Getting started with portions

Hey folks,

It’s a situation that I’m sure is familiar to many of you: you’re surveying the empty dinner plate on the table in front of you and you realize that you have just consumed enough food to feed a family of four. Yeah, c’mon now – I know I’ve done it a time or two (or three…). Or maybe you sit down and start eating a pizza and before you know it you’ve devoured the whole thing? Not exactly the best feeling in the world, eh? Or have you ever gone to a restaurant, ordered a steak with a loaded baked potato or fries and finished the entire plate? If you have, chances are you have grossly overdone the whole “portion” thing.

You know, I am ashamed to admit that I fall victim to this situation more than I would like. So let’s start off at the beginning and talk about proper portions. I’m going to use steak as an example. First off, most folks should be consuming red meat only a couple of times a week. Secondly, the amount per portion of this delicious red meat should be around about 6 oz. Yep, that’s it: 6 oz. I know it doesn’t seem like much, eh? I have been known to pack away a two pound steak in just one sitting! For those of you scratching your head that would be about 32 oz. Just a wee bit over the recommend portion. In any case, I haven’t done that in quite some time. Just the other night I helped out with a meal at the in-laws’ and put together seven barbecued steaks that were about 6-8 oz each. No, I didn’t eat them all myself (there were seven of us for dinner). We did dress it with Bearnaise sauce which added some calories, but we weren’t going nuts with our portions.

For me, it was difficult to reduce my per-serving portion of steak at the beginning because I love it so much. But I made a decision to just buy better steak instead of bigger steak. I’ll tell you this much: I guarantee I am going to savour every bite of that steak as it goes down.

When ordering a steak at a restaurant, look for the  smaller steak and dress it up a bit with mushrooms or onions. Try to avoid prime rib as it has the highest fat content. Instead, go for tenderloin or filet mignon, both of which are packed with flavour and tend to be… well… tender!

When first starting out, it is difficult to determine what a portion size actually looks like, especially at a restaurant. Who the heck carries a scale around with them anyhow?! Do yourself a favour: when you are at home,  measure out what the appropriate portion sizes are for you and what these look like. Know how many calories are actually in each portion and compare the portion size to something you can remember easily (for example, a cup of vegetables is about the size of a tennis ball). As you do this, gaging proper portions at a restaurant will become second nature. And don’t be afraid to split an over-sized meal in half and ask for a ‘doggy bag’. This can really help your waist line and your pocket book as you are splitting the cost of one meal into two.

Cheers,

Coach Joe

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All You Can Eat!!!

Formerly four of my favorite words.

Now, it’s quite the opposite. They are the words that I really should take great care with. When you hear or read those words, be careful. One can easily get sucked into thinking about the financial benefits of the deal and loose track of the caloric negatives associated with such a “treat”.

I did.

Just last night, I went out and took pleasure in devouring several skillets of good ol’ fajitas. Luckily, I knew in advance that I was going to tempted by this and I took some precautionary measures by not over-indulging during the day.

My suggestions about preparing for an “All You Can Eat” feast, including notes about what I did or didn’t do yesterday:

• DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF! You’ll be cranky and will eat so fast that, chances are, you are going to eat way more than you would have to begin with. I made sure to eat just enough to get me through the day.
• Skip the appetizers, calorie-laden drinks, and dessert. If you are going to partake in the ritual that is “All You Can Eat”, then let’s try to hold off on putting any extra calories into your system.  Oh, by the way, I did have one light beer.
• Use condiments sparingly. This is where a lot of the “hidden” calories are as restaurants tend to use full-fat versions. In my case, I was tempted by the sour cream and cheddar cheese butI managed to control the urge to dump huge amounts of both on to each tortilla. You’d be surprised how little you need to get the same taste.
• Eat Slowly. You’ll enjoy yourself more and it will allow you to better gauge when you are full. I didn’t necessarily eat as slowly as I could have but I managed to control it a bit.
• Switch it up. This is a tip that my wife, Sonya, mentioned – in hindsight, mind you. Try to substitute a high concentration of veggies for the high protein (in my case, meat/cheese) on every second wrap (or if you’re visiting a buffet, make every second plate a trip to the salad bar). This will ensure you are getting more nutrients into your system and fill you up on the “good stuff”.
• Drink plenty of water. This will also fill you up so that you will not over eat. After my one beer, I switched to water for the rest of the meal.
• Remember – you don’t have to eat it all. Just because you asked for another helping doesn’t mean that you have to eat every last piece they bring to you. Don’t let the guilt of the price force you to eat more just to make it seem like a better deal. It’s really not worth the caloric intake.

If, after all this, you still find that you have consumed way more than you wanted, don’t sweat it. It’s one day. It’s one meal. Even if you ate your entire daily caloric value in one sitting (which I did), you can’t change that. All you can do is learn from it and move forward. Please don’t try to “make up for it” the following day by starving yourself, you are going to hurt yourself even more. Just maintain your course and you’ll be OK. You’ll make it. I know I will.

All in all, folks, my recommendation is to avoid the “All You Can Eat” deals at all costs. However, if you are like me and get bit by the bug every once in a while, take heed to the above-mentioned tips. They could save you from consuming a number of calories that you really didn’t want. I know I’ll pay more attention to them the next time.

Cheers,

Coach Joe

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