Did you measure your pet’s food this morning?

When was the last time you looked at your pet’s food package and measured out the recommended amount before feeding her?  I noticed my cat was getting a little chunky the other day, was sleeping more, and he just didn’t seem up to playing like normal.  Even my brother said something to me!  The first thing I did was weigh him and he weighed 12 pounds!  I immediately went to the food, measured what they said to feed him daily, cut that in half (since I feed him twice a day) and poured it in his bowl.  I immediately realized, “Oh know, I’ve been feeding the cat way too much!”  Now I have a designated measuring cup for the cat food to help keep my cat healthy!

All it took was a few months of the right amount of food and back to our playing routine and he was down to 9 pounds (he’s a big cat anyways J) and all was good.

I really brought this particular story up to now ask, when was the last time you looked at the portion size you are supposed to eat?  When was the last time you actually measured it?  You’ll be very surprised and possibly even disappointed when you do.  Since Americans tend to eat out very frequently, whether it’s fast food, restaurant food or even the food you get for lunch at your workplace, our portions are completely skewed!  Try these steps to get back to eating the right amount of food.

1)       Packaged food – read the label. For example: 1 serving of peanut butter is 2 Tablespoons, 1 serving of cheese is 1 ounce, 1 serving of cereal is between ¾ cup-1 cup.  This is a great place to start especially for most carbohydrate and fat choices.

2)      Fruits – the size of your fist is great. This will actually be 2 servings of fruit for most individuals, so that’s great news to help get your servings in each day.  Since most people only eat fruit for breakfast and snack times, this could easily be 4-6 servings of fruit per day!

3)      Protein – the size of your palm. Now, guys, this doesn’t include your fingers!  But, it does include the thickness.  For me, that’s pretty small, but that’s all I need.  For the men out there, you have bigger hands and your protein needs are higher than mine so it works out.

4)      Eat all the vegetables you want! This includes tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce and other greens, radishes, mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower and tons more than you may not have even heard of!

5)      Fluids – If you’re drinking fluids with calories or artificial sweetener, just follow up with the same amount of water.

Even if your goal isn’t to lose a few pounds like most of the world, it’s better for you to eat the correct portions from an energy standpoint too.  But, the best thing about eating the right amount of food is the money you’ll save!