Food Portion Control: Got Issues? You're Not Alone

Editorial Commentary: Many of us can probably relate to this story by Luscious. And really, we can blame our portion control issues on whomever we want – but are we going to do about it?

Whose Body is it, Anyway?

I was working away at home and through my mind drifted the excellent dinner I had enjoyed the previous evening. My sister is an amazing cook and knows I am trying to nourish myself in better ways. She offered me the smaller piece of fillet which I accepted and it was actually more than I needed.

As I worked, I thought well, I should ask her to just give me the smaller portions all the time, not just offer them. But, whoa, wait a minute. Why should I be looking to her to control my portions? Why can’t I just stop when I’ve had enough?

Is it because it’s too tasty and I don’t have the willpower?

Maybe it’s because I was in the habit of cleaning up my plate no matter what.

Well, yes it was tasty, but had I listened to my body, I would have stopped at least ¾ of the way through that meal. I have found, that once I am starting to feel full, the food still tastes good but not as good as at the beginning of the meal and not worth stuffing myself for.

Voices
Also yes to it being a habit to clean up my plate. “If you don’t finish your dinner, you won’t get dessert” or “If you don’t finish your dinner, you’ll have what’s left for breakfast” or “You took it, you eat it”.

Does any of that sound familiar to you? Is that the voice you hear when there is still food on your plate? Is it your voice – definitely not, at least in the beginning.

When we were babies, we just stopped when we were full and let someone know when we were hungry. When we were children and if not interfered with, we stopped when we were full and walked away from any food left over.

What happened?

Echoes from the Past

Whose voice are we hearing (and obeying)? I can remember my parents threatening me with no dessert and leftovers for breakfast, so that’s part of the voice. Where did that voice come from for them? Perhaps it was their parents, especially if they lived through some very hard times perhaps a famine, a severe economic depression, poverty. Perhaps it was passed along by their parents. Who knows how far and how deep that little voice has traveled.

That voice is not so strong on its own. It’s just that we have accepted it as our own and integrated it into our minds and bodies so we hardly know it’s there. Not a strong voice but a strong habit.

Whose Body Is It?

Whose body is it anyway? Are you going to let your great great grandmother tell you that you have to finish more food than is healthy for your body? Are you going to listen to the threats of a person who came from a time of fear and lack and has unwittingly passed that along to the next generations – yes, that’s generations in plural.It’s your body, yours and only yours. Who puts food into your body, you and only you. Whose little voice are you going to listen to? No ones. You are going to listen to the signals from your body. When you hear the little voices from past generations, just notice what they are saying. That’s all. Just notice them and recognize that they are just echoes from the past and have no say about what you eat in the present. Just notice those voices and have some compassion for the suffering that produced them.

Eat slowly, enjoy your food, stop when you think you’ve had enough. Put your utensils down and pause for a few minutes. If you are still hungry eat a little more but not just because it’s there. If you are afraid of wasting food, wrap it up, put it away and have it the next day.

Whose body is it? It’s yours and it’s yours for life.

About the Author: Luscious believes all women are beautiful inside and out and loves to help them discover that for themselves through her sexy plus size lingerie store www.LusciousPlus.com and through her articles. Please visit her blog www.LusciousPlus.net to leave comments, suggestions, stories and experiences.