The Portion Plan: How to Eat the Foods You Love and Still Lose Weight

Hello there! I had bought this book "The Portion Plan" and have found it to be VERY EASY reading - quick - and with that said, you can use it as a referance, when forgetting. It's photographic sizing of images and it's iconic representations of portions are PERFECT. Especially for me, who has Diabetes...and suffers from the cycle of cravings in large portions, that come with this dis-ease. I find her book and explanations comforting, and fit well into my overall plan to create a LIFESTYLE change, I am not dieting (though I am), I am not dieting because the whole modality and mindset, heartset, spiritual and physical paradyme (?spell) must change, or declining health will be my lot in life. I use "The Portion Plan" in conjuction with "The Portion Doctor" who has a line of portion plates, bowls and so forth. It's so simple it's mind boggling, but, combining this helps me to re-learn HOW TO EAT. I am also using the Mediterranean Diet with The Portion Plan and Portion Doctor plates and so forth. I am not using butter, and only olive oils, veggies, fruits, predominantly fish and periodic chicken and beef less than that, couple of vegetarian days per week only, and working it out on the Portion guides with both, the book and eating utensils. Though I am not perfect at it, bit by bit, I am implementing changes. I am withdrawing from large amounts of daily meat eating and pastas and breads. I have had little attention on fruits, veggies, nuts and smaller amounts of the pastas and breads, my whole life. But, I am adjusting. The Portion Plan book helps when I feel like I want something like chocolate or chips, I use the guidelines, which is two fingers, like two strips on a bar. If I feel I am not ready for that, I add a square or two. But, it's better than eating the whole bar, a box of cookies, a whole bag of chips and dip. Doing EXTRA large for fast food. Following the idea of the Texan theory, bigger is better, wholeheartedly I agree: bigger hair brings you closer to God and makes your hips look thinner. That's equally American as it is Texan. (smile) But, that will no longer really work for me, as I am Diabetic...and either NEED to sink or swim. Too bad I couldn't see it that way when I was younger! Often we don't. If I had a child I would teach the child, as life went by, gently and by example, never getting angry if the child doesn't PERFECTLY comply, teaching from The Portion Plan. I feel I am that child...I am parenting myself and teaching myself gently, slowly, and by testing it out bit by bit. Without belaboring my personal situation myself. I will end by saying that using the right portions has helped me drop weight, and I feel much, much better. I walk better, I bend better, no pressure on the knees and all the things that come with getting BIG. But, I still have a long way to go. I am taking it, like when I stopped smoking, cutting back, maintaining, cutting back more and more, maintaining, and finally realizing I h

This is a good book for people who want to improve their food choices but who are not interested in precise calorie counts and weighing their food. The visual references are easy to use and remember. The plan also does not require users to give up their favorite foods, provided they have the willpower to eat them in very small quantities. This plan would work well in conjunction with the Volumetrics books. This plan is easier to use when cooking at home than it is at restaurants, where the plate sizes are larger and there is little control over how the food is presented. The "dining out" section of the book is not signficantly different than the advice given in numerous other diet books, consisting of lists of food to look for or avoid in different types of restaurants.

Wasn't quite what I expected. thought there would be a little more information in measurements instead of using hands to determine amount

This is a fabulous guide to help or encourage a healthy lifestyle. The simply associations to our hands and corresponding volume and weight measurements familarize us with accurate everyday portions of the food we all like to eat. Puts an intriguing perspective on what we typically might consume in one serving or what we are served on our plates and what really is neccessary. Every food that we enjoy can fit into our day to day life because it is all about MODERATION. So go ahead, have your cake and eat it too...about two fingers worth.