ONE AWESOME FORMULA FOR PORTION CONTROL!

By Jennifer Cecil, M.Ed., LPC

There is no way that you can eat according to the formula if you do not know the calorie content of the foods that you eat.
You will need to purchase a comprehensive calorie counting book to help you. (I use The Fat Book by Karen Bellerson).
The challenge is then to come up with as many 300 calorie meals and 100 calorie snacks as possible.


You will then eat those foods and watch as your body adjusts to the decrease in calories.

Breakfast: 1 Low Fat Yogurt 100
                  ½ C. Granola    200
                   Coffee
OR
                   2 eggs with cheese 200
            1 Whole Wheat Orowheat lite bread   40    
                    1 tsp. Smuckers spreadable fruit 20
      ½ c. Skim milk 40

Lunch:
                     1 Rice Cake 35
                     1 T. Natural Peanut butter 95
                     2 tsp Spreadable Fruit 40
                      12 raw carrots 30
                      Low Fat Ranch dressing 40
                     ½ c. Skim milk 40
Dinner:
                     ½ Cup Spaghetti Sauce w/ Meat 170
                      ¼ Cup Whole wheat pasta 140
                      1 garlic bread (whole wheat lite) 40
                       Salad w/1 T. low fat dressing 50

Are you getting the idea? You can be as creative as you like. You may combine all sorts of food as long as the total calorie count is approximately 300 calories.
If you choose to eat 400 calories at lunch, then you must limit yourself to 200 calories at dinner.

Let’s look at some 100 calorie snacks:
       One apple with 2 tsp.Peanut Butter = 120 calories
       One string cheese plus ½ c. grapes = 103 calories
       One Snack size Pop-Secret popcorn = 100 calories

      

The sky’s the limit in terms of the foods that you can  combine to total 100 calories. Be creative and find foods that you enjoy that fill you up and carry you thru to your next meal.

You will probably need to weigh and measure food, using a calorie counter for about three weeks. After that, you will be able to judge the calorie content in food and estimate portion size. Be careful as you estimate, however, because we overeaters unfortunately deceive ourselves about how much we eat. Another word of caution, when eating at a restaurant, you will have to cut your portion size in half, ask immediately for a “take-out” container for the other half. This will assure that you are not exceeding your calorie limit for that meal.

Have fun with this formula. Be creative and enjoy how easy is it to use as this tool to add to your weight loss toolbox!

This article is by Jennifer Cecil, M.Ed., LPC