Portions, you're kidding right?

The most upsetting thing during this whole process has been learning what a real normal portion looks like. I was initially very upset by what I was supposed to consider a portion, but now into week 3 I am wondering how I ever ate more than this.

Counting calories forces you to look at the suggested serving size, so you know how much to record, and it is shocking just how much we become accostomed to eating in one sitting. Because our culture is all about bigger being better these days, we are used to being served way  more than we should. So when we see normal porton sizes we think it's some sick joke. How can that be possible, we will starve! You are kidding right?

But your body really doesn't need all that excess, and as you go your stomach shrinks to a more managable size, and regular portions suddely seem like plenty.

It's also sad to see what things have very small portion sizes with high calorie content. For example I gave the kids some Whole Grain Club crackers, and I ate one, then had another before putting them away, and as I was putting them away I looked at the side of the box, holy crap! 4 measly crackers is a serving and it's also 70 claories.... when your diet is hovering around 1300 for the day, that's 70 wasted calories and you are still starving. So be careful, read your labels, makes ure you are eating wisely. Don't waste your calories on high calorie foods or you will be hungry.

This is a great illustraton of the changes in the last 20 years, no wonder we are all fat! You can find a bagel closer to the size on the left at any grocery store, mini bagels are 110 calories, whereas your basic bagel, what we are used to calling normal, is 250-300 calories. After years of considering the big bagels "normal" the mini bagels seem like a complete joke, but it's all about re-training your brain to see what real healthy portions are.

Stop guessing, measure, and get it right. Chances are if you are just guessing about your portion sizes, you are way off. We have been trained to see all the wrong things. Eating smaller portions is not about being deprived, it's about getting back to normal.