Keep Your Health Tips

Portion Control Scenario: you go out for dinner and order
spaghetti with marinara sauce and a side of grilled
veggies. The pasta is so plentiful that it’s falling off the
plate. Yes, your meal is nutritious. But can too much of a
good thing be not so good for you? Absolutely!

HOW SUPER IS SUPERSIZE?

Often, portion control is difficult, in the era of the
“supersized” meal. It’s often hard to recognize “normal”
portion sizes. Giant bottles of soda, extra-large bags of
chips and king-size candy bars are part of our everyday
eating landscape. But unfortunately, as our portion sizes
get larger, so do our waistlines, even if we have started
a diet and exercise plan. Bigger packages themselves can
also sabotage portion control. Research from the
University of Illinois shows that people may tend to eat
more food when served in larger containers! When
movie-goers were given the same amount of popcorn in
containers of two different sizes, the people given the
larger tubs ate 44 percent more. (When in doubt, use a
smaller plate at dinner!)

PORTION CONTROL TIPS: SIZING THINGS UP

To exercise portion control, and keep portions in
perspective, you need a tool to help you navigate
through bulked-up portions. Visualizing recommended
serving sizes by relating them to common household
objects is an easy and useful technique. By comparing
food portions to things you already recognize, you should
be able to “eyeball” a food item and “guesstimate” how
large it is. Long gone are the days of carrying around a
food scale for portion control! It’s wise to weigh things
occasionally to get an accurate idea of how big portions
should be, but relating those measurements to common
objects and teaching yourself to recognize them will be a
great step toward achieving your weight loss goals.
Further, weighing your food in an attempt at portion
control can quickly turn into drudgery!
Some easy portion control tips:

* Your fist is about the same size as one cup of fruit.
* Your thumb (tip to base) is the size of one ounce of
meat or cheese.
* Your palm (minus fingers) equals three ounces of meat,
fish, or poultry.
* Your cupped hand equals one to two ounces of nuts or
pretzels.

PORTION CONTROL TIPS IN ACTION:

Once you have serving sizes committed to memory, you’ll
be ready to fit them into your eating plan:

* As you eat smaller portions, increase the number of
meals you eat to about 6. So instead of 3 large meals,
you will have 6 smaller ones. This will help to keep you
from feeling hungry and rev up your metabolism at the
same time!
* Limit servings of high-fat foods such as fatty meats and
fried foods.
* Buy single-servings of some foods, such as 1-ounce
bags of chips or 1/2-cup servings of ice cream.
* Remember that servings of most vegetables are
extremely low fat and low calorie. Bell peppers and
button mushrooms just might become your new best
buddies!

You must incorporate portion control as part of your diet
and exercise plan in order to lose weight more quickly!
By eating the right foods in reasonable portions, you will
ultimately lose weight, and look and feel great!

We make it easy to improve your health and feel good about yourself. Stop wasting your valuable time and learn from the experts! Discover the essential keys to healthy living and weight loss, get free recipes, tips and articles by visiting:
http://www.burn-your-fat.com
Borges is a motivational writer, author and healthcare consultant. She specializes in educating and motivating clients on good nutrition, healthy eating and wellness to improve overall health and happiness. To change your body for the better, receive free tips, recipes, articles and more, go to http://www.burn-your-fat.com.

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Life expectancy has always been high in some remote corners of the globe. Some distant and isolated villages in China and Tibet for example, have always reported cases of folks living to over 100 years old. There are no official birth records to back up their claims but if ever you see photos of these people they really do appear to be extremely old.

So why is it then that some cultures live longer than most others? Do they hold the secret to leading a long and healthy life? I don’t believe there’s a single answer to that question but healthy diet, healthy lifestyle, exercise, positive outlook, faith, family and companionship must all be contributory factors.

As far as diet goes, it’s a well known fact that the best food is natural and balanced produce. Fresh vegetables, whole grains, and fresh fruits are included in most healthy diets. Beans are pretty good for us too, and also nuts in moderation. Furthermore, just about any foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids are excellent for the health. A lot of people don’t know this but eggs which come from free range chickens contain omega-3 fatty acids? Now, omega-3 fatty acids are also found in many cold water fish and in pecorino cheese. Red wine in moderation is also touted by some octogenarians as a key to living longer but like all alcoholic beverages it has to be in moderation.

Another big mistake we make is the huge portions that we serve ourselves all too often. Eating until we’re fit to burst takes an awful strain on the body’s digestive system. The smaller the portions the better, even if it means eating an extra meal or two a day. It’s a whole lot easier on the body than cramming in one or two heavy meals that’s for sure. And smoking? No healthy article would be complete without some mention on the dangers of the tobacco weed. Cigarettes, pipes, cigars etc, make no contribution to longevity and even those folks that do live to a ripe old age as smokers, are certainly not as fit as they would have been if they hadn’t smoked.

Social factors also play a part. Faith in a God or spiritual principle, long term friendships and a happy family all contribute towards lessening life’s work and burdens and consequently play an important role in living healthier and longer lives.

I can’t stress enough how important an active lifestyle is. Many of us are far too deskbound or armchair-stuck these days. It appears to be a normal part of a modern life style but it doesn’t have to be.

Take a country like Japan for example, where many people are still living rural lives far away from the concrete jungles of modern society. They don’t have all the creature comforts that many of us have come to depend on. There’s little automation in their daily chores as they go out to fish, milk the cows and goats, mend the fences, chop wood, trim trees and hedgerows, roping and rounding up animals, and of course, doing all their cooking from fresh organic produce. Phew! Sounds tough doesn’t it, and it is of course, but as they do these things throughout their lives it keeps them fit and healthy. Think about it, they are in the fresh air, they get daily physical exercise, they’re working amongst their friends and family members in close-knit communities, most have a faith in some kind of higher power, or god, and all this equates to them being some of the oldest and healthiest living people on the face of the planet.

Just remember, there are things that we can all do personally to improve our chances of living, not only a longer life, but a healthier one too. Diet, exercise faith, and active participation in our communities can all help our wellbeing and purpose.

“Andy Maingam” is a expert publisher and webmaster of Lookatfood.com where he owns and operates a website that explors the foods of the world. What food comes from what country, and what do they eat? What do we eat? What wouldn’t or shouldn’t we eat. Healthy and unhealthy eating habits, how diet can help us to live longer and healthier lives, medicinal plants, global recipes, edible exotic treats, aphrodisiacs and a whole lot more.

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