Strategies for Portion Control

Research has shown that Americans often underestimate how many calories they are consuming each day by as much as 25%. If you've been working out consistently and think you should be maintaining or losing weight but are gaining weight it may be your diet.

Follow the strategies below to get on the right track


At Home
1. Measure your portions on a food scale. Figure out what a real portion is of all your favorite foods and stick to that.
2. Serve food in the appropriate portion amounts and don't go back for seconds.
3. Avoid mindless eating. Never eat out of the bag or carton. Instead put the correct portion in a plate or bowl.
4. Don't keep platters of food on the table; you are more likely to pick at it or have a second serving without even realizing it.

At Restaurants
1. Eat only half of your meal. The portions at most restaurants are enormous, so either share it with a friend or ask for a to-go bag right away and put it away ASAP. The longer it stays in sight you’ll be more tempted to pick at it.
2. Limit consumption of bread sticks, chips and appetizers.
3. Drink water to avoid filling up high calorie beverages.
4. If you have dessert, share.

Weight Loss Made Simple

If you’re looking to drop a few pounds, the solution is simple; move more and eat less. Moving more burns calories and eating less means less calories going in which both result in weight loss. Easier said than done, right? Well it doesn’t have to be that difficult.

While I would tell anyone, working out hard performing high intensity interval training and circuit style weight training work best for rapid weight loss there are some individuals that cannot perform high intensity workouts. If that sounds like you don’t worry there is still hope for you. A little is still better than nothing at all, right.

Increase your daily caloric burn by adding movement

1. Take a walk or bike ride before school or work, walk at lunch, or go for an evening ride or stroll with a friend. Gradually increase the intensity adding hills or increasing your speed.

2. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. This can add up big time if you live or work in a building where you can do it daily. Once you get good, start taking stepping up every other stair, then start jogging up.

3. Bike to and from work if possible.

Eliminating 200-300 calories a day easily goes unnoticed, but can result in big weight loss in the long run. Follow the tips below to get started.

1. Measure your portions. Get a food scale and use it. Figure out what a real portion is of all your favorite foods and stick to that. After a while you can start to eyeball a true portion size.

2. Eat only half of your meal. The portions at most restaurants are enormous, so either share it with a friend or ask for a to-go bag right away and put it away ASAP. The longer it stays in sight you’ll be more tempted to pick at it.

3. Stop drinking your calories. Many of your favorite soft drinks and flavored coffee beverages can contain 300 – 700 calories. Drinking one of these daily can add up to a weight gain of up to a pound a week. First make sure to stay away from super sized beverages (stick with 8 to 12 ounces), second making the switch to water can lead to a 20 pound weight loss or more over the course of a year.

Don't Forget to Stretch

Why is it that people go to the gym and train with weights or cardio machines, but can’t find the time to stretch? I see it all the time, guys spending an hour or two in the weight room and ladies spending equal time doing cardio workouts but when it’s over they just walk right out the door, without stretching. Stretching should be a part of your daily routine. Stretching is one activity that can be done anytime and just about anywhere with minimum time.

There are many reasons stretching can be beneficial to you. As you age your muscles tighten and your range of motion can become limited. Regular stretching can help you maintain your flexibility. If you are an athlete on any level, having greater flexibility can mean greater range of motion, improved performance and less chance of injury. If you train with weights on a regular basis you’ll be happy to know that stretching can reduce the soreness that comes after resistance training. Stretching can also lead to greater energy levels, improved posture and relief of stress.

Stretching can be performed during your cool-down period after resistance or cardiovascular training or done as its own activity. It’s best to stretch when muscles are warm. If you already workout try adding your stretches after the workout. This is an excellent time to stretch because your muscles are already warm, which means you can stretch farther and get more benefit from it. If you plan on adding a stretching session as its own activity start with a five minute warm up period doing jumping jacks, jump roping or other low intensity exercise to get the muscles loose and blood flowing.

Static stretches are generally safe, easy to do and have been proven to improve flexibility. Static stretching is slowly elongating the muscle through its full range of motion, then holding it at a point of tension, without pain. Hold each stretch for 15 to 30 seconds for maximum benefit. You should aim to stretch all the major muscle groups. However if you are short on time stick with the main muscles groups you work during your workout and areas that are most tight.

Jump Rope

Now more than ever there are more pieces of fitness equipment available to you online, on infomercials and at your local sporting goods store. Prices can range anywhere from a few dollars to well over a thousand dollars. One of my favorites has to be one of the simplest and cheapest, the jump rope.

Jumping rope is a great cardiovascular exercise that can be done almost anywhere, whatever your fitness level. It can burn over 700 calories per hour making it a very effective fat burning exercise. A jump rope is one of the cheapest and most portable pieces of exercise equipment available. At around ten dollars you can purchase a quality rope and slip it in your gym bag, backpack, suitcase or purse; taking your workout with you to the park, the gym or traveling out of town.

When choosing a rope check out a few different types so you can see which is more comfortable for you and best suits your needs. You can choose between leather, nylon or plastic. Some ropes are weighted for a more strenuous workout. Heavier ropes also called speed ropes are designed for speed. They turn faster, so not only do they improve your footwork and stamina but they also offer a higher intensity workout. When picking the length of a rope, use one foot to step in the center of the rope and pull the handles tight. The handles should come up to the middle of your chest.

Make sure to have appropriate footwear to avoid injury or discomfort from jumping. A good pair of cross training shoes should provide cushioning on the balls of your feet. Because jumping rope is an impact sport, use caution in regard to your ankles and knees. Avoid jumping on concrete; instead stick with an exercise mat, wooden gym floors, or carpet.

Just like most exercises you can vary the difficulty and intensity of jumping rope. Lower intensity jumps include double or alternate foot jumps. For moderate level jumping pick up the pace and try a running step (a slight jog while skipping over the rope) or a high knee jump (a moderate run with high knee lift). For high intensity you can try an alternating side to side double or single leg jump.

Remember getting a great workout is not about having the latest gadgets and gizmos. For ten dollars you can get an excellent workout from a jump rope, so think twice before you purchase a large piece of equipment. Some take up too much space and end up as coat racks. While treadmills and elliptical trainers are great pieces of equipment you can’t deny the easy of portability of a jump rope.

Weight Loss without Dieting

Weight loss is a matter of energy consumption (calories you are eating) vs. energy expenditure (calories you are burning). To lose weight you need to burn more calories than you are consuming. Energy expenditure is composed of daily activity, resting metabolic rate (how many calories you burn at rest), and thermic effect of food (the energy expended by eating).

Daily Activity
Basically this means becoming be more active, because physical activity burns calories resulting in weight loss. 45 minutes of moderate physical activity 5 times per week has been shown to maximize weight loss. However, if you don’t have 45 minutes you can get greater benefit in less time with interval training which is bouts of high intensity work followed by periods of rest or low activity…more on interval training later. If you are currently inactive remember to start slow and build up. If you can only walk 10 minutes before you get winded, start there and increase by a few minutes every week. A little is better than none at all. The goal is to move more, which results in greater energy expenditure.

Resting metabolic rate
To increasing your resting metabolic rate make sure you add circuit style resistance training and interval training to your regime, as both are important tools to increasing your metabolism at rest. A study at Ohio University took a group of men through a circuit consisting of three exercises for four circuits (12 total sets) in 31 minutes. Their metabolism remained elevated for 38 hours after the workout was complete.

Interval training has been proven to result in greater fat loss than steady state aerobic training. The beauty of interval training is not only the calories you burn during the workout, but the extra calories that are burned after your workout is over. For more on interval training see Burn Fat Fast.

Thermic effect of food
A study done in the UK looked at the impact of meal timing and thermic effect of food. They found when meals were irregular; thrermic effect of food was decreased in healthy lean women. Those who had a regular meal pattern (six meals per day) had a higher thermic effect of food, which resulted in burning more calories even though they consumed the same amount of calories. To increase your thermic effect of food, aim to eat six meals per day. The key is to keep the meals on the smaller side. Remember you aren't trying to eat more calories, but the same amount spread throughout those six meals.

Train Smarter, Not Harder

Q: I feel like I’ve been slaving away for hours on the treadmill for several months, but my weight won’t budge. What do I need to do to start seeing results?

A: If you feel you’re not getting a fair return on your time investment spent on the treadmill take a step back and look at your overall program. Is it solely cardio training? What intensity are you training at? How often do you train? Do you do any resistance training? How are your eating habits? These are just a few questions to think about because if you’re not seeing results chances are something is being out of balance.

If you’re looking to lose weight and you’re not doing any resistance training you are making a huge mistake. All the time I hear people tell me they only do cardio and once they lose weight then they will start lifting weights. Why? Stop limiting yourself to the number of calories you burn during the workout itself. What’s more important is the number of calories you burn after the workout. Weight training helps you lose weight faster than traditional cardio because not only do you burn calories during your workout, once you’ve completed your workout your metabolism stays elevated for some time increasing caloric burn, something that doesn’t happen with traditional steady state cardio. For more see Achieve Faster Fast Loss.

As far as the treadmill goes try including high intensity interval training. The benefits are faster fat loss and shorter workouts. Similar to resistance training this style of training is great because you burn calories after you workout is complete as well as the workout itself. For more on high intensity interval training see Burn Fat Fast.

Remember, what you do outside of the gym counts too. Eating small frequent meals can also give your metabolism a boost. Japanese researchers took two groups and fed them the same amount of calories for a two week period. The first group ate only twice a day and the second group ate six meals per day. The group eating only twice a day lost more muscle and the group eating six times per day lost more fat.

To lose more fat and retain your muscle plan to eat every three hours and keep meals small. Include weight training and high intensity interval training at least three times per week to maximize your results.

What's a Portion?

You know proper diet and exercise are the keys to lasting weight loss. You also know that one way to maintain or lose weight is through portion control. Many people underestimate the amount of food they eat simply because they overestimate the amount in a single serving.

I recently purchased a food scale which can measure foods in grams or ounces. This is one of the coolest toys I’ve got in a while. While I’m not on a weight loss diet this is an amazing tool for anyone
looking to monitor their portion sizes. A serving of cheerios is 30g. I like cereal and knew that I usually eat more than a single serving, but didn’t know how much I really ate. I measured out 30g and it was less than I usually eat. I kept pouring until I eyeballed a serving that I eat. It was 58g, nearly twice a serving size! While cheerios are a pretty healthy whole grain cereal and not a bad choice to eat as part of a healthy breakfast, two servings is twice the calories. One serving only 110 calories, so what is an extra 110 calories going to do? Well over the course of a year eating an extra 100 calories a day can lead to a 10 pound weight gain. The good thing is the reverse can lead to weight loss. 100 less calories a day for a year can lead to 10 pound weight loss.

Not enough you say then double it! Eating 200 calories less per day can lead to 20 pounds loss in a year. The best part about it is 200 calories in a day easily goes unnoticed. Now add in exercise into your daily routine and your weight loss adds up even faster. Exercise will also help improve your muscle tone, strength, stamina, and flexibility something you won’t get with diet alone. The bottom line is you can eat healthy foods and still fail to lose weight, decrease your portion size and know what a real portion is.