This morning's spam

[rainbow24]

got me thinking.

Going through family photos, we are all overweight. Generation after generation, and only once in a while does a skinny, almost unhealthy looking relative sneak into the pictures.
All my life, I have been subjected to news of an aunt or cousin being on the latest fad diet.
Grapefruit, cabbage soup, etc.
One cousin had dark circles under her eyes and was nearly hospitalized, but she lost weight.

It was grandma, who quite by accident came up with the true idiot proof diet. In her frugal mindset, with a freezer crammed full of freezer burned meat and her pantry holding canned peaches from the early 40s, she took her twice a week Meals-on-wheels hot lunch and divided it in half on Mondays and thirds on Wedesdays.

So 1/2 cup of broth with vegetables, became 1/4 cup with water added to make it 1/2 cup again. A half sandwich was cut in half again and complimented with that leftover salad from last weeks dinner out and a grated carrot. Dessert was cut in half and supplimented with the 1/4 piece of brown apple in the back of the fridge.

Looking after my grandmother, I cringed at the contents of her fridge, but she lost weight near the end. Not in an unhealthy way, because at no time did she look undernourished, nor was she weakened by her way of eating.

Most of it was portion control.

So now I can look at my plate and ask myself do I need to have this large a portion to satisfy my hunger?

[almeeker]

I have a friend that has lost quite a lot of weight, putting on her plate what she feels hungry for, then she eats half and puts the other half in the fridge for her next meal. That way she can tell herself that she's not being deprived, because she will get to finish all she wanted next time she eats.

Personally I don't use this method, but I do other things. We plate dinners before we take them to the table, so there aren't usually bowls and baskets of food on the table. I started doing this because I wanted to measure my portions in order to log accurately, but the benefit is that we aren't eating seconds and thirds, just because there is food in front of us.

Funny how it's the little things that start to add up eh?

[Lizzycritter]

I now serve myself first, instead of serving the rest of the family and putting what's left over on my plate. What's left over goes in the fridge for my lunch the next day. Saves money on TV dinners and it's probably a lot better for me too.