What do you use now? Or do you just know after so long what you need and the cals, fat, carbs etc.
I don't use anything any more. I eat what I want, when I want it. Having said that, I stay aware. I'm not too good at throwing away leftovers...think it's wasteful, so I try to get my portion sizes right in the first place and 'fridge or freezer' the rest for another day if there's too much.
I have total freedom around food. Well pretty much. Most of this I've practiced via WLR. I feel free
The other thing I wondered is how do you know what a portion is?
This is a really good question. I felt quite confident that I could practice healthy eating...for a time anyway
, but I had no idea what a portion size was.
Okay...Cambridge showed me, but deep down I kept thinking, yes...but that is a diet. Even though it took me up to 1500 cals it still felt like a diet to me. Didn't feel like a real life.
I had to work out what portion sizes I could live with on a maintenance basis and it was a bit trial and error. Too much of something meant I had to cut back on something else.
My example is with cereal here. On the packs they say for instance 30g and milk. But when you measure that out it works out at 3 spoons or something ridiculous, is this really enough.
Yes it is. I have about 30g. Always weighed 30g, now I guess at it. So much is in the expectations and what you get used to.
I used to have half a CD shake for breakfast. 30g of cereal is more than that and takes me longer to eat.
There again, I don't really have heavy cereals. 30g porridge with a large handful of frozen fruit in before cooking is easily enough. 30g of Cinnamon Grahams (which I used to love...but now taste too sweet), is hardly worth bothering with.
One small chicken breast with some chips seems little. One small chicken breast with masses of salad (and yes, I do use some real mayonnaise
) and some chips seems like a huge meal.
I think the focus has changed. I have chicken with my veg or salad, rather than veg or salad with my chicken.
So, I reckon that generally speaking, the portion sizes recommended are pretty accurate, but you have to 'plump' them up with loads of different healthy extras.
You get into the swing of it. I used to think a way of eating that included loads of veg and salad would be awful to live with, but I crave it now.
I come back from work thinking about how I can't wait to get my teeth into my fruit salad. Hey...this is a person who didn't even like fruit once.
I used to eat a big bowl years ago before worrying about weight and always stayed the same weight. But when you measure out a bowl it weighs a lot.
xx
To be honest, unless you are talking about very sugary cereals, they really are relatively low calorie anyway. I could double my amount of cereal without it making much of a difference.
There again, regardless of whether I have a big portion or small portion of breakfast, I still tend to get hungry at lunch time and want the same sort of lunch, so I opted for the smaller size. It's finding out what works for you. That's why I like WLR. I could completely personalize it