Progress Report #1

Well I am still plodding along, attempting this weight loss thing. The great news: I lost a couple of pounds and one half inch on my waist. It’s an encouraging start in the right direction and now I need to kick it into overdrive.

I can’t remember if I have mentioned this before, but I lost 27 pounds last year (and gained 6 pounds back on a cruise my family and I took in January) and I discovered that one of the biggest challenges facing America is portion control. It’s now socially acceptable to not only eat McDonalds, but to “supersize” your meal even larger (for something like 39 cents?). In this tough economy, the price pulls the average person in to “get more bang for their buck” without realizing they are paying the price on their waistline.

Just for the record, I haven’t eaten McDonalds in years.

To put things in perspective, check out this photo.

A typical serving size of a drink for the average American is which one? The 16 ounce glass. Which one is the proper adult serving size? The 8 ounce purple plastic child cup. The “best deal” for your dollar is which? The Sonic Route 44? It contains 5.5 the number of recommended servings for drinks. If it is full of cherry limeaid, that’s a whopping 460 calories. That’s 1/4 of the daily recommended caloric intake for the average person. Still think it’s a good idea? I had to scour Target last year for an 8 ounce cup and finally found the small purple one in the child’s section.

A Facebook friend informed me (and the rest of her friends list) that McDonalds now puts the calorie count on their items right on the menu. I wonder if this is causing people to rethink their choices. Does anyone have any experience with this they would like to share? Email me at manager@yoga4love.net. I’d love to hear about it.

The solution? Is there a solution? Drink water, save those calories for things you really want to eat. A great up I read for eating out was to get a “to go” box as your meal comes and put half of the meal in the box before you begin eating. This is a win-win: you get to eat everything on your plate but consume half the calories at the restaurant and you have the other half for a meal the next day!

Anyone have any other useful tips for watching portions?

Have a healthy week!

Mina