Portion Control

#portioncontrol is just as important as foods selection.

Illustrated below is dinner for my powerlifting boyfriend Carlos Moran. He's 2 weeks out from his next competition. Salmon is packed with omega 3's which lower inflammation, protein which he definitely needs to retain and recover muscle, and most importantly... IT'S DELICIOUS!

What's really interesting is taking a look at the portion size. Are any of these foods "unhealthy"? NO! Do they make sense for my goals? NO! Do they make sense for his goals? YES! Portion size is just as important as food selection. 

What works for one person is not transactional to the next. This also means that the serving sizes on nutrition labels (a.k.a Serving size 1) might not actually be 1 (gasp). Sometimes we might feel hungrier or full with more or less than 1 serving because nutrition and appetite is more than quantifiable numbers... amiright? 

This might leave some of thinking, "well why even try eating 'healthy' if it's the same amount of calories?" THAT my friends is a sign of black and white thinking. When you catch yourself in these thoughts- recognize them for what they are, disempowering, "ALL OR NOTHING"- and we do not want that.

What I mean by this is having ranch dressing on your salad is not the same as having a whopper at the drive-through. While a whopper is undeniably delicious, the salad if (hopefully) prepared with thoughtfulness will include delicious veggies and protein that you enjoy. A little ranch won't break the bank and will keep us happy and satisfied. 

Here are some solutions to keep us on track with moderation. 

Rules to live by:

1. ENJOY your food. (Read more here). 
2. Stay hydrated! Many of my nutrition clients when first starting off can't tell the difference between thirsty and hungry. Are you hydrated? We eat more when we're dehydrated so DRINK WATER instead of feeling "stuffed" and "uncomfortable".
3. If possible, eat in good company or without the phone on. This forces the fork to go down between bites and enforces experiential eating vs passive shoveling ❤️