Personal Training Blog with Douglasville Personal Trainer David Hansey

Ok — This is part 3 of my series on weight loss. I get a lot of my clients here at the Gym in Douglasville and at home who are very confused about food and losing weight.

Well we have covered a few things and now here comes a very critical one — portion control. You need to spend some time getting comfortable with how much you are eating. A morning bagel can have up to 5 of your grain servings so if you count that as one or two because you are guessing, you are going to shortchange yourself.

Here is what I have found. Most people do not need to worry about portions of fruits or vegetables. It is with the grains and the proteins where we go off the tracks. A portion of ice cream is 1/2 cup. Yet most people in a small bowl will put 2 full cups.

So here is what I like people to do. This week now that you are used to keeping a diary, do some measuring. Pour your regular bowl of cereal. Then dump it into a large measuring cup. Is it the 1 cup or 3/4 cups or whatever it is on the nutrition label? I bet it isn’t. Do this with at least a few of the things you eat this week. Yes, the lettuce you eat is probably ok if you eat 2 cups instead of 1 — lol — nobody gets fat from eating too much lettuce. But the steak you eat might be 10 oz when 4 is a portion. The spaghetti you eat might be 3-4 cups when a portion is 1/2 cup.

See where I am going? Get a handle this week on things you eat daily or a few times a week and learn what a real portion is.

And check back soon for part 4 — Empty calories

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