Food portions, so you can have your cake and eat it too

My friend Bianca and her parents moved to live near us after leaving Italy nearly twenty years ago. We are the 'sisters' that our parents failed to provide and we have always shared our ups and downs. Recently, Bianca has been the happiest I can remember as an adult when she solved her long term 'weight worry' by learning about portion control - how to manage the intake of her food portions on a daily basis.

Obesity had not been a problem for any of Bianca's family including her parents and they were at a loss to comprehend how her weight had soared after she moved interstate. The cause was an experience unfamiliar to both Bianca's mother and father. She continued to enjoy cheese and pasta and drink wine but she increased the size of her food portions and this caused her to pile on extra pounds.

Bianca married Joe but regardless of regular dieting since then, her weight has yo-yoed with the arrival of two boys and a very busy life. Diets she embarked upon saw her diminish or delete fats, fiber, sugar and most recently carbs, but none had the sustained impact that she has always yearned for. She was always fixed on the content of her food portions, not how much she ate of these.

Bianca says that she stumbled across how to eat smart and gain control of her weight. Previous diets had failed because each was too complex and they all left her feeling exhausted. To avoid this and extra shopping and cooking, she decided to eat the same nutritious food she prepared for her family every day just less of it.

The decision about the kind of food portions for her new healthy body did require some consideration and Bianca did some research about the finding of respected health authorities such as The American Diabetes Association, The American Heart Association and The American Medical Association. She noted that they all advocated weight loss through a balanced diet that provides all the body's nutrients.

And what about the size of her food portions? Bianca's dinner plates with their design around the lip and the blue circle just inside this provided the very straight forward answer. These plates with their decorative circle regulated her food portions at lunch and dinner and provided the limit of her portion control.

Joe and the boys had their regular meals at dinner and Bianca joined them but only ate the food portions she could fit inside the blue circle. She ate a healthy breakfast and she kept a stash of almonds, carrots and fruit for her mid morning and afternoon snacks but limited the size of these too.

Bianca started to lose weight and kept doing this across most of last year until she finally discovered the healthy, trim body that had left home all those years ago. As a result, she has altered her eating habits by taking control of her life and eating the European Way like her parents. She eats smaller food portions, indulges periodically, savors the taste of her food and enjoys meal times.

Bianca says this has been the most natural way she has ever lost weight and she is confident that she will keep it off forever. The benefits of portion control have her back in charge of her body again and her food portions can even include an occasional serving of tiramisu - her favorite dessert. Now she has established healthy, life-long eating habits, Bianca can have her cake and eat it too!

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