When it comes to a healthy lifestyle, it's often not what you are eating but how much you are eating that counts. Here are 7 tips that will help you eat the amount that YOU need.
1 - Use your hand!
Your hand can give you a little insight into how much of each macronutrient (aka fat, protein and carbs) that you should be eating.
Women: Protein = 1 palm sized amount, carbs = 1 scooped handful and fats = 1 thumbs worth.
Men: Protein = 2 palm sized amounts, carbs = 1 scooped handful and fats = 2 thumbs worth.
2 - Use MyPlate as a guide!
The US government came up with this graphic below, which can be a helpful tool in deciding the proportions of what you eat. The biggest take away is that half of your plate should be veggies/fruit!
3 - Portion out bulk foods...and put the bag away!
While that big bag of almonds might have made economic sense to buy, be careful that you don't get sucked into the trap of eating more than you need/want. Take out the 10-14 almond serving and put the bag away!
4 - Eat dinner already plated up, not family style!
By already plating your dinner you can use your hand and myplate guidelines to serve yourself a well rounded, well proportioned meal. When you eat family style, it makes it too easy to add an extra scoop of something to your plate, even if you aren't hungry!
5 - Sit at a table when eating.
This might seem a little mundane, but when you eat on the go, or while multitasking, you can easily overeat. By sitting at a table (with your pre portioned meal/snack) you can make sure you are eating the right amount.
6 - Avoid watching TV when eating.
Take away any distractions you may have and be mindful while you are eating. This means, paying attention to each bite, enjoying it and being aware of how delicious/satisfying it is. Mindless eating is an easy way to over eat. When you're distracted you don't fully appreciate what you're eating, so you end up eating more to satisfy yourself. Take away distraction and focus on how good your food is!
7 - Ask for a to go box when eating out.
Maybe you need to do this right at the start when you order your meal, so that when your food arrives, you can portion out what you need/want and put anything that's left in the to go box for another time. Don't try to rely on self control when you have a big plate of delicious food in front of you, especially if you're hangry!
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