A Bicycle Built for Two...Not a Bowl of Pasta!

Has anyone else noticed that in America, while our wallets may be shrinking, our portion sizes certainly aren't? At restaurants today, dinner for one usually means dinner for two (one real person, yes, and one imaginary friend), and dinner for two really does let you feed your souls...with their own portions, of course! Even a single serving of salad is often large enough for two people or at the very least, one and a half. Including the half a person you're going to grow once you eat all of this food. Hmmm...maybe they were just thinking ahead? ;)

But what happened to the days of just eating what our bodies intended for us to have? In the olden days, Coke came in a little bottle (eight ounces, or twelve tops) and water was a drink of choice, steak portions really were the size of your fist, and a bowl of soup was actually a bowl of soup (and not a man-made lake of soup). This may sound funny, but I'm completely serious: it's a major problem and restaurants, advertising, and societal "norms" today are not doing much to help.

Our instincts tell us that we need to eat food. And we've learned to be polite. So when Olive Garden puts a massive plate of Ravioli in front of us, we're going to dig in. And dig in. Until we've eaten half a day's worth of food in one sitting. Believe me, I've seen this happen more often than not. And you might think that eating all this food would make us happy, but it doesn't. Not really. Look at the obesity rates in America today, a combination of sedentary lifestyles and HUGE portion sizes. Something needs to be done, and I have a solution that's easy and filled with happiness. Ok, in my world it is, but in yours you are free to form your own opinion.

Spirit Wolf's Simple 3 Step Plan
Step 1: Reduce portion sizes.
We can do this ourselves at home, but if Yogurt Mountain still continues to provide those huge "small" cups for yogurt, then we don't have to fill them all the way up. It's cheaper, and still satisfying to eat less than a full cup, no matter what their advertisements might tell you. And when a restaurant puts the world's largest veggie burger in front of you, then just eat what you feel like, and take the rest home. Or share it. What you *feel* like is the key here, because often your body will give you signals that it is full, signals that don't have to include the sudden acrobatics of a button flying through the air, liberated from your newly-expanded pants.

Step 2: Stay Active or Become Active.
This is much much much easier than it sounds. Being active includes just walking every day, taking stairs, dancing around with friends, playing with your dog, playing chase with your cat (probably more like playing where is the cat), and just moving in some way.
So again, staying active can be as simple as JUST WALKING. Walking combined with smaller portions works wonders. Don't believe me? Try it! And for older adults (and others) for whom walking might be difficult, just moving in any way is good. No matter how small the movement, it most certainly counts. But for those who can handle it, WALK! I say this with love, not as a drill instructor.

Step 3: Don't give up.
Yes, there will be times when you eat too much, when you eat the whole tub of Chocolate Ice Cream (shout out to my gram, I love you ;) , and when you don't feel like walking or moving much. That's ok, but never give up. Every day can't be perfect, but most changes don't happen overnight. We change our lives in little ways, by not giving up and believing in ourselves. Then one day, we'll wake up and be a whole new person. In comparison to where we were a year ago. I'm striving for this myself, in many ways, so I know what I'm talking about.

So basically, the next time Papa John's brings you that lovely, scrumptious large pizza, have a slice. Or two. And a delicious, healthy salad on the side. Then save or share the rest and walk away. Ha, it sounds like a plan to get out of danger, but don't worry. There is no immediate danger, just a chance for you to know even more happiness and health than you ever have before. And cold pizza tastes amazing!