Portion Sizes

Using visual guidelines help you get portion sizes under control. Proper portion control is essential to losing and maintaining your healthy weight.

Approximate Size Dry Measurements

 

3 ounces of chicken/beef = deck of cards

3ounces of tofu = cassette tape

3 ounces of fish =checkbook

 

1 Cup = baseball

1/2 Cup = light bulb

1/4 Cup = golf ball

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Approximate Size Liquid Measurements

1 Tablespoon = poker chip

4 Tablespoons = golf ball

1 Teaspoon = marble

3-6 ounces = 6-12 dice


 

 

 

More tips for Portion Control:

Use smaller plates. It’s true, the dinner plates we use these days are 20% bigger than those of our grandparents.

Put your fork down between every bite. This forces you to eat slower, allowing your brain to catch up to your body.

Read nutrition labels carefully, pay close attention to the portion size.

Drink cold water before your meal.

Decide to save half of your meal for later (leftover for lunch the next day).

Deconstruct your dinner into smaller snacks for the week. For example, use your leftover chicken breast to make a low-fat chicken salad and serve it in celery sticks.

 

Healthy Snack Ideas

Deviled Eggs with Light or Fat-Free Mayonnaise

Light or Fat Free Cottage Cheese

Hard Boiled Egg

Extra Shake or Food Supplement

Grilled Chicken Nuggets

Lean Deli Meat (Turkey, Ham, Roast Beef) rolled with mustard

Loius Rich Carving Board Grilled Chicken Strips

Raw Vegetables (no carrots)

Steamed Vegetables w/ Light or Fat -Free Parmesan Cheese

Tuna, Egg. Shrimp, Chicken OR Crab Salad on Lettuce, cucumber or celery sticks

Shrimp Cocktail (not too much sauce)

Homemade Broth

Plain, Fat FreeYogurt

Dill Pickles

Sugar-Free Jello

Sugar-Free Popsicles

Sugar-Free Pudding

 

Crystal Light Sugar-Free Pops

 

Boar's Head brand deli meat Cajun Turkey with Dijon Mustard wrapped around a Claussen Pickle

 Metabolic Medical Centers
http://goingmetabolic.com

MMC Girls on Facebook

 

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The medical assistants at Metabolic Medical Center, Mount Pleasant have created this Facebook page to help our patients through their weight loss and maintenance journey. We are here to answer any questions you may have. We will also be giving motivational tips, posting recipes and giving great snack ideas to fit this program. We all know weight loss is a battle, as we all struggle with it ourselves. Therefore, if you are having any issues, or just need an extra "push" of motivation - PLEASE LET US KNOW! Also, if you have any recipes or tips you'd like to add, please do so! Thanks for all your support!! -The MMC Girls 

Let's build a healthy kitchen together

(from the desk of Dr. Baird
and Christina @ MMC Girls)
 1st stop MUST HAVE pantry items:

Oils – Spray canola oil and olive oil
Asian condiments – low sodium soy sauce, chili garlic sauce
Salsa
Hot sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Mustards
Sugar reduced ketchup
Spices and herbs
Capers
Onions
Garlic
Ginger
Lemons
Limes
Pickles
Banana pepper rings
Low sodium chicken, beef or mushroom broth
Low sodium canned tomatoes
Pasta sauce (40 calories for ½ cup)
Chunk light tuna
Wild salmon
Balsalmic vinegar AND other vinegars
Sugar free jello
Clam juice
Low fat mayo
Sugar free Smuckers preserves

*Vegan/vegetarian side of things:
(Low sodium, low salt or dried)
Black beans
Lentils

*Kids and teens:
Low sugar cereal such as Kashi Go lean
Flat out bread, light
Tam-X-ico’s! Lo-carb wheat tortillas

The Great Reveal

America's love affair with fast food is no secret. It's a cheap, easy way to feed yourself and your family; and it tastes good. We enter this relationship aware of the cautionary tales (salt, saturated fat, weight gain, etc). It's what we don't know thats dangerous.

The Reveal? Fast food restaurants are aware of what you know about their food. It's what you don't know that might hurt you.

 

 

 

Many fast-food chains use a food additive called propylene glycol. It keeps moisture in frozen food to help enhance flavor and keep food "juicy"  when finally cooked.

Fast food is not always fresh food. It is covered with preservatives so that when it sits in the warming drawers it is less likely to spoil.

 

While you may think that ordering chicken in a fast food restaurant will save you some calories, it might but know how it will be cooked. Sometimes that "healthier choice" is cooked with butter or oil to prevent sticking and to add flavor.

 

Looking Forward
Americans are still busy and fast food is always a temptation.  Our tastes are changing and fast food restaurants are making great strides to keep up. Food tastes are moving away from greasy and toward fresh.

Stay in the know. Most fast food restaurants are posting their nutritional information on the menu, at the counter, on the sign at the drive thru, or on your phone app. 

Re-wrap. Lettuce wraps are an excellent alternative to high calorie sandwich bread and sandwich shops are listening. Jimmy John's and many others have lettuce wrap sandwiches on the menu.

Free-dom. Fat -free mayo and salad dressings are more prevalent and offered as an alternative.

Think Small. Smaller portions are now available (think dollar menus).

 

 

 

 

Healthy Fats

Healthy Fats

Can fat be healthy?  Yes, fats are very important to a healthy diet. All of Metabolic’s weight loss programs monitor fat intake to give you optimum health and boost your weight loss. What kind of fat do you need most and how much? What good does fat do? What foods contain the kind of fat I need?

What kind of fat do you need?  Your body needs both saturated and unsaturated fat. Saturated fats come mainly from animal sources and are solid at room temperature- think butter or bacon. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature- think olive oil or vegetable oil. How much fat your body needs will be determined by you and your Metabolic doctor based on your weight, overall health and lifestyle.

Why not just cut fat out of your diet all together?  Fat is not bad for you, too much is bad for you. Let's look at the good side of fats.

• Fat helps you absorb certain vitamins and nutrients that are only fat soluble. Vitamins A,D,E and K are fat soluble. If there is no fat, there is no absorption.
• Fats (Omega-3) are important for optimum nerve, brain, heart function and cell structure.
• Fat also acts as an "energy silo". Energy is stored in fat cells and released when we exercise or are very active, without fat there is no energy.

There is only one type of fat that you do not need, these are trans fats. Trans fat offers no benefit at all. These are an artificial fat found in partially hydrogenated oils.

What kind of foods contain good for you fat?

• walnuts
• almonds
• olives/olive oil
• avocados
• flaxseed
• salmon/fish

Be aware of your daily servings and portion sizes. If you have any questions about those, please contact your closest Metabolic Medical Center.

Make Your Resoutions Last

Be Specific. It's not enough to simply say "I'm going to lose weight this year." Be specific with how you're going to accomplish it. Set attainable daily, weekly, and monthly goals.      For example, your daily goal may be to drink 8 oz. of water everyday 8 times a day. Your weekly goal may be to cook with twice as many vegetables as you normally would. Your monthly goal may be to try a new vegetable cooked 2 different, healthy ways.

Keep a Journal. Studies show that people who keep a journal are more successful at losing weight and keeping it off. The reason? Your thoughts, feelings and ideas are meaningful to you. Record your goals and write about you met (or didn't meet) them. Record the changes you want to see in yourself and how you plan to get there.

 

Buddy Up. Everything is easier with friends. Friends love us and want us to be healthy, they also keep us in check. Our friends make us accountable for our actions, not to mention they give us unconditional love and constant support. Find one or two trusted friends and enlist their help.

 

Reward Yourself, Creatively. When you lose a few pounds don't reward yourself with a "treat", you're not a dog. Get creative. Reward yourself with that cute skirt you saw at the mall or  a new kitchen tool that helps make cooking healthy meals easier. I'm sure you'll think of something.

 

Give a Helping Hand. Clean out your kitchen pantry and donate your non-perishables to a local food bank, church or other charity. This lifts your spirits and others. After you've lost weight, you can donate your clothes too.

 

Support and Encourage.  Metabolic is always here for your support and now, thanks to facebook, other patients are reaching out to "newbies" too. They give each other the kind of encouragement only someone who is going through the program can offer. Visit our facebook page for daily humor, encouragement, recipes, articles or just to ask a question. Metabolic Medical Center community is always there for you.

Use a Meal Supplement in place of a Snack.  Metabolic has many great tasting meal supplements that can be found on their online store. Find your Profast Weight Loss Products here.

Metabolic Medical Center