Portion control tips to maximize fat loss

The biggest problem we face with weight control is as follows. Ask yourself these two questions.

1. How long does it take to consume 1000 calories?
2. How long does it take to expend 1000 calories?

Well, if you were to workout at a pretty good intensity, it would take you probably between 1.5-2 hours to burn 1000 calories. And how long would it take you to consume 1000 calories? Probably only about 5-10 minutes depending on what you are eating!

So you can see why it’s so easy to gain weight and so difficult to lose it for many people.

One critical physics principle to remember is that if your goal is weight loss, at the end of the day you need to have consumed less calories than you expended.

So it’s all about the balance between calories in and calories out.

But a really super important concept to understand is that even though a calorie is a calorie, there are certain calories if consumed now will cause you to consume more calories later.

So if fat loss is our goal, you need to consume calories that are nutrient-rich, high volume for low calories types of food that fill you up now and suppress your appetite later.

What types of foods do this????

Vegetables, fruits and foods high in fiber will do the trick.

Other tips include:

• Use a smaller plate – you will tend to eat less.
• 20 minutes before you eat your meal, have a cup of soup, a handful of walnuts, a small salad, a cup of juice or 8-16 ounces of water. This will help to suppress your appetite.
• Eat slowly – give your brain a chance to receive the signal that you are full before you overeat

I try to increase my veggie intake by having a salad and/or veggie platter at each meal.  I will cut up peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and snap peas and we will munch on those as we’re waiting for the rest of dinner to finish.  Here’s a photo of my favorite salad to make. I don’t enjoy time in the kitchen very much but this salad I easily make a few times each week. And the best part is that my kids like it too! I add Green Lettuce/Spinach, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, cranberries, strawberries and goat cheese and top with a Vinaigrette or Catalina dressing.

Hope this gives you some nutrition ideas.  Remember, you can’t be great if you don’t feel great.  And what you put in your mouth is at least half the battle!

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan