To Lose Weight, Join the "Portion Patrol"

America is awash in calories. And as the calorie floodwaters rise, the numbers of us who are overweight and obese rise along with them. One of the main streams swelling the calorie flood is the prevalence of large-portioned meals and drinks - super-sized fast-food meals, all-you-can-eat buffets, seemingly bottomless sodas and slushes. And the way to cut off the stream's influence is to join the "portion patrol" - that is, to rigorously regulate the size of the meals we eat.

"If people could cut down on their portion sizes, this would be the single greatest way to combat the creeping obesity epidemic," said Madelyn Fernstrom, founding director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Weight Management Center. "It's such a simple concept, but it's hard to do. There's so much hidden fat in food, it's hard to know what a serving size is."

It may seem like cutting back on one's portions wouldn't have much impact - until you realize that just "100 calories a day more than you need adds up to 10 pounds in one year," said Miriam Pappo, clinical nutrition manager at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. "That's only one or two tablespoons of salad dressing."

 In a recent study, 120 healthy adults were divided into two groups, with equal numbers of men and women in each. Both groups were educated about healthy eating and given a target of consuming 1,700 calories daily for the men and 1,365 calories for the women. They were also told to eat 55 percent carbohydrates, 25 percent protein and 20 percent fat.

 One group, however, was given prepackaged portions of meat and rice for daily consumption, and was told to include two large salads, fruit and two glasses of skim milk a day. The other group was allowed to choose its own portion sizes. After two months, the "prepackaged" women had lost 12 pounds, as against eight pounds for the self-selected-portion women. The men who ate prepackaged portions lost 16 pounds versus 11 pounds for the other group.

 What we can learn from this, Fernstrom said, is that prepackaged frozen meals might be a good weight-loss option. If you like your meals home-cooked, you can save the containers from frozen meals to measure your portion sizes. In addition, she said, eat from a salad plate, not a dinner plate, which is unnaturally large to hold a proper portion. The food on your plate, Pappo said, should be half vegetables and a quarter each protein and starchy food.


Disclaimer

Featured Doctors

Nutritional Therapy Salt Lake City, Utah

 Lighthouse Health & Body Makeover
Lighthouse Health & Body Makeover

Lighthouse Health & Body Makeover
715 East 3900 South Suite 101
Salt Lake City, Utah 84107

Call: 888-831-0743

Weight Loss Plan Salt Lake City, Utah

 Lighthouse Health & Body Makeover
Lighthouse Health & Body Makeover

Lighthouse Health & Body Makeover
715 East 3900 South Suite 101
Salt Lake City, Utah 84107

Call: 888-831-0743

Active Release Technique (ART) White Plains, NY

Dr. Jonathan Donath
Jonathan Donath

Joint Effort Chiropractic
1241 Mamaroneck Ave
White Plains, NY 10605

Call: 888-543-4224

Gastric Bypass Manhattan, NYC

Dr. Elliot Goodman
Elliot Goodman

Beth Israel Medical Center
6th Floor 1st Ave & 16th St
New York City, NY 10003

Call: 888-351-8607

Integrative Medicine Fairfield, Connecticut

 Associates in Family Chiropractic & Natural Health Care, P.C.
Associates in Family Chiropractic & Natural Health Care, P.C.

156 East Avenue
Norwalk, CT 06851

Call: (203) 242-0165

Quick Weight Loss Manhattan, NYC

 Columbia University Medical Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery
Columbia University Medical Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery

Center for Metabolic & Weight Loss Surgery
Herbert Irving Pavilion,161 Fort Washington Ave, 6th Fl., Room 620
NYC, NY 10032

Call: 888-838-9148

Bariatric/Obesity Surgery Westchester, New York

Dr. Miguel Silva
Miguel Silva

Center for Advanced Surgery
55 Palmer Avenue
Bronxville, NY 10708

Call: 888-468-9351

Weight Loss New York City

 Columbia University Medical Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery
Columbia University Medical Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery

Center for Metabolic & Weight Loss Surgery
Herbert Irving Pavilion,161 Fort Washington Ave, 6th Fl., Room 620
NYC, NY 10032

Call: 888-838-9148

Free Weight Loss Surgery Seminar Manhattan, NYC

 Columbia University Medical Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery
Columbia University Medical Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery

Center for Metabolic & Weight Loss Surgery
Herbert Irving Pavilion,161 Fort Washington Ave, 6th Fl., Room 620
NYC, NY 10032

Call: 888-838-9148

Diet Plan Salt Lake City, Utah

 Lighthouse Health & Body Makeover
Lighthouse Health & Body Makeover

Lighthouse Health & Body Makeover
715 East 3900 South Suite 101
Salt Lake City, Utah 84107

Call: 888-831-0743

Weight Loss Center Salt Lake City, Utah

 Lighthouse Health & Body Makeover
Lighthouse Health & Body Makeover

Lighthouse Health & Body Makeover
715 East 3900 South Suite 101
Salt Lake City, Utah 84107

Call: 888-831-0743

Exercise Training/ Exercise Coaching Salt Lake City, Utah

 Lighthouse Health & Body Makeover
Lighthouse Health & Body Makeover

Lighthouse Health & Body Makeover
715 East 3900 South Suite 101
Salt Lake City, Utah 84107

Call: 888-831-0743

Surgical Weight Loss Center Manhattan, NYC

 Columbia University Medical Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery
Columbia University Medical Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery

Center for Metabolic & Weight Loss Surgery
Herbert Irving Pavilion,161 Fort Washington Ave, 6th Fl., Room 620
New York City, NY 10032

Call: 888-838-9148

Free Gastric Bypass Surgery Seminar Manhattan, NYC

 Columbia University Medical Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery
Columbia University Medical Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery

Center for Metabolic & Weight Loss Surgery
Herbert Irving Pavilion,161 Fort Washington Ave, 6th Fl., Room 620
NYC, NY 10032

Call: 888-838-9148

Fibromyalgia Fairfield, Connecticut

 Associates in Family Chiropractic & Natural Health Care, P.C.
Associates in Family Chiropractic & Natural Health Care, P.C.

156 East Avenue
Norwalk, CT 06851

Call: (203) 242-0165