Portion Control

The Great Plate from the University of Michigan

We all know that portion control is the biggest part of losing weight. It is a pain to weigh and measure but this keeps us in check. The University of Michigan has been talking about “The Great Plate” lately. Using your plate to help you control portions. While this is by no means a new concept (I’ve known about it for years — Jorge Cruise uses it in his 10 Minutes series), it is an important reminder that our eyes are always bigger than our stomachs.

The Great Plate of portion control is quite easy. You divide your plate into three sections. One half of your plate goes to fruits and veggies, one-fourth to lean proteins and one-fourth to grains and starches.

The Great Plate concept is designed to be an easy way to control portion sizes and create a healthier meal, simply by dividing a 10-inch size plate into three sections.

• Half of the plate is filled with non-starchy vegetables such as green beans, tossed salad or carrots.
• A quarter is filled with lean protein such as skinless chicken, non-fried fish, tofu or lean cuts of beef or pork.
• And the final quarter is filled with whole grains or starchy vegetables such as whole wheat bread, pasta, rice, corn, peas or potatoes.
• There are also recommendations for food categories that are not always present in every meal such as fats and fruits.

Try out the Great Plate concept for a week and see what you think, then come back here and let me know if it helped you out on your weight loss journey.