Many men no longer do manual work and so do not need huge portions of food because they are now sitting behind a desk; not laboring on the land or catching fish for a living. It is important to know when to stop. You may be really enjoying your meal but you have to know when you have had sufficient. You do not need to eat until you feel full in order to stop. When you feel full you have actually overeaten. You feel uncomfortable; your waistband is tight and you know that means you have eaten too much.
When you are enjoying eating a tasty morsel you will always want more but you have to say to yourself that was tasty and stop.
The fact is, you can eat anything you like if you can control your portion size. It is much better to have a little of what you fancy, really enjoy it and then stop. You will feel good about yourself rather than leave the table feeling guilty, really uncomfortable and end up gaining weight.
Gary Barlow from the “Take That” band gained weight when the boy band split up in 1996. Barlow admits that he rapidly gained pounds — which made him almost immobile to the extent that even getting out of bed was an effort and he found it hard to walk. Gary says, “I suffered with depression due to the band break up and I ballooned to nearly 17 stone by the year 2000”.
He said that being so heavy made him feel as though he was in prison and all though he was big he says he felt small. Being overweight can affect your self-esteem and it can be helpful to others when successful people show their vulnerable side as we realize we are all the same no matter how successful we are.
If you gain a lot of weight it is common to feel embarrassed about it because you know you are supposed to look after yourself.
Portion control is hardest when you eat out. In the countryside where I live portions are huge. I know just by looking at my plate it is too much food. But then there is a little voice in your head that says; “Hey I paid for this I am going to eat it”. The answer to this little voice is, my health comes first. Enjoy the ambiance of the restaurant, the company of your friends and the taste of your food. A healthy person knows that overeating is not a healthy choice; you should not eat more than you could hold in your two cupped hands held together.
For a fact sheet on portion control e-mail me [email protected].
Can you advise me on the best low fat pizza as my husband loves to have them for supper and we are dieting?
It is always best to make your own and I make my children Pizza Pitas. A tasty way to make low-fat homemade pizza is to use pita or Arabic bread. Toast the pita in a 350-degree oven until slightly crisp. Remove from the oven and add a low-fat pizza sauce, bought or home made, and toppings of your choice — no pepperoni, though. Finish with fat-free or low-fat mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven for a few minutes until toppings are heated through and cheese is melted. If you also make a salad this can be a really healthy meal.
