Once you get your new habits down- Portion Sizes

FarmerHal · Post by **FarmerHal** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:25 pm

I have noticed a few newbies struggling with meals whether it's plating or over/undereating with their plates and weight gains.

I was reminded a few months ago (I can't remember who now) that if you are doing 3 meals a day, each meal needs to be 500-600 calories or thereabouts.

Now, I'm the LAST person who wants to be waving around measuring cups and writing down calories (I actually did that for 3 years with great success- from 206lbs to 170 in that time period- but I did plan snacks... and it was SO much work, I had a little notebook to keep track of it all and when I stopped counting and obsessing, I gained it all back plus 30 more!!)

It might be worth it to look at your food package and see how much an actual serving size is so you can estimate and get a meal with appropriate energy amounts. (Women should get 1800-2000 depending on activity level and weight loss and men 2000-2200). Don't forget to account for caloric drinks.

And I also notice myself that if I "balance" my meals- 1/3protein, 1/3carb, 1/3 veggie and/or fruit that my cravings during the day are next to nil (except during TOM, <ahem>) the fruits and veggies help a LOT, as they provide fiber and all kinds of goodies in their nutrients.

Now the last thing I want anyone to do is start counting calories or perfectly measuring their food, as that is just WAY too much work and too hard to keep up for very long.
But hopefully this will help someone else like it did for me, to get my plates right

Happy N days!

droth · Post by **droth** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:02 pm

Tiffani,
This is really good, sound advice. I'm going to try the 1/3 plating and see if that helps me more than 1/4 protein, 1/4 carbs, and 1/2 fruits/vegies. Thanks

Noturningback · Post by **Noturningback** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 4:25 pm

This is similiar the the Plate Method. I use it as a general "rule" of thumb with my meals. I don't follow it strictly but, it does help me make some sound decisions quickly and with little thought.

DianeA2Z · Post by **DianeA2Z** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 10:24 pm

Yeah...what you all said!!!

Excellent!

Diane

palomayombe · Post by **palomayombe** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 12:03 am

..............

FarmerHal · Post by **FarmerHal** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:52 pm

Nice to see ya paloma! Havent seen you on in a while:)

Jamiebf · Post by **Jamiebf** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 3:53 am

Thanks for the advice Tiffiny. I think that is a great idea. We all need to learn to eat more healthy.

angelka71 · Post by **angelka71** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:27 am

I like using "Portion Plates" (I think that's what they're called). Ya know, a plate that is sectioned off 3 ways...1 for protein, 1 for carb/starches, 1 for fruits and vegetables.

They're kind of pricey (I paid $50 for my set) but I've also seen them on Ebay.

blueskighs · Post by **blueskighs** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 3:02 pm

This is my 6th week on No S and looking at my portion sizes is kind of where I am at. I was noticing yesterday morning the breakfast I started with the first day of No S looked amazingly huge to me.

as Reinhard said on another thread:

Quote:
There is no magic here. You lose weight on no-s because it's a shortcut to calorie restriction. If you somehow aren't eating less calories, then you won't lose weight. But on No-s it should be very obvious whether you are doing this. It should visually jump out at you. Do you feel like it is obvious?

and then he said this on another thread

Quote:
You have good "mealing" habits down, and you see that your plates are excessive. The sight of this excess bothers you. This isn't a problem, this is great.

That is what is happening to me right now, my meals AND my treats are starting to LOOK excessive, so I am going to focus one meal at a time to trim them just a bit, I think this is my next step and I finally feel inspired and safer to do so,

Blueskighs

lmt2pt · Post by **lmt2pt** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 5:41 pm

This, not just the habit building, is why No S is a process not just a diet. There are steps (habit building, recognizing and correcting excesses, more habit building, etc) and each of us has to go through the personal process of addressing each of them and how they fit with our lifestyle and bodies.

We each have to have the Aha! moments when we realize:
-we won't die of hunger
-we are putting too much on our plates
-we could be putting better/more enjoyable things on our plates
-our S days are too much
-we'd rather have small quantities of high quality Ss than lots of low quality Ss
and eventually . . .
-our bodies have finally found their "normal"

For some these moments come quickly, others take longer. It's a personal journey.

Mavilu · Post by **Mavilu** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 11:01 pm

I don't count calories, but in the last 10 days or so, I've been trying to monitor my portion sizes by how I feel four and a half hours to five after I ate.
Mostly, I've been overeating, even if the portions seem to be getting smaller and smaller in my eyes, and yesterday, I obviously ate far too little at dinner, or maybe at lunch, because I was stomach groaning-dizzy-headache starving three hours after my third meal, which has never happened before.
*sigh*
It's a learning proccess, tedious, but what you gonna do, you gotta start somewhere.

DianeA2Z · Post by **DianeA2Z** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:48 am

Heather, I really like your list! Everyone's input on this thread has been very enlightening, and even comforting. It feels like such a "safe" place here on these boards.

Diane