7/31/10

How to Use Portion Control

It's interesting how much people have put their hands into nature.  As I am on this journey of eating smaller portions and opting for healthier choices, I realized that there is so much "fake" stuff out there which we consume daily.

This morning I had a peach for breakfast.  It was plump, soft, and as expected the very first bite filled me with excruciatingly amazing flavor.  The juice flowed in and around my tastebuds like a Niagra Falls party right inside my mouth.  It was truly delicious.  My teeth chomped down on the meaty fruit until I had enough.  I almost finished the whole thing, but there came a point where the flavor lost its essence and I was satisfied.

This event made an impact on me.  I realized that foods that are natural, unaltered (other than pesticides:o) by humans were meant to serve us in taste and fill.  See, if I put a little sugar on top of that peach or maybe even som whipped cream, I would have probably been able to eat the whole thing and perhaps bite into another.  But, no, I was done.  There came a point where I just didn't want to keep bursting my mouth open with this flavor.

Think of any fruit, veggie, or other natural source of food.  Unaltered, you eat just enough to get your fill out of it.  That's the way we're supposed to eat.  We are hungry, we bite into delicious sustenance, and when we have had enough we stop.  But processing our foods with sugars, high fructose corn syrup, sodium, sauces and flavorings makes it hard for our taste buds to want to stop, even if our stomach is signaling we've had enough.

So I realize, that it really never is about dieting.  It's about choosing foods that are live, fresh, healthy, and just the way they are.  (Not that we could ever be perfect and not eat another piece of chocolate :o)  Becoming healthy really is about a lifestyle, not a fad.  Yum!

6 comments:

  1. Portion control is something I really, really need to work on.

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  2. I really need to work on portion control, as well and making healthier choices every time. I do pretty well when things are crazy in my life. When things seem out of control, then my food choices follow suit and that makes me feel even worse. Thanks for sharing this wisdom and reminding me how much I love "fresh food" and when I choose fresh food, I feel better.

    Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting on my blog! Have a great weekend! Candace

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  3. I actually posted a comment and it disappeared. So I'll try again. :-) This is a great post. I think there are so many people walking around feeling wretched, who have no idea what it feels like to feel well! So many of us are sensitive to (besides all the normal junk) dairy, soy, corn, wheat, MSG,... and if we eat just plain food, feel so much better! I agree with Candace about the portion control issue. I think lots of us, even with healthful food, need to work on that. And don't forget: dark chocolate has great benefits - but probably not in the quantities I'd like to eat - especially in a Ritter Sport Dark Chocolate With Hazelnuts. :-)

    Thanks for your comment on my blog. Yes, it certainly was a picture of irony - my husband with his cellphone standing next to the drystone wall on a hilltop in Yorkshire. It was so cool.

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  4. Hey there! Thanks for your sweet comment on my "joy" post :)

    I love this post of yours...it's sooo true! When my son first came home from college, he thanked me for teaching him "portion control"! It's a lifestyle choice, that's for sure :)

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  5. Portion control is important as is eating healthy fresh food. Something that works for me is to only stock the refrigerator and pantry with healthy food. If I want cakes or cookies or pies, I have to make them from scratch and that certainly stops me most of the time!

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