When I was a child my mother would cook a chicken to feed her family of six and then use the chicken bones for soup for the next day. Today we are encouraged to buy chicken breasts and eat one each.  Fast food restaurants encourage us to super size our meals and it is all too easy to get into the habit of eating too much food at mealtimes. Providing sufficient food for everyone is a sign of hospitality and a sign of generosity. So it is very difficult for us women to take a step back and realize we are overfeeding our families and that we should serve less food. If we are given a large portion of food we feel we are entitled to eat it all as that is our portion and many of us feel guilty about leaving some food on our plate. A supermarket portion of lasagna has increased from 250g in the 1990s to 450g today. As a child I might have bought a 25-gram packet of crisps as a once a week treat but today supermarkets often only sell them in six packs or in boxes. So children can have access to too many packets of crisps in a day.

A chocolate chip cookie to have with your coffee at a popular mall coffee shop weighs 90 grams, 425 calories. Whereas the normal size chocolate chip cookie from a biscuit packet is 11 grams and 56 calories. This means you are eating an extra 369 calories with your coffee. If you ate that every day you would put on almost half a kilo in weight in a week.

Buffets can be very dangerous, as we naturally like to try a bit of everything and we also tend to eat more; it is only human to want to get our money’s worth. It is also difficult when eating out to leave some food on your plate, as the waiter will want to know if everything was all right for madam. Research shows that the more we have on our plate the more we eat. The result is that without even realizing it we are getting fatter and have to make a decision on how we will handle the situation.

If we continue to eat supersize we will end up super size. This is what has happened in America and many countries are following. The fatter you get the more health problems you will face and this will cause misery to yourself and your family.

The solution is to first recognize that you are eating too large portions and to cut down. You should not be eating until you are so full that you need to open the button on your waistband. When you learn to down size your meal you will down size your weight. For a healthy eating guide email me to [email protected].

Portion control is the key to weight management as you can eat all the right foods; but if you are eating too much, this will eventually lead to weight gain. It is you who must take steps to control your own portions and not rely on how much food manufacturers to tell you how much you should eat!
 

 • Always say no to second helpings.

• When you do have a treat like chips, cookies, or ice cream, eat only one small serving and eat it slowly, and enjoy it!

• You should not have more food on your plate than you can hold in your two hands.


• Men 2,500 calories per day

• Women 2,000 calories per day



Very often people exposed to stress can turn to food, to comfort themselves, which only puts more pressure on the body. Why not take a detour on the way home and settle for a nice, relaxing swim? Ten or twenty lengths will relax you, and send oxygen whizzing around your stressed body. You will breathe easier and when you arrive home you will feel relaxed and invigorated, ready to spend time with the family. You will also sleep better, and that will give you energy and balance for the next day. I would like you to deal with the stress before dealing with the weight issue.