Time to get smart: Sensible summer snacking

I had a great response to my post from a short while back about exercise and taking time to invest in your fierce in the lead up to Christmas, and always love spending time and getting advice from trainer Monique Jackson at re:ab. Alongside general "getting out there and getting into it" info, I recently quizzed her a little on diet and she gave me these - relatively painless - tips for cutting down on portion sizes, which is always an issue for me.
Here are a few of her recommendations:
* Downsize! Use smaller plates at dinner, cups instead of bowls for breakfast, teaspoons instead of spoons.
* Drink 2 large glasses of water before every meal and snack. This helps our body to feel fuller, faster. Great to keep hydration up also. Avoid drinking wine or water with dinner, however.
* Take time to chew your food rather than gobbling it. Take small bites and chew thoroughly (approximately 15-20 chews per mouthful). Put your utensils down between mouthfuls. Eat at the table and avoid watching TV or standing and eating, our brain becomes distracted and doesn’t register that we are full. It takes approximately 20 minutes for bodies to register that we are full so become aware of this and allow a longer time to eat your meals.
* It may seem extreme but measure and record everything you eat for a week. Measuring your food intake with scales, metric cups, tablespoons and teaspoons is a sure fire way to expose the truth about how much you’re eating.
* Aim to eat 5 smaller meals/snacks every 3-4 hours during the day as opposed to 3 large meals. Remember the key word here is ‘smaller’. Many fall into a trap of eating their 3 main meals with snacks in between and wonder why they gain weight! Reduce the size of your main meals and add a few snacks – for example for lunch if you finish with yoghurt and fruit, save this part of the meal for your mid-afternoon snack.
* Beware of grazing – this can easily become continuous eating throughout the day without you ever really feeling hungry or satisfied. Schedule your snacks for the longest stretches between meals and stick to the plan with no kilojoules in between.