It is so easy to overeat.  I tend to grab a snack when I’m up late night, and nearly every time I do so, I think to myself “I shouldn’t be eating right now.”  It’s even worse whenever I’m out late at a show.  A lot of what we consider “normal activities” in our lives generally have no room for monitoring what we eat.

Portion Control basically means to monitor and keep tabs on the number of calories you consume, on a “per serving” basis.  You’ll notice on any food that has Nutrition Facts on the label, there is a “Serving Size” count (8 ounces, 1 bar, etc), as well as a “Calories” count.  On most products (and especially for foods that aren’t very healthy), the Calories count is for the number of calories per serving.  But there may be two or three servings in that one package or container.  So the total number of calories could be two or three times the amount listed on the package.  So that 250 calories you thought you were consuming may actually be 500 or 750 calories.  And that’s from just one snack, which could be over a third of your total calories the average person should consume in the entire day!

There are some companies that have added the total number of calories to the Nutrition Facts, which is obviously a good thing.  But the real issue is that in our society, bigger seems to be considered better when it comes to food.  Either you by a King-sized candy bar because you think you need it (because the regular size is “too small”).  Or, you buy the King-sized candy bar because the price is maybe only 40 cents more than the regular size.  So you might as well get the larger size to be “cost-effective”.  Movie Theaters use this tactic all the time.  There’s absolutely no regard for your health or calorie consumption.  It all boils down to how much money can be made from each sale.  It’s actually sad when you think about it, because we are the ones that continue to suffer, health-wise.

This is why it’s even more important for you to monitor what you consume, because ultimately the only person that should be conscious of your health is you!  Don’t be afraid to read the labels to find out how many servings is in that one package.  When you keep this in mind, this tactic should lead you to start consuming smaller portions, along with eating more throughout the day.  Eating (healthy foods) several times a day keeps your body with the right amount of energy.  Think of your body as a train with a furnace, and the food is the coal.  In order to keep the train going, the furnace should continue to be fed.   So, portion control will help you from binge-eating or crashing from too much sugar.  If you add these eating habits with good exercise (which will burn calories), you’ll definitely notice a change in your energy each day.