SIZE MATTERS
I read an article a while back where a man purchased a home built in the 1930s or 40s and there had been no updates since. He had a fit when he couldn't get his plates in the kitchen cabinets. He couldn't believe that someone would build a house with cabinets too small. Then it hit him. The standard dinner plate during that time was 9 inches. Now it is 12. The house wasn't too small; the plates were too big. And we do everything we can to fill them up. We super size because it "saves money" and "All You Can Eat" just seems like a challenge we can't back down from.
I use a salad plate for my meals. It serves a couple of purposes. First, instant portion control. The smaller plate won't hold as much. Second, it is visual. You can put standard servings on this size plate - 4 oz of meat, two 1/2 cup servings of vegetables - and it will look full. So you mind thinks you're getting plenty to eat. If you put that same food on a standard dinner plate, your brain is convinced you're starving yourself. And it will "make" you fill the plate up and then eat it all out of guilt. All those starving kids in Africa you know.
Serving sizes take some getting used to. First, you have to read the labels on the food. I have about 6 different cereals in the cabinet and all of them have a different serving size. Then, and this is key, take the time for a while to actually measure the portions out. Get the scales or measuring cups out and get started. Yes, it is a pain at first but then you get to where you can visually recognize the right size. Eyeball it.
We don't actually need as much as we eat. Now, try convincing your stomach of that after a couple of days of cutting back. It WILL need time to adjust. But it will. And pretty soon that small plate will be all you can eat.
Monday, January 19, 2009
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