Dec 19 2007
Higher Quality Food Makes Portion Control Easier
Every new diet that comes along tries to create excitement and enthusiasm (and sales) by coming up with a new and interesting way to get people to eat fewer calories. Some very popular diets - like the Atkins diet, the Zone Diet, and Fat Loss 4 Idiots -try to tell you that calories aren’t all that important if you just follow their menu plans, (but their diets are still low-calorie).
In spite of all those diet books on our bookshelves, America is a land of overweight people, with high rates of heart disease and diabetes related to our diets. Part of the problem is eating the wrong things, of course, but eating too much of the wrong things is what really brings on the excess fat.
The average American is eating more calories every day than the average citizen 20 years ago, and portions continue to get bigger along with our waistlines.One way to naturally eat less is to eat better food. By “better” I mean food that has more nutrition, more vitamins, and more of the basic building blocks of health. Too many of us take a vitamin pill to replenish our body’s supply of these vital nutrients, while eating food that is low in nutritional value.
This can actually lead to larger portions, overeating, and more fat deposits in all the wrong places.
There are thousands of vitamins, enzymes and other micro-nutrients in high-quality food, and more are being discovered every day. These nutrients are needed by each cell in our bodies to carry out their normal functions. The vast majority of these nutrients are found in plant-based foods, like fruit and vegetables.
Every time you sit down to a meal that is lacking in things your cells are desperate for, something important happens - you may feel stuffed, but you still want more. The appetite control center of your brain will cause you to eat everything on your plate, and then ask for dessert, even when you know you’ve eaten more than enough already.
Many leading nutritionists believe that obesity is caused, in part, by malnutrition. When we hear that word we think of those starving children from Africa or North Korea that we sometimes see on TV, but it is entirely possible to suffer from malnutrition and be overweight. If the body doesn’t get the nutrition it needs from the food it has already eaten, it will beg for more.
Portion control becomes far easier when we increase the quality of our food, because the individual cells in your body will be getting the nutrients they need for energy, repair, and regeneration. This means that any diet that contains the best, most nutritious food will also be the diet that is easiest to stick with, so any weight that’s lost won’t come back on again.
Many articles and books have been written about which foods are good for you, but it comes down to this: Eat more veggies, both raw and cooked. Eat more salads, more beans, and more whole grains. Eat fewer and smaller portions of animal products (or for the greatest health improvement, don’t eat any animal products at all).
To really make portion control easier, it’s also important to improve the taste and enjoyment value of the food you eat, and take care to eat your healthy meal in quiet, comfortable surroundings, without rushing. Always have something on the table that you can eat as much of as you want - like a huge salad with real olive oil dressing, or steamed broccoli with herbs.
To start making the transition to a healthier diet with more nutrition and fewer calories, take a trip to your local library and check out several cookbooks that contain lots of delicious, healthy recipes - mouth-watering photos of as many dishes as possible. Don’t just go for the “low-fat” cookbook section - also look in the vegetarian section.
For a real taste treat, take a look at books with recipes from around the world, especially from those countries where the citizens enjoy lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, small amounts of meat and fish, or vegetarian meals.
Ethnic cookbooks from North Africa, the Mediterranean countries, and Asia are filled with mouth-watering meals that will delight your senses while giving your body the nutrition it needs, without needing to ask for more. If you find cookbooks with good photos of each recipe, you can start getting excited about your next meal while you’re still at the library, picking out your books.
Cooking classes that offer instruction in Asian or Mediterranean cuisines can also help you get enthused about changing to a new diet filled with more delicious, healthy vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes. And the exciting new tastes will convince your body that you’re getting the nutrition it needs for optimal performance. You may just discover that it is possible to enjoy a delicious meal, without asking for seconds or waiting for dessert.
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