Fat Girl Confessional

Ok, brides, this week I'm sharing some of the valuable knowledge I've been getting with Wealth for My Health. Karen Kuzma, MS, RD, LMNT is a registered dietician at Hy-Vee who has been giving the challenge participants tons of helpful info on our daily meal plans.

I didn't realize it, but they overhauled the Food Pyramid awhile ago. Check out MyPyramid.gov for tons of helpful info on nutrition. You can even create a plan based on your age, height and weight for how much you should be eating in each food group in the "interactive tools" section.

One of the big wake-up calls for me has been portion size. How many of us have 6-8 oz of chicken breast for dinner and think we've had one serving? Surprise, surpise...1 serving is actually 3-4 oz. I'm sure many of you already knew this, but count me among those that were a bit delusional about what realistic portion sizes are. Karen showed us some really disturbing images of how portion size has grown over the last twenty years (see below).

I've really been struggling with this part. A lot of times I eat what is considered "one serving" and still have a hungry feeling. Instead of indulging it by piling on more pasta (or caving in to my desperate chocolate cravings), I've been trying to fill up on veggies when I find myself still feeling hungry. I have definitely trained my mind to think my body needs more food than it does.

Now, brides, I know most of you are just trying to drop a few pounds before your wedding. However, if you start the healthy habits now, not only will you look great in your wedding gown, you'll also create a great legacy for you, your fiancé, and (maybe someday) your children. When I think about my son or daughter consuming a "regular-size" burger that contains 843 calories in the year 2030, I'm more than a little concerned!