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Happy Thanksgiving!

This post has been sitting in my post reserve for quite some time and I thought today would be a perfect day to release it as we are all probably in food comas, completely stuffed and wishing that we had shown some willpower along with some portion control.

In Part I of The Doctor’s Bag: Weight of the World I demonstrated the importance of having a proper weighing scale that allows an individual to measure body composition (specifically fat and muscle component) rather than just total weight.

Another useful tool that can aid in maintaining a healthy lifestyle has nothing to do with weighing yourself, but rather weighing your food, the simple food scale.

All too often I was guilty of just pouring cereal for breakfast without paying attention to the recommended serving size.  By doing so, I likely gave myself 2-3 servings for each meal.

Oversized portions led to increased caloric intake which led to an oversized me.

Even worse, your body has an amazing ability to adapt and soon becomes accustomed to these large portions as the new norm.

Competitive eaters are a testament to this ability of the stomach to adapt as they go intense training to get their stomach used to a markedly distended state prior to a competition.

Assuming you are not a competitive eater, this is not an adaptation you want happening in your body.

Portion control is therefore a vital component of a healthy diet and unless you have a food scale you are likely giving yourself oversized portions at every meal and hampering your weight loss regimen.

Any food scale can accomplish this job.

This is the food scale that I personally have in my household that does the job perfectly: Ozeri The Epicurean LED Kitchen Scale (Note: This is currently unavailable with the newer model being the Ozeri Pro Digital Kitchen Food Scale).

It was actually shocking how much less a serving size is when you measure it out first.

It will be hard at first but eventually your body will re-adapt to your new portion controlled sizes and you will be well on your “weigh” to a healthier lifestyle.

As always, to your continued health.

Curious to see what other items are in my doctor’s bag?  

Just open the bag and peer inside, you may find something of use.

-Xrayvsn