Book reviews: The Portion Plan, Linda Gassenheimer

If you have ever considered buying a food scale to measure and weigh your foods in order to control your caloric intake, or if you find yourself counting calories but are still hungry at the end of the day, The Portion Plan by Linda Gassenheimer might be just the book you need.

With only the best of intentions to help you stay healthy and fit trained chef, best selling author, radio personality and food columnist Linda Gassenheimer provides the real deal in The Portion Plan with actual sized photos of real portion sizes. Gassenheimer packs her 192 paged book with solid information on correct portion sizes, tips for eating less, multicultural eating out tips, suggestions and advice, as well as a 7-day eating plan to help you achieve and maintain your health and fitness goals while enjoying the foods you love.

According to Gassenheimer you should eat from a 10 inch plate or a 6 inch bowl to keep your waistline trim and slim. She also provides a quick blurb about the size of coffee cup you drink from each morning.

To help keep portions under control Gassenheimer suggests using your hand and measuring by eye. Although portion sizes vary according to the weight and texture of food, the basic guidelines include:

the palm of your hand 

your cupped hand 

your closed fist 

the length and width of your full hand 

your two cupped hands together 

your index finger 

your index finger and middle finger 

your thumb 

the tip of your thumb

To help you achieve your goals of healthy eating and weight maintenance grab a copy of The Portion Plan today to better understand how the portion plan works.

Gassenheimer gives lots of great tips of how to eat less such as,

Eat high quality, low quantity. 

Make time to eat and put your fork or spoon down between bites. 

Eat free from distractions including TV or computer. 

Include a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. 

Family dinners rouse conversation which causes us to eat slower. 

Portion out your snack foods. 

Don't eat out of a bag or container unless it's been pre-measured. 

Fill up on vegetables. 

Watch your consumption of hor d'oeuvres and alcohol at parties. 

Don't grocery shop on an empty stomach.

Dining tips include;

Eat a light snack at home before you go out to help curb hunger. 

Eat only 75% of what's on your plate. 

Order two appetizers instead of one meal. Or order one appetizer and one meal that can be shared by two. 

Avoid all-you-can-eat buffets where you'll be tempted to overload your plate, portion and calories. 

Avoid anything super, large, giant and jumbo. 

When eating salad, ask for the dressing on the side. Scoop out 1 tablespoon for your salad and leave the rest of the dressing behind. 

Instead of ordering individual desserts, order one desert to be shared by all.

When eating at ethnic restaurants, Gassenheimer suggests lots of tips, choices to savor, choices to watch and danger areas. Foods you once thought as low fat, low calorie eats get a thorough nutritional overhaul and will make you think twice about what you are going to order the next time you eat out.

Of all the weight loss books that line my book shelf, Gassenheimer's The Portion Plan is the one I refer to the most. Gassenheimer takes all the confusion out of weighing and measuring foods so that you can do what it is you best enjoy doing. Eating.