Portion Distortion

“Our bodies are the temple of God” as clearly stated in 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20. I feel like this means that not only should we glorify God in our spirit, but also in our bodies.

I must confess….I struggle with this. I LOVE to eat and being bi-vocational, we are CONSTANTLY on the road, so it is hard to eat right when you are rarely at home.

I am trying very hard to make better, healthier choices. Diets do not work for me, so I have given up on dieting. Right now, I am trying to make wiser choices, without dieting and so far it is working SLOWLY, but as well if not better than dieting. I am hoping that by tackling the food battle with this approach, I am making life changing habits that I can live with for the rest of my life. There is no food that I do not eat, but I try to make wiser choices and I try to use portion control.

Average portion sizes have increased so much over the past twenty years that now when you go out to a restaurant to eat, your single entree will have enough food on the platter to feed 2-3 adults. We have gotten used to the large quantities of food, so even at home our portions have increased. This is called PORTION DISTORTION.

I know that most of you probably already know these simple portion control secrets and possibly even use them, but I like to be reminded of them from time to time, so I am going to share them with you.

• A man's fist = one cup
• A tennis ball = 1 cup
• The cupped hand of a man = 1/2 cup
• A 60 watt light bulb = one fruit or potato serving
• The palm of a ladies hand = 3 oz. protein serving
• A deck of playing cards = 3 oz. of meat
• 1 book of matches = 1 oz. of protein
• A thumb = 1 oz. of cheese
• A tube of lipstick or three dominoes = 1 1/2 - 2 oz. of cheese
• Tip of the thumb = 1 teaspoon
• 1 dice = 1 teaspoon
• 1 handful of nuts or small candies = 1 oz.
• 2 handfuls of chips or pretzels = 2 oz.
• 1 golf ball = 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter
• 1 hockey puck = 1 bagel

Another portion control solution is to use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate and NEVER go back for seconds.

As I mentioned earlier, this is one area in my life that I really struggle with. I am always looking for new ideas. Do any of you have any other portion control secrets or any other helpful hints that I might be able to use? I would appreciate ANY HINTS OR IDEAS!!!