Michael George discusses his affiliation with Portionpals and how it relates to one of the principles in his new book, Body Express Makeover.
Michael George, famous trainer to the stars and author, has recently teamed up with Portionpals. He supports the use of Portionpals to reduce your total calories and lose weight.
Interview with Michael George:
Q: What is your affiliation with Portionpals?
A: Because of my strong belief in portion control for weight loss and weight management, Portionpals was interested in my support. I only back companies/ products that I have a strong belief will help people to attain their goals of living a healthy lifestyle.
Q: In your opinion, how important is portion control for people trying to lose weight?
A: Portion control is huge. It all starts with portion control, and regulating how much you eat in one sitting. Understand that your stomach is a relatively small organ. Empty, it is about the size of a softball. Your body can only process so much food at one time – and it isn’t all that much. Once digested, the nutrients in that food are released into your bloodstream to fuel muscles that are being utilized at that particular moment, and also to fuel bodily functions, like your heart beating, your lungs breathing, and the neurons in your brain firing. These nutrients hang around in the bloodstream for a finite amount of time, and if they go unused, most of them are stored in your fat cells for later use. Now, imagine that you have just finished a large feast, like a Thanksgiving dinner. Your body cannot utilize all of that “extra” fuel, so the body efficiently stores that unused energy in your fat cells. These individual fat cells can grow to be the size of a golf ball or can shrink so small that dozens could fit on the head of a pin. The goal is to use as much of this “stored fuel” as you can to fuel your activity, consequently emptying the fat cells of their stored contents.
Q: Aside from using Portionpals, what else can you recommend to control the amount of food we eat?
A: The easiest alternative is using the "eyeball method". Make sure each portion is the size of the palm of your hand. You can use the eyeball method when scooping things as well. The rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon for carbohydrates and 2 tablespoons for vegetables.
Q: Does Portionpals tie into the four principles of nutrition discussed in your new book, Body Express Makeover?
A: Yes, Portionpals ties right into it because portion control is one of the four main principles of my BEM eating plan.
Q: What advice do you have for people who get off track with their dieting efforts or overdo it on portions?
A: Don't beat yourself up. It will not make you feel any better about yourself. Acknowledge the fact that you made a mistake and get right back on track with portion control.
