Make It The Right Size

We have all heard or read different thoughts on what portion size we should be eating.

The portion of food that you eat should match the size of your stomach. To adequately describe the size of your stomach, take one hand and make a fist. Then wrap the other hand around that fist you made with your first hand. That is the size of your stomach. Another way of thinking about stomach size is comparing it to a large potato.

When you make yourself a plate of food keep that vision in mind. A real challenge for many people is trying not to walk around and pick at your food. Do this you may eat a lot more food than you realize. Then you end up feeling full and bloated. And NO your stomach is not stretched out. Your stomach size can not be made larger or smaller. The only permanent way to reduce your stomach size is through bariatric surgery.

I would like to offer a couple of ideas for tricking yourself into feeling full with out the overload of food. To create the deception in your brain and make it seem like you have more food, use a smaller plate. AND always put your food on a plate so you are aware of how much you are actually eating. Also, if you want to feel full and satisfied after a meal use the correct pairing of foods on your plate...a carbohydrate, a protein and a small amount of fat as I have blogged about previously. Another helpful hint to feeling full is to maintain the volume but reduce the calories. Fill your plate with, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and hearty soups. These will take up space in your "fist" sized stomach and leave you feeling satisfied.