Monday Healthy Tip #4....

Good Morning everyone and Happy HEALTHY Monday!

So I figured today my little tip would be about portions control. I did write a brief bit about it on my new "Weight Loss Journey" page that I made last week, but I thought I'd talk a little more about it since I believe it is truly the #1 key to weight loss. Mainly because, as long as you can keep your portions intact, you can basically eat whatever you want. A little of anything is not going to be a detriment to your weight loss goals. I'm certainly not saying to go out and buy extra large chocolate bars or order anything (EVER) "Super Size" or "Biggie"...but LESS of anything, will do you no harm. Here are a few tricks that I use:

When I first started to pay closer attention to what I was eating, the simplest thing for me to do (especially when eating out) was to HALVE my plate. Slice a sandwich into 2 pieces, cut that slice of cake in half and then try to enjoy that portion as much as possible. If you stop and take that second to breathe before you reach for the other half, you might just realize you've had enough. Another good trick is "outta sight, outta mind." I remember once while having a sandwich and fries from take out, I took half the sandwich and a few fries as my dinner and then wrapped the rest back up in their containers and closed up the brown bag they came in. And ya know what, I didn't even THINK about them after that. It's those little tricks you can do to prevent yourself from overeating, and they really help.

And I'm sure you've also heard that using smaller plates will help keep your portions in control. I'm not going to lie and say I do this for every meal, but I do find it VERY helpful with something like pizza. (and no...do not still tell me you can crowd 2 slices on the dish! I know you can, but don't! :) That little extra time you need to make that trip to get another slice, might just be enough time to be able to make yourself 'STOP' and think before you eat. And sometimes (SOMETIMES) that's all you need. I think it's MUCH better not to deny yourself anything (cause if you do, then you're "on a diet"), but to have a small portion and be done.

AND in related news: I'm happy to report that I read this morning on Hungry Girl, that Dairy Queen is making MINI Blizzards starting in August. Come on DQ! Roll these bad boys out in May...it can't be that hard to make smaller cups!! :) Cause I HEART me some Blizzards (OCCASIONALLY!) in the Summer!!

OK, OK! I am DONE Yammering!! Have a good Monday!