Hungry? Man! It's all Psychological

So apparently the portion control concept being touted by nutrionists isn't so much an exercise in control as it is a psychological factor. Studies being done at the University of Pennsylvania have now declared that portion control is difficult for most of us to handle because deep down in the psychological soups of our brains, we are pre-disposed to certain amounts of food to be taken in. So regardless of whether we know how much saturated fat, sodium or other bad-iums are in a food, if we want it, we are going to eat it. I can understand that, I mean there are some days where you just can't go without some food, but to say that no matter what, that 'attitude' can't change because it is part of our psychological make up is a bit of a stretch.

I agree that there is truth behind the statements that some people have slow metabolisms, others have higher calorie requirements and still others may have some ailment (such as hypoglycemia) which would require them to intake certain amounts of food but that still doesn't mean that it's a psychological condition that can't be changed. When I began working out several years ago, I was overweight and what you could term as near obese (semantics!). It wasn't for any other reason than that I loved to eat and things that were definitely not healthy for me. I remember going to the hospital once and the nurse being surprised at how high my blood pressure was. At the time I was under 25 so to hear that did worry me a bit. Sure I was nervous but I wasn't that nervous. I took that as my first sign.

Taking inspiration, I began working out religiously; I also began watching what I ate. I paid more attention to what foods contained in terms of fat and sugars and such and I began reducing those foods with higher contents from my diet. I didn't give up the things I loved, but I made sure to keep it within reason. I would serve myself only the suggested serving sizes. If the back of a bag of chips states that it has only 5% saturated fat, check the serving size, that may be for 10 chips, not the entire bag. The labels tell you the truth but sometimes not the truth we want to see. So I began exercising control of my intake and made sure to increase my workout routine. Within eight months I had dropped nearly 70 pounds; my blood pressure came down to normal levels (even when nervous) and overall, my condition improved.

I still love food and I still love to eat, but if I were to believe that how much I wish to take in is encoded in my brain at a psychological level, your writer here would still be near-obese with a high blood pressure and I would probably be on my way from bad to worse. There's no real trick to dieting and exercise. Everyone is different. What worked for me may not work for everyone, but the important thing is to find that inspiration that will drive you to want to discover what your means of control is.