Do You really know how much you are eating?

My inspiration for this article stemed from a recent conversation I had with a woman I know only as an acquaintence - I will call her Mary.  
 
Mary was lamenting that she had gained weight and as she said "at my age it is so much harder to shift it off again".  I would judge Mary to be over 60 years of age, she has been retired from work for a number of years.
 
I enquired as to whether anything changed for her and she couldn't really think of anything; no new medications and no real difference in her eating pattern.  Being curious, I asked if she ate breakfast.  Her face lit up as she described "every morning I have bacon and eggs and hash browns, and some times toast as well"
 
Mary actually doesn't know that I am a weight loss coach and as we continued our conversation she went on to talk abut the biscuits she enjoys with a cup of tea - a couple of times a day.  And some days there is cake and/ or slice.  She has "only a salad for lunch and a normal dinner"
 
As I listened to her describe a normal eating day, I wondered if she had any real awareness of the volume of food she consumes everyday.  It is easy to develop habits and patterns of eating without realising.

For Mary, food is a very important part of her socialising.
 
Mary is absolutely on track with breakfast.  Breakfast is a really important meal for everyone to eat. 

Recently, I have worked with some clients where just by introducing a nutritious breakfast to their daily eating plan, they have lost weight.  This is without making any other change to their eating pattern. 

Breakfast is important.  
 
However, we need to be mindful that breakfst is ONE of the meals in the day, not the entire days allowance in one meal.  Remember that old addage - Breakfast like a King, lunch like a Prince and dinner like a Pauper. 
 
How can we keep track of what we eat? 
 
Creating awareness of what we eat is a great starting point.  Many of my clients have found keeping a Food Diary is extremely helpful. 
 
A Healthy Wealthy Food Diary helps you to track:
  • what you eat
  • how much you eat, 
  • when you eat, and,
  • how you are feeling at the time. 
A Food Diary is not for the rest of your life.  It is for as long as necessary for you to create the awareness you need to make the necessary changes.  This may be for a few days or for a few weeks.
 
My most recent Tele Class is dedicted to making the most of the Healthy Wealthy Food Diary. 
 
Start now, write down what you have already eaten today. 
 
Did you know that your stomach is about the size of your clenched fist?
 
Every time you eat more than that you are stretching your stomach so that eventually you can fit in all that food
 
What is the really successful way to lose weight?  For most people, it is to EAT LESS.
 
Being aware of what you are eating is a great place to starting to eat less.

Start now - record what you eat for a few days.  Make small changes and You will really notice the difference.

Posted by Healthy Wealthy at 7/29/2009 3:56 PM
Categories: Eating Habits
Tags: eating plan breakfast nutritious breakfast food diary lose weight eating weight loss gain weight
 

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