and Portion Distortion To Your Advantage!

 

Ever since the independent film, Super Size Me was released,
research on the relationship between increasing obesity and
increasing portion sizes has skyrocketed and the results
have been virtually unanimous.

There have been numerous well-designed studies published
just in the last several years which confirmed exactly what
we suspected (and much of what the movie suggested):

* Portion sizes have increased in restaurants and fast food
venues on a major scale over the last several decades

* We self-serve ourselves larger portions in the home
than we used to

* When more food is put in front of us, we almost always
eat more

* most people underestimate how many calories they are eating

* All of these factors have contributed to the growing
obesity problem and the related health problems that come
along with it

The obvious solution would seem to be to decrease portion sizes
across the board, and indeed awareness of and control over
portion sizes in general is important.

However, research has demonstrated that perhaps an even better
solution is to keep the portion sizes generous, but decrease
the energy density (calories per unit of volume) in the foods
you put on your plate.

Several studies revealed that eating more low calorie density
foods, especially green vegetables, salad vegetables and other
fibrous carbs, as well as very lean proteins, maintains a feeling of
fullness while reducing energy intake.

In other words, large portions of highly nutritious, low calorie
foods displaced the less nutritious, calorie-dense foods! Most
people allow the bad foods to push out the good foods,
but you can actually do the same in reverse!

In a study published in the Journal of The American Dietetic
Association, researchers fed one group a compulsory first course
salad which was kept low in energy density by using very low calorie
dressing with no high calorie toppings no bacon, cheese or croutons, etc).

After the salad, the subjects were allowed to eat as much pasta as
they wanted.

A second group was also allowed to eat as much pasta as they wanted
but was not given a compulsory salad to eat beforehand.

The results: As you might guess, eating a low energy density first
course enhanced satiety (fullness) and reduced the overall amount of
calories that were eaten during the whole meal.

Since the research has repeatedly discovered that almost everyone
will eat more when served larger portions from a larger plate or
container, and there is obviously a serious issue of "portion
distortion" occurring, another group of scientists and psychologists
decided to test this even further by providing larger plates or
containers of low energy density, high nutrient density foods before
the main course and or in between meals.

When more of the low energy density foods were made available first,
the subjects ate even more of these healthy foods, which filled them
up even more and decreased the amount of high calorie density foods
eaten in the main course.

Reporting their findings in the Journal of Nutrition Education
And Behavior, the researchers said that there is a silver lining
to all the negative findings about super sized portions and overeating
that we have discoverd inrecent years:

That is, although we eat more when more is put in front of us,
We can use this phenomenon in reverse by serving large plates, bowls
or containers of healthy, low energy density foods like fruits, salads and
raw vegetables as snacks and first courses.

"While a small bowl of raw carrots might make for a good
afternoon snack", said one of the researchers, "a large bowl
might even be better."

You can learn more about calorie density, low energy density foods
(thermogenic foods), and choosing your portion and meal sizes
with precision inside the Burn The Fat ebook. For more information, visit: www.BurnTheFat.com

Your friend and coach,

Tom Venuto

www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified
personal trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning
specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle"
Tom has written more than 200 articles and has been featured in print
magazines such as IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding,
Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as
on hundreds of websites worldwide.

For information on Tom's Fat Loss
program, visit: www.BurnTheFat.com