Will the weight loss war ever end?

Honestly, I doubt it.

But, there are quick and simple weapons we can use to win our personal battle. One of the easiest ways to downsize your waist is to downsize your dishes. Today’s dishes are much larger than they were in the 1950′s. As plate sizes have grown, so have serving sizes.

Ever been at a buffet where you start with this HUGE plate? You put a scoop ‘o food on it, and you think “Gee, that’s not much food. I’m hungrier than that.” And, you add a second and, maybe, a third scoop before moving to the next item that looks yummy.

The same thing happens at home when you have large plates. If you put a regular size portion on a large dinner plate, it looks tiny. You add more food. You eat more food. Your waist, hips, etc. grow. Want to avoid this vicious cycle? Eat off smaller plates.

You don’t have to go buy a whole new set of dinnerware. Start by using your salad plates for your main course. It won’t all fit? Put portions on there that will, eat that and THEN if you aren’t satisfied (very different from hungry), go have a second serving. This does two things.

First, it tricks our eyes into seeing a plate full of food. We “eat” in many ways – the first of which is with our eyes. We see a regular portion of food on a little plate and think, “That’s hardly any food.” Put the same portion of food on a small plate and think, “Wow! That’s a lot of food!” Don’t argue with yourself about it, go with what your eyes are saying.

Second, you have to make the decision to get more food if you’re still hungry. For most of us, if it is on your plate it goes in your stomach. By keeping extra food off your plate, you keep it out of your stomach and off your waist, hips, thighs, etc. The important thing is to ask yourself “am I satisfied?” before you go for more. Asking “Am I full yet?” often doesn’t work because it takes time (15 to 20 minutes) for our body to go from satisfied to full. If you’re satisfied and you eat more, in 15 to 20 minutes you go from full to stuffed.

If you want a quick and very informative visualization of how portion sizes have grown, take a look at this slide show/quiz or this one. Want to know the difference between a portion and a serving, check this out. Also, want a portable serving size card? Here it is!

All these are quick and simple ways to start working on downsizing your waist (or other body part).

Happy Eating!
Penny

What you eat on race day is absolutely critical. It is one factor in determining if you finish the race with a smile on your face or if you don’t finish because you spent the race in the port-a-can. However, what you eat in the days up to the race can have the same result.

Questions from clients and reasons why clients contact me seem to come in groups of problems. I think I’ll call this year, “Year of the GI Issue.” I’ve had multiple racers facing GI issues on race day. Here are some common reasons for race day GI issues:
- Nerves, nerves and more nerves
- Nutrition in the hours before and during the race
- Nutrition in the two days before the race.

Unfortunately, not much I can do about the nerves issue. However, I have a friend who takes a couple of sprays of Rescue Remedy before the race to help relax.

For nutrition in the hours before the race – eat something 2 – 4 hours before that you know will settle in your stomach and clear out before the race. Typical choices include oatmeal and either a bagel or toast with peanut butter. Both of these are portable for when you have to travel. Jiff now has portable peanut butter packs called Jif To Go. This makes packing peanut butter more easy than dealing with a whole jar. (Side note: on a day-to-day basis, I prefer all natural peanut butters without added oil and salt. However, those also require refrigeration which is also not a good thing when you’re traveling).

A couple of hours before the race, you can switch to race food – drinks, gels, blocks, etc. These typically are easy to get down and will clear your stomach before the race. Some people have good luck with bars, too.

During the race use what you’ve practiced with. If you are planning on using race provided food – practice with it before the event.

If you have Race Day GI issues, start looking at your nutrition in the days leading up to the race. It is during this time you may want to decrease your fiber if you eat a high fiber diet, look at your dairy intake, stress levels, caffeine, NSAIDs (pain relievers), greasy food, and alcohol consumption. Eliminate one or two at a time until you find what is causing the issue.

The most important thing – train your food just like you train your body. You’ve got to train with the food you’ll use on race day to know that it works. Don’t change anything race day unless you have to (for example, you ride over railroad tracks and lose your bottles with your drink in them as you head out on the bike).

Race Day GI Issues can be solved – it just takes some tinkering to figure it out.

Happy Racing!
Penny