To portion control or not to portion control: That is the question

I was motivated to write about this topic due to a recent online debate I was engaged in around an article titled “You’re probably eating too much”. The article wrote about issues of weight gain as well as diet related disease such as diabetes, heart conditions, blood pressure etc and then went on to list portion limits for various categories of healthy whole foods- fruit, veggies, grains etc . My initial reaction was frustration. I made a comment on the article along the lines of “We need to stop promoting anxiety around eating through excessive focus on restriction. People should be encouraged to add healthy whole foods into their diet: addition rather than restriction. That’s how a healthy relationship with food is formed”. I also wrote about how these healthy foods are usually the preventive measure for diet related disease, not the cause (saying that, there are certain medical conditions where people need to monitor their sugar intake, and this includes fruit). But in general, these foods are one of the best ways to prevent disease and people should, in general be encouraged to add more into their diet. Well my comment sure stirred up a long and at times heated debate between people. Some were in total agreement. Others said my defense to the article must be a result of my feelings of guilt around how much I am eating. One person reacted by saying “I guess some people are just offended about everything”, while others wrote about how a restriction focus around food was what fueled their eating disorders. Some wrote about how they found it helpful for their health to know portion limits. The reaction was so varied. What was helpful for one person was what fueled another person’s eating disorder. So what can we do to assist with educating people in healthy eating while not fueling anxiety around a person’s relationship with food? Well…. I don’t know the exact solution, but here are a few thoughts I have about the topic.

Firstly, I believe the cause of a large portion of obesity and diet related disease stems from over consumption of refined sugars, processed carbs, corn syrup, hydrogenated soybean oil and other harmful chemicals that are permitted for use in the food industry, as well as the accessibility and affordability of junk and fast foods in proportion to healthy organic foods. If we are going to educate people in restrictive measures, then we need to start with the restriction of these harmful processed foods. I don’t believe the solution to combating disease and obesity lies in the hands of limiting healthy foods, as was recommended in this article. If people were encouraged and educated around the importance of adding whole nutritious foods into their diet while limiting refined, processed junk foods; and investments were made to increase the accessibility of healthy foods in both low-income communities and the school system, obesity and diet related disease could, in my humble opinion decline.

So what about people who are eating clean nutritious foods however are not able to lose the weight? This comment was brought up in the debate and I believe it is a valid question to address.

Firstly, before anything else I believe it is important to explore the intentions behind a desire for weight loss. Do you want to lose weight because you love your body, or hate it? I believe weight loss is healthy when it stems from a healthy love of your body and a love for yourself. A knowledge that your body deserves the best nutrition you can give it. A desire to reach your own bodies best shape- not the 'skinny' shape of someone you are comparing to, but the healthy shape that your own body thrives best in. When weight loss is rooted in this positive light, the process is likely to result in less anxiety and more joy at the opportunity to nourish and nurture the body you were given. If weight loss on the other hand is is stemming from a dislike of yourself, I would encourage you to set out on a journey to learn to discover your innate value and worth. Start to question and confront the negative beliefs you have about yourself. There are many ways you can do this- journaling, mindfulness, counseling, faith. The journey will be different for different people, but the important part is acknowledging that the negative sense of self that you have may not be accurate, and making the decision to discover a more accurate truth about who you are and your value. Now, in the process, you should still be eating healthy foods, however try to center the focus around learning to love yourself as this is essential to developing a healthy relationship with food.

So what about people who want to lose weight and are doing so out of love for their body? Well, in this scenario, learning portion limits for different foods may be helpful. I would, however encourage people to individualize this to their own body and its needs. Not everyone’s body works in the same way. Not everyone has the same daily energy expenditure. People are all shapes and sizes and have varying metabolism levels. What is a healthy portion for one person may not be a healthy portion for another. When it comes to articles that list portion limits, read them with flexibility knowing that not every person is the same. For example, the portion limit for vegetables in this article was WAY less than the portion of vegetables I eat in a day. I know I am healthy regardless of what was prescribed in this one article and therefore I was able to read this and determine the vegetable limit was in fact incorrect for me personally. I just hope that others can also adapt flexibly to these articles to reduce anxiety and guilt.

To summarize, I believe that the process of learning and utilizing portion limits will be most effective once a person has developed this healthy relationship with themselves and with food and can find a way to individualize their portion limits to their own bodies- through a dietitian, nutritionist or their own awareness of their bodies functioning and needs.

I know that people have varying thoughts in contradiction to what I have written in this blog (clearly… from the multiple opinions that arose during the online debate) and so I would love to hear what you think about this topic. Feel free to write your own thoughts, personal stories of what has helped you in this process or what struggles you are trying to overcome. I hope and pray that more people will journey towards a love of themselves, their bodies and a desire to thrive in health. Whole health.