Portion Your Plate Right with MyPlate

If you haven't heard already, the Food Pyramid is no more, and has been replaced with a colorful, ideally sectioned plate. Introducting MyPlate from the USDA.

The idea behind the new concept is that people more easily relate to a plate since they use one everyday for most meals. Plus the guidelines offered by MyPlate are made to be simplier and easier to follow and stick with. So check the following short video on MyPlate and see whether it can help you in your meal planning.





To Your Enjoyable and Guilt-Free Food Experiences,

Using Your Hands for Easy Portion Control!

You hear it all the time. Watch your portion size when looking to eat healthier and manage weight. It seems so simple, but like most "easy" things, is easier said than done for most. To make portion control work, I feel its best to get to the most elementary level possible. How much more elementary can you get than your hands? My hands you ask? Yes your hands, and this time it really is as easy as it looks.

Check out this hand portion control chart to learn more. For instance the chart states one "cupped" hand is equivalent to half a cup of cooked vegetables, pastas, icecream, pudding etc. This tool is not about using your hands as utensils, but it's certainly an easy place to start. It's really all about having a visual in your head of everyday portion sizes so that it becomes second nature. Then you can truly become portion savvy.


To Your Enjoyable and Guilt-Free Food Experiences,

Getting Into Results and Out of Stagnation-Part 2

If you've tried to take action towards sustained weight management only to always feel as if you're not getting anywhere, then you're not alone. Real, measurable action is hard to initiate let alone sustain. But as already discussed in the previous Part 1 installation of Getting Into Results and Out of Stagnation, taking action to bring about results is possible. We've already discussed some of the ways taking action can become less daunting, and more doable. Here are a few more suggestions:

-Regardless of what you want to change, focus first on Self-Care and always be kind to yourself though the process.

-Ask for help. Too often we think we can do things alone. When change is scary you must seek and embrace any help you can find from trusted individuals. Know that although action will be required of you to make change happen, focus most on what you want the end result to be ultimately rather than each stage along the way.

-Start making task lists to get you organized on all the things you need. I've found that a simple chalk board placed at a spot which is frequently visited and seen, like near the microwave or next to your bedroom or bathroom mirror or an office desk, works well. A chalk board forces you to get through the tasks because you really need to make more room on the board and the only way to do that is to erase “completed” tasks.

-Focus on holistic approaches to change. If you want to change your body incorporate things which grow your mind and soul.


To Your Enjoyable and Guilt-Free Food Experiences,

Getting Into Results and Out of Stagnation

When we want something bad enough, this may motivate us to make a decision. But it takes more than a decision to actually get up and take action. It takes an conscience choice to get moving.

At the beginning of the year, many make the decision to loose weight or change jobs or find a mate etc. However, often times our decisions or resolutions are so vague to begin with that before long we quickly loose our momentum to act.

In addition we may forget that once we've made a decision we must become specific. Unfortunately, being specific is scary. So we may resort to what may seem less scary such as purchasing an exercise machine or perhaps even a gym membership without having a clear plan as to how we will incorporate these things into our daily routine. Essentially we simply hope for the best with the thought that that our sincere decision of resolution to change would be enough.

I recently read an article which stated that often our decisions to change keep us in a state of simply focusing on wanting what we want really bad without taking the life-altering actions required to make it happen. The crucial thing to remember when seeking real change in our life is that our decisions however passionately and sincerely made, are always on a mental plain and are doomed to remain right there.

In order for “Making up our minds” to be of true value to us we must also make the often difficult choice to walk the path of the actual actions that will bring about desired changes into our physical world. What happens also is that we end up being in a constant preparation state.

So how do we begin to get out of this “preparatory state” and enjoy results instead of stagnation?

1. Once you make up your mind (a decision) about something, you must immediately make the choice to take serious action towards change. Don't be content with simple making the decision.

For eg. a)Talk to supportive friends and families about your intentions which may bring to you resources you may need. This will also help to make you accountable to yourself via the feedback and reminders you are likely to receive from people who care about you b)Do a quick Google search to see what others are doing in the search of similar results. Good places to begin are forums, blogs, meetups etc.

2. Identify the obstacles, people,self-imposed perceived limitations, and circumstances which may be preventing you from taking action now. Begin addressing them through self-improvement avenues. Here are some resources that can help. If you are choosing books, choose the ones which are the most compact and a quick read. Some egs are “The Way to Love” by Anthony De Mello and “The Four Agreements” (pocket sized hardcover) by Don Miguel Ruiz,

3. Take even the smallest action even if your feelings about yourself, your life or circumstances are not perfect right now.

4. Put an automatic appointment or reminder of your goals in your cell phone calendar and make it recurring monthly around the same date each month. Again this is to increase your accountability. Sometimes you need to hound your own self in order to get yourself to move and to keep on moving and to be reminded of the change which you want to make.

These represent a few real action steps that can really help begin to take you out of just wanting what you want.

In the next posting we will discuss further steps towards getting into results and out of stagnation to help you honor your decisions.



To Your Enjoyable and Guilt-Free Food Experiences

Do The Prepackaged Foods From Most Diet Programs Measure Up in Taste?

Prepackaged Diet Plan foods like those from Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers etc. guarantee sure results in calorie controlled portable and convenient meals, but many times these do not measure up when it comes to taste. Recent research from Consumer Reports found that out of a number of prepackaged meals from the most popular Diet programs available, only five were palpable, all coming from the Jenny Craig program.

Although pre-made, prepackaged diet plan foods as part of an overall weight loss program offer convenience and easy meal planning, it could be argued that the same is so with portion-controlled frozen entrees from the supermarket. There are a wide variety of such entrees to choose from and many of these are generally better tasting and maybe even cheaper when you factor in supermarket sales and coupons.

Therefore many prepackaged diet plan foods could be replaced by store bought frozen entrees. They are just as quick to prepare, convenient, portable, and give much more variety than a Diet plan's pre-set menu items. Plus because of the many brands and varieties of frozen entrees available, it is a wonderful way to break the monotony of daily meals. Add a soup and salad if desired, and you have a more balanced meal.

Some of the healthiest brands to consider include Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Trader Joe's, Healthy Choice, Marie Callender's Fresh Steamer and Pasta Al Dente products, Amy's Kitchen and more. The use of wholesome frozen options can truly offer a little culinary exploration and an easy portion control method.


To Your Enjoyable and Guilt-Free Food Experiences