Weight loss update: balanced diet & portion sizes

The good news is I'm still maintaining my 50lb weight loss. In fact, I've lost a few more lbs in the last few weeks and I'm now 4lbs under my original goal of getting to 138.8lbs (9stone 12.8lbs).

I'm happier to be a few lbs under my goal than over it.

 

As I mentioned before, I'm trying to figure out the balance between eating more. Having lost another 4lbs I have more of a buffer zone. And if I'm still losing weight, albeit at a much slower weight, I could eat more, but (and I NEVER thought I would have this problem!) sometimes I just feel I can't eat any more! I feel full with what I'm eating, and satisfied. Since I've changed my eating habits to much healthier ones, there seems to be a limit on my appetite.

I'm putting this down to the types of food I'm fuelling my body with now. Pre weight loss I ate a lot more processed foods and my body was probably craving nutrients and thus my appetite was saying 'Feed Me' in the hope that I would eat something healthy and nutrient packed. Instead I would just grab whatever I fancied and it was usually the wrong choice.

NOW I'm eating a much more balanced diet that consists of TONS of fruit and vegetables. I reckon that because I'm giving my body what it needs to do it's work, it's more satisfied and happy and thus my appetite doesn't scream at me anymore.

That's my theory!

Goodbye Food Pyramid, hello Food Plate!

Somewhere browsing around online this week I saw an announcement that the USA has done away with the food pyramid.....

..and introduced the food Plate. They have called it Choose My Plate. Now, doesn't the plate make for much easier understanding about portions and food groups. I never had a clue how to interpret the food pyramid really. I love this new graphic. So clear and simple!

And our UK NHS has the Eat Well Plate. It's still better than the food pyramid, but I prefer the simplicity of the USA plate in design.

But what all the graphics show is that WE NEED A BALANCED DIET. It's the best thing we can do for ourselves. None of this cutting out fruit or carbs, or any other food group. As much as fad diets might produce fast results, they aren't the way to go in the long term, and you have your whole life ahead of you. Think about how you want to eat for life! I would much rather include as many food groups as possible, that's for sure!

A few of the changes that I've made to my diet since I started losing weight:

• I pack my diet with LOTS of fruit and veg. I don't place any restrictions on the amount I consume. They fill me up and they provide nutritional goodness.
• I cook my own meals instead of grabbing a microwave meal or a take away. Yes, this is a little more time consuming but I counter this by cooking once-eating twice or thrice! That saves time. And I decide what goes into my food and what I leave out: e-numbers, additives, preservatives, fat, salt, sugar.

If the notion strikes, I snap I pic on my phone. Here's small selection of examples of what I'm eating. Please note the amazingly organised fridge!

Train picnic

Mini choc bar

Fresh cream with banana and mango

Picnic (shared with my Mum)

Tofu

Suffice to say, I'm loving how I feel now I've lost weight. More energy, more vibrant, (even) more confident! It's all good! One of the best decisions I have made for myself.

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