Do You Really Know How Much You're Eating?

You might be surprised at what the following calculations reveal ... and they could solve your plateau issues!

OK. We know you want to eat healthier and move your body as nature intended (just a fancy way to say becoming more active!). If you're following a healthy lifestyle, you've probably already made some calorie-wise choices -- trading chips and candy for fruit and yogurt; a few meat meals for some fish and vegetarian meals; and 2 percent milk or fat-free milk for whole milk.

So why isn't the scale going down?

One possible reason: You are having a "smidge" more of this and a "touch" more of that than you really intended to eat.

The bottom line: perhaps you need to be more careful about portion sizes.

Before we go on, let's take a look at some concrete examples. Yes, we know you're going to say, "What difference does that make?" but please read on and get the whole picture.

Let's say, for example, you meant to have:

• 12 ounces of fat-free milk for breakfast, but instead poured 16 ounces?
  Calorie increase: 40
• 1 tablespoon of peanut butter on your bagel in the morning, but instead had 4 teaspoons?
  Calorie increase: 30
• Speaking of that bagel, you planned for a healthy-sized 3-ounce bagel, but instead had a large one at 5 ounces?
  Calorie increase: 150
• 6 whole-wheat crackers with your salad, but instead grabbed 3 extra for a total of 9?
  Calorie increase: 50
• 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil (with Balsamic vinegar and herbs) on your salad, but instead had 2 teaspoons?
  Calorie increase: 40
• 3 ounces of chicken on your lunch time salad, but instead had 4?
  Calorie increase: 43
• 3 ounces of grilled, poached or baked salmon, but instead had 5 ounces?
  Calorie increase: 100
• 1 cup of wild rice at dinner, but instead had 1 1/4 cup?
  Calorie increase: 54

Maybe you've already done the math in your head, but if you haven't, you will be surprised to learn that these seemingly small portion size differences of wholesome foods add up to a whopping 500-calorie difference for the day.

Day after day, this can spell the difference between dropping weight (slowly, as we recommend) and ... not.

Here's another interesting fact that will help put this into perspective: To lose 1 pound of body weight, you have to have a deficit of 3,500 calories. If you have a 500-calorie deficit each day, it is possible to lose 1 pound per week (adding exercise will create another calorie deficit, which is what we recommend). Get the picture? Watching portion sizes may be one big piece of the healthy weight puzzle that has been missing.

So, does this mean you have to weigh and measure food forever? It depends on you. We recommend weighing and measuring initially as you are learning new ways to live a healthier life. Then, we recommend checking your portion sizes about twice per week. If you are having trouble, then take out the measuring cups, spoons and scale a little more often.

Short of measuring devices, here are a few ideas that help many people control portions without too much trouble:

• Find the drinking glass in your cupboard that serves up 8 ounces of liquid, as well as one that serves up 12 ounces and use it consistently. If you need to, take an permanent marker and draw a line at the point that gives you this portion.
• Instead of serving with measuring spoons, serve with long-handled measuring cups. This might be especially helpful for pastas and rice.
• Find the bowl in your cupboard that will allow you to have a one-cup portion of cereal or soup. Again, pull out that permanent marker and draw a line if you need to.
• When buying meat, poultry and fish, buy the portion you need to serve yourself, or the multiple of that you need to serve your family. Then, just take your portion by dividing it (or eating the whole thing if you cook for yourself).
• Buy individual-serve portions whenever possible. This helps with raisins, canned fruit, yogurt and cheese sticks.