Unplugged

Portion im-Perfection

For the past year or so a lot has happened – to me personally, and to everyone in the world – literally. This has caused me, or rather allowed me to exhale long and slow. With that brought indulgences.

I have been awakened to my portion sizes of my dinner meals. I cook healthy foods 90% of the time but for some reason that gave me permission to have a lot more veggies or a lot of lean meat. I dismissed the fact that while I don’t lean on counting calories, the amount of food I eat adds calories, a too many, even if they aren’t empty calories, they add up. I scroll through Instagram, the web or social media and see so many delectable foods, recipes, and such beautiful plating and it’s inspiring. The majority of plates I see are fairly filled to the edges but the most beautiful and inviting meals are the ones that have just enough food on them. Seeing the perfect portion to fuel our bodies reminds me to slow down when eating, taste, feel, smell and thoroughly enjoy the food that is presented.

Food is meant to fuel our fine-tuned body. Mealtime is meant to slow us down, to be in the moment, to gather with family and/or friends and connect. Even when we are in a position that we eat alone, it can be a time to be in the moment, reflect on the day ahead or the day behind us.

Eating is necessary but we need not overindulge. Take a step back and reset your mealtime habits. Take note of how you fill your plate. Take note of how your food smells, looks and tastes. Be aware of when you’re feeling satisfied and take note of how much is on your plate at that moment of satiety. Use that as your guide when you serve yourself in future meals and whittle down your imperfect portion until it is perfect.

Happy, healthy, eating!

My Habit vs. My Goal

Eat to live! Don't Live to Eat

My Weakness: Portion Control

and coleslaw with plain Greek yogurt and spice dressing

Like many, I love food. I eat and crave healthy food [most of the time], I don’t eat processed food and I rarely ever eat junk food.

I usually have good self-control but sometimes I find myself going back for seconds simply because it tastes so good! That is a poor excuse for overeating especially when my stomach has been satisfied the first time around. This doesn’t happen every day, and when it does, I know I need to go inside myself and re-assess my emotions.

When I go inside myself emotionally, I ask: do I want seconds because it indeed does taste so good that one serving isn’t possibly enough or is there something missing in my life? If it’s the latter, what is missing? What is it that food is satisfying for me? Why does food make it somehow a little better?

Do you find yourself going in for more than you need? Do you feel uncomfortably full sometimes after you eat? Do you sometimes feel frustrated about where you are in your life, or about not being able to reach your goals as easily or quickly as you wish, do you feel like something is missing or off? The we you feel is often the reason we eat more than we should, or why we eat sugar, carbs, crunchy, chewy, gooey things, or soft, cold, or warming foods and drinks.

Assessing your feelings, writing them in a journal and getting in touch with your innermost feelings will help you to move forward. If you don’t quite know where to start, as a health coach, I work with individuals with exactly this type of behavior, help is always available and affordable. You are worth feeling good, looking good and being healthy.

Gaining control over what and how we eat is something we need to accomplish. When we accomplish that goal first, it makes our big goal easier to reach and new goals more exciting to set….and reach!