Smaller Portions

Most of us will have seen those programmes on television or images of dishes served up in fancy restaurants by fancy chefs and cooks where we've said..."Well, it's presented nice but where's the food?" "I can eat more than that!"

I said the same my myself in the past but you know...maybe they have a point.
Just maybe if you are eating the right selection of foods and they have all the minerals, nutrients and proteins that your body requires anything more is overload and your eyes are bigger than your stomach.

Just as the body "wees off" what it cannot use liquid wise if you drink too much, the body will cope at taking what it requires from the food to repair the system and give energy but I remember what my Consultant said years ago "You can still eat most things but do not eat large steaks"

And unless you are a body builder who is trying to build lots of muscle because you want to appear in some of these contests or be a weight lifter all you are doing by eating great amounts of protein is over work the system and that means your kidneys and liver. These days such people risk more damage as many also drink special supplements as well as larger amounts of protein laden food and some turn to drugs be it steroids or untried and untested substances and pay the price sooner or later.

The other week I read an article in a newspaper about the effects that diabetes has on kidneys and how the intake of protein is watched in the diet as though it's required, nit overworking the kidneys can slow down further damage and "Make them last longer" and that kind of fitted in with what my consultant said about restricting the amount of meat eaten at mealtimes.
But what is the right amount?

Well, a nutritionist that has had her own programmes on television and sometimes appears as a guest and for me often talks about the health benefits of food and seems to make a lot of sense has written another article and it just so happens to mention roughly how much protein you should eat at meal times and how to gauge the size it should be on your plate.

In the past the question has been raised when talking of the recommend 5 portions of food and vegetables per day "What is a portion?" Well, in general you can eat more than that and if you find yourself hungry and you are working hard and burning off the calories there is an excuse for eating more and perhaps for spreading if your employer will allow, your food intake over the day rather than sitting down to a one big meal.

So what is a portion?

Roughly a palm full of fruit or vegetables is one portion. So as long as you have a variety of food on your plate you should be getting all you require to power your body and nutrients from all the food groups possible.

And this article says the same is true of how much meat you should be eating, roughly you'll get all that your body needs without over working it from a piece the size of the palm of your hand.
You can be become obsessed and too worried about following all the advice that is given but it really does come down to common sense. And once again everything in moderation.

And finally...if you have money to burn and really do not miss parting with money, I cannot blame the person who came up this idea if the have found a niche and a clientele but a well known actress who has always come across a bit precious and one of the "Luvvie" set was being interviewed on the radio at the weekend...she had seen a photo of herself and decided that she needs to lose weight(She's never looked overweight to me)but it's her own choice. It's her money. She mentioned that she was about to use a service of a company(and even gave out their web address)which suggests that those listening might find it useful.

The service works out a weight loss/eating plan for the individual, makes up the food in parcels/hampers and delivers it to the door all ready for you just to put in the oven or have as it is. There is nothing to say that what they are doing isn't a very good idea or their advice is wrong.

All they are saving you is time. You have nothing to do.

The obvious easy answer is eat lots of fruit, vegetables, fibre, smaller portions, exercise a bit more and you will be healthier. You'll maintain your weight, lose weight if that's what you want.
Anyhow, I looked up the site connected to this particular service she mentioned...
I picked a plan at random and found out how much using this service would cost me if I decided to follow suit...

2 hampers delivered to your door each week for one person came in at £110(so that's £440 per month)I think I'll pass.

Now for some, the following may still be too expensive but I think this is not a bad idea(and it reminds me of the old)Meals on Wheels idea that some elderly were entitled to if they were finacially poor...where a delivery van would turn up and deliver at least one decent hot nutritional meal to be sure that that person would not starve. There are some companies that you can order from a selection of perhaps 60+ meals that you can store in a freezer and then just thaw or cook from frozen. The quality of food and choices are good and a meal can cost as little as £2.15. I can not see anything wrong with that kind of service and the prices seem quite reasonable.

As for the article I mentioned...click on this link.