A Simple Method Of Portion Control

My weight has inevitably gone up and down as I grew into a teenager and then my early twenties. I tend to ‘yo-yo’ a lot, I will overindulge, feel bad that I’ve put on weight, and be good again until I see my weight decreasing and then end up repeating the whole process.

I wouldn’t say I am an overweight individual, my BMI is perfectly healthy but I know that I don’t eat as well as I should. I am lucky to have quite an active job where I am on my feet all the time and I am generally quite busy – if I had a 9-5 office job I know that I would struggle A LOT.

Obesity Statistics In The UK

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• The UK has the largest obesity rates in Europe with 62% of people classed as overweight, and 1 in 4 being obese. This leaves just 13% in the slim or normal weight range.
• A BMI of over 30 can reduce life expectancy by 3 years.
• In 30 years it is predicted that half of our population will be obese.

I had a bit of an unfortunate time back in January 2019 where I wasn’t very well and lost a lot of weight very quickly. I liked how I looked because I’ve never been that slim, I have always had a bit of curve to me so it was a strange time, but deep inside I knew I hadn’t got slim for the right reasons.

I have got so much better since then, I know I have gained weight but I do look like a much healthier, happy version of myself. Having said all of this, I do struggle with portion control. I have a terrible sweet tooth where I end up craving sugar so I tend to over eat earlier and then snack in the evening which I know is so bad for me, but I’m sure you will agree that it’s difficult to know how much you’re meant to be eating of each food group.

Effects of Obesity

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• Breathlessness
• Difficulty sleeping
• Aches and pains (especially in the back & joints)
• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol and atherosclerosis potentially leading to coronary heart disease or stroke
• Reduced fertility
• Pregnancy complications
• Cancer (endometrial, breast and colon)
• Chest pain
• Tiredness
• Increased sweating
• Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD)
• Gall stones
• Liver or kidney disease

Marianne’s Plate

I was very kindly sent this product to tell you all about it. I do genuinely think it’s a great idea, especially for children to see the amount of everything you should be eating.

Here’s how it works. When cooking you should portion your plate as follows:

A HALF of the plate is fruit or vegetables.

A QUARTER is meat, poultry or fish.

A QUARTER is is pasta, rice or potatoes.

I found that the plate is also slightly smaller than usual dinner plates. This is actually helpful as I think it always looks sad when you have a huge plate and a diet portion in the middle as it looks mean.

This plate comes in three different designs, which you can see below.

I have the word cloud design which looks f u n k y !! I actually like to use it and it’s really helpful that some other less obvious ingredients are on the plate to show you what else can be included in each food group.

Marianne’s Plate provides a very simple method to portion control. If you are wanting to lose weight or just be a little bit better behaved with your food then I’d really recommend this as it’s such an easy way to plan meal times without having to calorie count.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t ever believe that you should starve yourself, lose weight if you don’t want to, or go mad on exercise but I also know that it’s not a nice feeling to be self conscious or uncomfortable. Whether you’re over weight or not, it is so easy to feel like you’re not good enough in today’s society. The most important thing is to be HAPPY!