A BOWL OF CEREAL OR A CUP????

SO we sit there... knowing exactly what we should do.. yet do we eyeball it.. or do we take an exact measurement? chances are your morning is hectic so you are going to eyeball putting that cereal in that oversized bowl.. covering the bottom of the bowl ( you say to yourself..surely I can have more than that).. 1/4th of the bowl is full now.. and the serving still looks skimpy to you.. .. so you sprinkle in more cereal.. the bowl now is 1/2 full.. you pour in your fat free milk ( HEY ITS FAT FREE IT IS OKAY) again using the old eyeball trick.. the bowl is 3/4th full.. you shrug and add some more cereal.. NOW YOU HAVE A BOWL OF CEREAL.. or better yet.. you keep it at 1/4th of the way full.. add your milk. and after you have eaten the cereal you notice there is milk still in the bowl.. you shrug and add more cereal.. eat it.. and there is still more milk left so you add more cereal.. until every last drop of that liquid is gone.. So you started with good intention.. but somewhere you healthy cereal breakfast went off track.. Here is the reality... DONT USE A BOWL.. save bowls for salad... or soup.. Take a small coffee cup.. get your measuring cup out.. read the back of your cereal box.. see what a serving size is.. and commence to using that size.. in some cases the serving will fill the cup up.. or it might only fill it half way but if you add milk .. the cup is full... and if you got a whole coffee cup of measured cereal and u add milk your cup will be overflowing REMEMBER THE KEY >>> SMALL COFFEE CUP.. not a oversized mug!!!! in your minds eye.. you will think hey .. I am not being deprived.. this is a nice serving.. as opposed to the bowl you just can't seem to get to look satisfying until you over do it... Look for high fiber cereal. BUT the key here is finding tasty cereal that you get a nice serving of... Most sugared cereal is based on 1 CUP measurements.. THATS A MEASURING CUP SIZE not rounded... not over flowing but EVEN!!!.... Most Fiber rich cereals.. over 4 grams ... give you anywhere from 1/2 of a cup to one cup.... depending on the sugar content.. Truthfully, its all about comparing labels.. and finding what works for you... Sometimes I like to mix my cereals up.. I might start out with HEART TO HEART then sprinkle in a 1/4th cup of Kashi GO lean crunch... or I might have weight control oatmeal if I want a HOT Cereal... but if I am sticking with cold I usually mix it up... that way allowing for different textures.. good crunch and a longer eating time... When I am banking calories.. I always look for the biggest serving , most fiber, least amount of calories.. many things out there I pass on... because the serving size is very small.. compared to the calories or if the serving size is large and it has a fiber content of less than 2 grams.. per serving I usually pass on that too ... Thats another reason i tend to lean towards fresh fruits and veggies.. I can have unlimited veggies and a fair amount of fruit.. spending my calories on these things is not only filling but good for me as well..
If you are banking calories and counting them.. ( I love this method.. its like a game to me) then you are always making an investment in yourself.. if you want to use calories towards a treat.. fine... but balance it with good nutrition too.. I think what I like so much about this method is that it is a limitless in what you can do.. Okay.. I know what you are thinking.. .. Honi .. you are trying to stick with 1200 calories... a day.. thats very LIMITED... I disagree.. the calories might be limited.. but I can have fun with in those calories.. finding new healthy recipes.. revamping old recipes.. concentrating on what a serving size really is.. and deciding is that serving size really going to work for me or would I rather try something else... Yes.. you have to think about food... Yes you have to plan and be organized.. but once you figure it out.. then it becomes second nature.. and you do not think about it... I tend to be a creature of habit and for the most part with variations eat the same meals during the week.. I like to get creative during the weekends.. for example I will save my eggs usually for the weekends.. ( I keep my eggs to no more than 4 a week so I do that on weekends in some form.. ) What ever plan you are following in most cases.. it encourages portion control.. USING THOSE MEASURING CUPS... use the smaller plates.. play games with yourself so you do not feel you are "cheating yourself" .. and always remember.. that the first bite tastes the same as the last one... so if you want to indulge.. do it with thought.. and enjoy your food.. don't just woof it down because its there and everyone else is doing that..
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Thats another thing.. stop and watch people it.. watch the large people eat.. watch the smaller size people eat... note what people do different.. that might sound strange.. but I watch people eat.. i watch how folks load up their plates.. and what they load up on ( call me a freak ) .. I watch what the more fit people do .. and truthfully a lot of times it inspires me to eat healthier.. ( so I might mimic their plates.. or take a bite of food when they do.. ) just to see whats different than how I have eaten.. I study it because I want to learn now.. how to change all of this.. the one major commitment I made to myself when I started this program was that I would NEVER GO BACK TO WHAT I WAS.. I WOULD NEVER BE OVER 200 pounds again.. I am well under that now.. 182.2 and I still have 50 pounds to go ... but its like my cousin said.. just focus on one pound at a time.. it makes it easier..

For today I close with this:

BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF
BE PREPARED
WATCH PEOPLE
LEARN YOUR SERVING SIZE.. ( THE REAL SERVING SIZE NOT THE SIZE YOU SEE ON TV OR THE ONE YOU EYEBALL)
BE AWARE
ENJOY WHAT YOU EAT by EATING SLOWLY

WISH ME WELL
WISH YOU WELL TOO