're a female who weighs less than 160 lbs have:
• 4 protein portions
• 4-5 vegetable portions
• 2-3 complex carbohydrate portions
• 2 fruit portions
• 2-3 fat portions
If you weigh more than 160lbs or are a male then have:
• 5-6 protein portions
• 5-7 vegetable portions
• 4-5 complex carbohydrate portions
• 3-4 fruit portions
• 4-5 fat portions
These recommendations are very general and do not take into account your lifestyle and activity levels. It's always best to start out somewhere and monitor your progress. If you begin to gain weight you may want to cut out a fat, fruit or a complex carbohydrate portion. Keep protein and vegetable portions constant because those are key to retaining muscle mass, feeling satiated and staying regular.
Putting The Portions Together
Here's an example for a woman's day for weight loss:
• Breakfast: 1 protein, 1 vegetable, 1 complex carbohydrate
• Snack: 1 protein, 1 fruit (smoothie: 1 scoop of protein powder + 1 cupped hand frozen fruit + water and blend)
• Lunch: 1 protein, 1 vegetable, 1 fat
• Snack: 1 fruit, 1 fat
• Dinner: 1 protein, 1 fat, 2 vegetable, 1 complex carbohydrate
Here's an example of a man's day for weight loss:
• Breakfast: 2 protein, 2 vegetable, 1 complex carbohydrate
• Snack: 2 fruit, 2 fat
• Lunch: 2 protein, 2 vegetable, 2 complex carbohydrate
• Snack: 1 protein, 1 fruit
• Dinner: 1 protein, 2 vegetable, 2 fat, 1 complex carbohydrate
Can I Eat Treats?
You certainly can! It's all about portion control. Instead of taking the whole bag of chips with you to the couch, look at the label on the back that shows you a portion size. Measure out the portion size in a small bowl and dig in! The same goes for ice cream and cookies, you can eat them just stick to your portion sizes. Most cookies and ice creams are going to count towards your fat, fruit and complex carbohydrate servings. Remember, keep the vegetable and protein servings the same and you can make room for some fun foods by adjusting and swapping out other portions.
We don't need to make weight loss so complex - simple portion control can do wonders for our waistline. Have a look at your hand and now get started!
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