I am a Nutrisystem nation blogger. I am provided with a Nutrisystem mean plan in exchange for regular updates. All opinions are my own.
This week I was reminded of how Nutrisystem taught us about portion control. Weight loss got brought up in a conversation with a family member. She was talking about the concept of going vegan for weight loss, with a plan to eat primarily green salads. Through more conversation it became clear to me that she meant essentially living off of fruits and vegetables.
Further into the conversation it was brought up that part of why she was going vegan was to eliminate favorite unhealthy meal options such as tacos or pizza. I explained how eating tacos and even pizza can be a reasonable choice, depending on how it’s done. For example, we use chicken or turkey with lots of lettuce and add in onions and peppers. Though a simple vegan alternative would be to make chickpea tacos. We do so very rarely, but we occasionally just have regular beef tacos still, too. If we use a small shell and go light with low-fat cheese, you can have a taco for around 350 calories which is usually reasonable calorie level for a meal. Pizza can also be done in a low calorie way. Swapping regular pepperonis for turkey, choosing a low-calorie sauce, low-fat cheese and going light on the amount of cheese does the trick when making on your own. Nutrisystem has multiple pizza options on their menu, all of which are of course low calorie. In part with Nutrisystem’s help, we’ve realized that portion control is the #1 necessity. You have to watch your calories and watching your calories means watching your portion sizes. However, you do not have to get rid of every food you like (or live on just green salads!) to lose weight.
Do you ever talk to people who think diet has to be all about eliminating any foods they enjoy? I’d love to hear how you politely explain that it’s not necessary. I often worry about coming off too strong, but I hate hearing people do restrictive diets simply out of a lack of information.
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
I know what you mean. It is all about portion control and learn to eat better quality foods. My husband has just started doing portion control with the normal foods we eat (which is healthy) and he has lost 5 lb. in three weeks. Exercise helps too.
I think in my life I have heard the vast majority. I have heard of people eliminating all fats… not a good idea, they usually end up losing hair, their nails look terrible. Avocados are great oils and explaining your body actually needs oil to survive is sometimes a toughie.
I know there are vegans for various reasons, but the ‘real’ vegans know protein has to be consumed somewhere at some point. People are omnivores, and you have to have protein to build muscle and to ward off some diseases.
I dont think it is good to eliminate one set of foods, never have. It usually leads to failure.
Peggy Nunn
ellen beck
Portion sizes are so important for everyone. It’s your pack of playing cards size of a chicken breast.