The Easy Fix???

I have found a wonderful weight loss tool that has really helped me. The sad thing is, that every time I share it, I get the deer in the head lights look. I can almost here the thoughts....Yeah, that works for you, but I'm not trying that. Nope not me!!! I have not had one person even say they were interested.

I bet though, if I would share a fun and easy fix to this weight loss problem, they'd be all over it.

I have been doing this new thing since the first of November and I've lost 10 pounds and maintained my weight through my Birthday, my Grand Babies birthdays, 2 Thanksgiving meals, several restaurant experiences, I've been exposed to sweet and goodies galore and I've even made some mistakes. And I'm still on track.

This is so working for me and I would love for someone else to at least try it. I would love to see if it will really work for others.

Anyone out there willing to give it a go? Any brave souls out there. Anyone want results?

This is what I did.....

• I got two sets of beautiful small plates and bowls. See prior post..
• On  my plate, I fill half of it with veggies and fruit, a quarter of the plate with protein and a quarter of the plate with grains. I allow myself a small portion of dairy.

That's it! 

I'm telling you, there is something about eating things from small dishes! I've even had terrible food choices served to me, but if I follow the order of the plate...veggies/fruit, protein and grains, I have not gone wrong!

I've tried this before. I used to eat my regular serving of oatmeal in our regular soup bowls. You know the size, it could fit 3 cups of cereal and milk before it overflows. Of course my oatmeal serving is not that big, it's the 1 serving size. Anyway, I put that one serving size into the regular soup bowl and there were times that I would get done eating that serving and I wanted more. I probably could have had at least one or one and a half servings more to be satisfied. 

Now I take that same one serving of oatmeal and I put it in my one-cup bowl and I'm telling you, that I have trouble eating the whole thing. Every day I struggle and sometimes, I just can't do it.

IT'S THE SAME SERVING SIZE!!!! NOTHING CHANGED EXCEPT FOR THE DISHES!!!
Every day after that meal I go away quite satisfied and you know what, I'm not even hungry for my 10:00am snack. I blast right past it to lunch. I'm just not hungry!!

Before I'd be eating my snack by 9:00am and by lunch, I would have eaten my whole lunch, plus my 3:00pm snack and I still would be hungry!!

Now I eat my lunch on my little plate. It looks full and delicious and I'm always satisfied. 

That's how I ate my Thanksgiving dinners. On my small plates. I actually lost a pound the day after Thanksgiving!!! I could not believe it!

Even at my company Christmas party, I asked the server for a small plate. I actually pointed to a saucer and she brought me a salad plate. I told her what I wanted to do and even she could not fathom what I wanted to do. Anyway, my meal came and I slide half of it onto the small plate and the other half into a to-go container. I had my meal and I was satisfied. I EVEN HAD DESERT!! Half of it hit my plate and the other half went home with me. I bet I still had 1000 calories for that meal. It was so heavy with cream and sugar. But the good thing is....I did not have 2000 calories!!!

I challenge you to at least try this. I really want to see if this helps others. I know it has changed my life!

Let me know if you are willing to give it a go. 

Keep focused!

Small Dishes

I have moaned and whined myself silly trying to figure this food thing out. No matter how I tried, I could not get my calories to 1700 per day. My range has been 1700 to 2600! This is not helping me lose weight. I would always pack sensible foods for the day and would do really well, but by the evening, I would be too hungry and could not stop myself and that's what killed my calorie count for the day. So I decided to make a change. I got new "smaller" dishes just for me!

Aren't they cute?

I decided I wanted to try "smaller" dishes because I thought...if I need to have fewer calories....then I need to eat less. Having less on a big place was just not satisfying to me.  Here's the difference in plate sizes we have in our house. I used to use the big ones and fill them up....

Big difference huh?

This is what my breakfast looked like today.

I have to tell you...I was quite satisfied and very happy eating this meal. I use to have this very same portion size in that larger bowl and you know...I never walked away from eating this very satisfied. I always wanted more!! Right now, I am very happy and I had that bowl of oatmeal about 2 hours ago. Anyway...this is working for me!!

During the past couple of months I've struggled with my weight. I was up to almost 7 pounds gained. Since I started the small dishes thing. I'm back down to 208 pounds and getting ready to lose more!! Whew!

Once again, I'm not the first to think up this brilliant idea. I just got some really good information from my medical provider backing up this idea. Happy reading!

 READ THIS ~ IT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

By James Beckerman, M.D., Providence St. Vincent Heart Clinic – Cardiology, part of Providence Heart and Vascular Institute

Here it comes – the time of year when we trade our regular jeans for that slightly larger, looser pair, so we can comfortably enjoy all the holiday feasts that the season serves up. Turkey, gravy, stuffing, potatoes, pumpkin pie – who can resist? It’s no fun to say no, but after a couple of months of yes, even the comfy jeans start to feel uncomfortably snug. By January, we’re back to making the same old resolutions to eat less, work out harder and sweat the extra pounds back off. Is there any way around this yo-yo cycle?

There is one strategy that might help, and it’s the focus of our November resolution: this holiday season, instead of changing the size of your pants, try changing the size of your plate.

A resolution for the holidays, and every day

The advice is simple: Use a smaller plate, and there is a strong likelihood that you will dish up less, and therefore eat less – and you won’t even miss the extra food. Don’t buy it? There is a lot of research to back it up.

Brian Wansink, Ph.D., a researcher and writer on the psychology of food choices, has led a number of studies showing that the size of a plate, serving bowl or serving spoon influences how much people eat:

• In his Super Bowls study, students at a party dished up snacks either from two large bowls or from four smaller bowls. The students who served themselves from the large bowls took an average of 53 percent more food and ate 56 percent more than those who dished up from the smaller bowls.
• In a free popcorn study, moviegoers who were given free large buckets of popcorn ate 45 percent more than those who were given free medium-sized buckets. The size of the container made such a difference that even when people were given stale, bad-tasting popcorn, they still ate 34 percent more if it was served in a larger bucket.
• In an ice cream social study, nutrition professors and graduate students were invited to a social event where they were randomly given small or large bowls and scoops and invited to serve themselves some ice cream. Those with the larger bowls were surprised to learn that they served themselves an average of 31 percent more, even though they believed and reported that they had taken no more than anyone else. The spoon size increased serving sizes, as well, even for those with smaller bowls. Those with both bigger bowls and spoons ate an ice-cream-headache-inducing 57 percent more than those with small bowls and spoons. If the nutrition experts can be fooled so easily, the rest of us don’t stand a chance.

These and other studies suggest that the amount we eat is often influenced more by visual cues – such as the size of our plate, or the amount of food we are served – than by how hungry we actually are. Some studies have suggested that you can decrease your portion size by 25 percent and feel just as full as you would with a larger serving – your mind and stomach can’t tell the difference.

So as the season of feasting begins, dish up – just use a smaller plate. By using a 9- or 10-inch dinner plate, rather than the typical 12-inch or larger plate, you will probably serve yourself 20 to 25 percent less food than you normally would, without even being that aware of it. That smaller amount of food on your plate will translate into good news for your waistband – one study found that the average person lost two pounds in a month, just by using a smaller plate for dinner.

Once you’ve made it through the holidays in the same-size pants, keep it up. Take these lessons and apply them to the rest of your meals and snacks – not just during the holidays, but every day. Switch to smaller serving bowls, serving spoons and cereal bowls. And when eating snacks, don’t eat out of the bag – measure out a reasonable serving, put it in a small bowl, and enjoy. You still may need to switch to a different pants size eventually – but chances are good that it will be a smaller one.

Are  you ready to give this a try?

Stay focused!