Published January 11, 2012 12:58AM
Day 2: Thinking Small
Join associate editor Tami Fertig on a 7-day challenge to reset her sense of proper portions. Sign up to receive daily challenge newsletters here and be sure to read the magazine story that inspired the challenge here. I made it through the first day of the meal plan! It was no easy feat, considering dinner involved Tortilla Lasagna. I had to stop myself from munching on bits and pieces straight from the pan, which I normally like to do after cooking anything melty and delicious. Instead, I served myself a single wedge on a very small plate. (‘Twas a little trick I learned from The Get-Real Diet in VT’s January/February issue—food looks bigger on smaller plates, so you’ll want to eat less of it.) Then my boyfriend came in and helped himself to two wedges of lasagna on a normal-sized plate, which sort of made me sad. But I persisted. I cut my wedge into a dozen smaller pieces, chewed very slowly, and took gulps of water in between bites. The verdict? Success! I took twice as long as my boyfriend to eat half as much food, but I left the table satisfied and full. The rest of the day went by pretty smoothly. I spent most of it in the kitchen, preparing a few casseroles for later in the week. Luckily, my boyfriend was around to run out to a Middle Eastern grocery store and get me grape leaves for the Stuffed Grape Leaves Casserole, since I couldn’t find them at my usual supermarket the day before. One thing I noticed: counting and measuring can be a bit annoying. A cup of blueberries. Fifteen almonds. Two tablespoons of almond butter. In all honesty, I ended up eyeballing a couple of ingredients. Day 2’s goal: I’m making it a point to measure out everything, even my way-too-small-sounding cup of Mac-and-Cheese-Style Cauliflower scheduled for dinner. Did I mention how much I love mac and cheese? Wish me luck! —To sign up for the 7-Day Portion Control daily newsletter, visit the main page. —Get the full 7-day meal plan. —Read the magazine story that inspired the challenge, The Get Real Diet. —Check out the Serving Savvy Cheat Sheet.