Combat

This is the post I started writing on June 10th... yup, it's a little delayed.

On most days, I feel great about my body. I really do, sure there are things that I would like to be slightly different. However on the whole I'm pretty pleased with overall presentation that is me. If you're around me you eventually hear about the things that bother me. You may not hear the reverse because honestly it sounds a little conceited to my ears. :/

Except here is the thing, I'm raising a little girl (though I suspect I might still feel the same way if it were a boy). I don't want her to be apart of the cadre of young girls who learn both from society and their representations at home that they shouldn't be happy with their bodies. She is getting older and become more aware of what I do and say. She's a little sponge and she is even more so if she has my natural inclination toward people watching. So I worry that some of my personal lamentations (the ones that make it out of my head) will negatively affect her. I worry that she will see me and I'm not happy with myself, then why should she be. I know.... it's friday I should be contemplating weekend plans.

So I'm working on cutting back my verbal complaints in general. Of course complaining about things gets me nowhere. My hope is that when I'm feeling this way, I can schedule a work out in somewhere. Whether it's doing the Beyonce workout or actually scheduling some time at the gym. Either way I don't want to continue to mentally beat myself up about the small things that I can change.

I get how much...

A few days ago the USDA did something that caused them to receive a bit more notice in the blogging/ healthy living community. They changed the food pyramid...into a plate. http://www.choosemyplate.gov/foodgroups/proteinfoods.html

The new food plate is designed to make it easier for people to really understand what an actual healthy portion of food looks like. Nope a healthy portion is not just when your plate is practically running over with yummyness. ;) Rather a healthy portion is about more about nutrition, and providing all that your body truly needs. (I know it needs chocolate and other deliciousness, but it wants way more than is reasonable sometimes.)

Now let me think….where have I seen this before?? I’m sure it will come to me.

When I first heard about this, my first thought was wait. Didn't someone already suggest this to people? With a little digging I found it. This plate is designed by a company called Slimware. The flowers on this plate represent the portion sizes we are supposed to have.

I think slimware should sue the USDA or at the very least link them with the USDA website. Slimware’s product is exactly what the USDA is advocating, but taking the guess work out of it. I personally like the Downtown Chic better than the Urban Safari, but to each their own. If none of their prints are really your thing, you can always stop by your local wally world and pick up a divided plate ala elementary school. You just can’t cheat and put your protein where your veggies are clearly supposed to go.

Portion control is definitely something everyone should be mindful of, but I know that I for one struggle with it. The plates are a nifty, albeit pricey, idea. So how do you manage portion control? Are the plates worth it, and if so what pattern?