THINK THIN THURSDAY - Portion Control

AND THE WINNER IS . . . Carol! Carol, Please email me at ljodamron@gmail.com with your full name and mailing addy and I'll get the books in the mail to you by the end of the week. If I don't hear from Carol by Thursday evening, I'll draw another winner. If any winner already has any of these books or isn't interested in any one or more in particular, feel free to decline those and I'll draw another winner for them.
Thanks, everyone, for playing! I hope you'll stop back, I'll have a review for Toni Blake's LETTERS TO A SECRET LOVER sometime in the next week or so, and a bit of chatter about some other recent reads.

Portion control is very important when you're trying to eat healthy. It's incredible to see how big an actual serving size is, compared to the serving sizes we're used to. Here are some tips about controlling portions - and if you read to the end, there's a little contest that involves portion control of another variety!

* Hankering for a sweet treat after dinner? You can splurge on dessert -- you just have to limit your portion size. Instead of heaping scoops of ice cream into a large bowl, or worse yet, eating it directly out of the container, plop a few spoonfuls into a small teacup. The dainty serving dish will make a small amount of ice cream seem bigger. So curl that pinky and get in touch with your inner princess.
* Did you know that the standard bagel is the equivalent of four or five slices of bread and that the average soft drink is three times the size it was 25 years ago? * It's no wonder that so many of us are overweight. We eat portions that are way too big, with way too many calories. To lose weight, you'll need to cut your portions down to size.
* Eat on a salad plate instead of a dinner plate. A fuller plate tricks your brain into thinking that you're eating a lot.
* Eat lots of high-water, low-calorie foods, like lettuce, raw veggies, broth-based soups, and low-fat or fat-free dairy products. You'll feel satiated without breaking the calorie bank, says Barbara Rolls, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at Penn State University and author of The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan: Feel Full on Fewer Calories.
* Do a monthly portion check-up. Drag out the scale and measuring cups to make sure your portions haven't crept up in size. Even a small difference like three ounces of turkey instead of two can add up to a few pounds over a year.
* Make your own portion guide. Use common, recognizable items, like a tube of lipstick, your cell phone, or your hand-held electronic organizer. Match food portions to these common items. For example, an ounce of cheese is about the size of a tube of lipstick. This will help you eyeball foods and approximate their portion size.
Some good advice, huh?
Now for more good stuff! I'm doing a little portion control in my stack of "have read" books. I have six books to give away, sweet little romances, some fluffy, one suspenseful, a couple I bought because I liked the cover, and one is autographed (not to me personally) that I won as a door prize at a booksigning. I'm not putting the covers up, I'll leave it up to you to check them out further. Here's what's up for grabs:
THE CEO'S SCANDALOUS AFFIAR by Roxanne St. Claire
PRIDE & A PREGNANCY SECRET by Tessa Radley
THE MERCENARY by Cherry Adair
A ROYAL BRIDE AT THE SHEIKH'S COMMAND by Penny Jordan (this is the cover I especially liked!)
BEDDED BY A PLAYBOY by Heidi Rice
THE EXECUTIVE'S SURPRISE BABY by Catherine Mann (autographed)

So, if you're interested, post a comment saying so. Send a friend who comments and indicates that you sent them and you'll be entered again. I'll draw a name from all posts on Monday evening, March 31. Good luck!
Laurie