Portion control may be the most effective weight-loss strategy around. It beat out exercise, regular physical activity, fat reduction in diet, and eating more fruits and veggies for effectiveness, according to researchers at the Summa Health System in Akron, Ohio. The study of 300 overweight people who were asked to practice five weight-loss strategies revealed that those who spent the most effort controlling portion size were most likely to lose weight and keep it off.
Break the habit of casually spooning food onto your plate by keeping a set of measuring cups and spoons on hand to ensure you end up with approximately one serving. No need to get too uptight by leveling off the top of a cup of corn. The idea is to train your eye to recognize what a single serving looks like. Use these visual clues to end portion distortion:
Serving Size of Fruit
Medium Piece = Size of Baseball
Serving Size of Meat
3 ounces = Size of a Deck of Cards
Serving Size of Cheese
1 ounce = Size of Four Dice
Think you have the idea? Test your knowledge with these Portion Distortion Quizzes from the National Institutes of Health. You may be surprised to find out how much is too much when you're loading up your plate!
In Nov 2010 I twisted my knee at work and damaged the soft tissues. I was passed from one physio to GP for 10 months with no real diagnosis of my injury, I was off work for 9 months as I could hardly stand and as a teacher it was impossible for me to go into a classroom environment. I worked from home sometimes when reports and moderation needed doing. I was getting really fed up and due to my lack of mobility started to put on weight I put on a stone. Things were not getting better and I insisted on a second opinion and was referred to a Sports Injury specialist he saw me and I was put on the waiting list for key hole surgery, which I had eventually in July 2011. I needed cartilage repair, knee cap trim and a clean out! I was on crutches for two weeks and then started to weight bare slowly. I started back to work on a phased return only to find out I had been made redundant due to cut backs.
I worked until August 2011 and applied for a new job and started Septemeber 5th which was brilliant, but my leg pain is unbearable without pain killers. I was asked by my GP to stop my Diclafenac and try Naproxpen instead to reduce the risk of stomach ulcers after using them for almost four years.
I try to exercise and do a bit of yoga and palates as I was a master at these before my injury but now I am like a beginner again.
I have started swimming recently to try and reduce my weight and increase my mobility but my back and hips are now painful.
Sorry to go on but I would like to share my story with your readers as I'm sure there are a lot of us out there with similair experiences.
I eat healthy and exercise moderately, recently I have bought two puppies to get me out walking more and lift my spirits.
If anyone has any tips on loosing weight in a sensible fashion, I would appreciate it. I don't drink and never smoked and I am finding it very hard to loose this dreaded stone!!!
i'm cute, thanks and alive
You'll be destroying your metabolism. It's better to eat 6 small meals a day.
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