“Never eat anything bigger than your head.” ― Miss Piggy
I used to weigh bell peppers.
And cucumbers.
And celery.
I used to weigh everything I ate.
Before the days of diet apps like MyFitnessPal (before apps all together...), I kept a detailed excel spreadsheet of my food intake. I had tabs for frequently eaten items and for favorite meals.
If I wanted to try a new recipe I'd crunch the numbers first to determine how many servings it would yield. Once I finished cooking, I'd bust out my food scale and meticulously portion out the dish into individual containers, making sure each one weighed exactly the same...down to the gram.
While this level of nutrition tracking may sound neurotic, it worked.
I was the leanest and lightest I'd ever been.
I was also pretty miserable and full of anxiety.
I'd decline social invitations because I was worried about eating something without knowing it's exact calorie count.
I'd pack my own snacks to go to a friend's game night.
I'd completely monopolize the refrigerator and refuse to let my boyfriend eat anything I prepared because it had already been "perfectly calculated" for my diet.
Eventually it became too much to manage. My work hours got more demanding, leaving me less and less time for all my prepping and tracking.
I was forced to eat out more often, which lead to bigger portions, mystery ingredients and...weight gain.
I felt frustrated and a bit hopeless.
Was chaining myself to a food scale the only way to maintain a relatively lean physique?
Did it have to be such an extreme effort to maintain my weight?
The short version of the story is, NO.
While it has taken years of practice to arrive at a place where I can intuitively eat in a way that maintains my weight and body fat (within a 5lb window), the truth is that I very rarely weigh or measure anything I eat anymore.
I've worked diligently to increase awareness of hunger and fullness cues, as well as to identify emotional triggers and unhealthy coping strategies (like food and alcohol).
I've also identified the 3 food categories below as places where calories easily sneak in if portions are not kept in check.
And guess what?
They aren't bell peppers, cucumbers or celery. 😉
If you want to make fat loss progress, but feel overwhelmed by the idea of weighing and measuring your food - don't fret! You don't need to track EVERYTHING and you definitely don't need to go to the extremes that I have in the past.
Whenever I notice changes on the scale or in my physique that aren't what I want, these food categories are the first places I look to reign things in.
If you are trying to lose fat, give this list a look over.
Are there any items that you eat everyday? Multiple times a day even?
If so, choose one to pay attention to over the next few weeks.
You can weigh and measure using standard measuring cups, a food scale or the super simple hand portion guides below.
For extra fun, try weighing what you would usually serve yourself of that particular item and compare it to the suggested serving size...it could be quite eye opening!
The 3 Foods You Need to Track for Fat Loss
1. Fats
Liquids - Standard serving sizes are 1 TBSP of oil and 2 TBSP of nut butters and half and half.
*If you are going to track these, measuring spoons work best here.
Solids - Standard serving sizes are 1 oz of nuts, olives or cheese and 2 oz of avocado.
*If you are going to track these, a food scale works best here.
2. Starchy Carbs
Standard serving sizes are 1/2 cup cooked of rice and grains and 1 cup cooked of pasta and potatoes.
*If you are going to track these, either a food scale or measuring spoons will work well here.
3. Alcohol
Standard serving sizes are 5 oz of wine, 8-9 oz of malt liquor, 12 oz of beer and 1.5 oz of spirits.
*If you are going to track these, measuring cups work best here.
Now, am I suggesting that you weigh or measure these items forever? No way!
Sometimes once or twice is enough to get the hang of it.
Some things (such as liquids like cooking oils or half and half) might be trickier to eye ball than others.
A strategy that works well for me is to use the containers/cups/plates I plan to store/drink/eat out of as a reference.
Always use the same snack containers? Weigh 1 oz of nuts and see how full the container gets.
Always use the same cooking spoon? Measure out one scoop of rice and see how close it is to a 1/2 cup serving.
Always use the same wine glass? Measure out 5 ounces and see where that hits in the glass.
For example, this is my favorite wine glass (gifted by a friend - thank you Maggie!).
5 oz of wine (or water in this case) hits right at the tail of the first panda. I measured once and now I know. I don't need to get out the measuring cup each time I open a bottle, I just need to keep an eye on that panda's butt.😋 Tracking portions can seem like a chore, but it doesn't have to be. Focus on the foods above as your jumping off point and keep the following in mind:
Start small. Pick one thing from the above list and track only that thing for a few weeks.
Use whatever method works best for you - a scale, measuring cups, or your hands.
Simplify whenever possible (use the same plates, cups and storage containers for easy repetition).If you give these strategies a try, let me know how it goes!
PS - I'm getting married in 10 days (!) and will be taking some time away to enjoy. ❤
My regular weekly postings will resume on March 18th.
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