Do you know your portion sizes?

I imagine you're looking at this photo and thinking, god she is restricting herself.

What about this one?

Looks like a good plateful of food, doesn't it?

Well, there is exactly the same amount on that plate as the first one. The point I am trying to get to is that a lot of people often can't understand why they aren't losing or have put weight on.

Did you know that since the 1960s plate sizes have increased by 36%. An average plate used to be between 7-9 inches and now they are up to 12inches. I guess that doesn't sound like much but if that means the size is now over 30% bigger than what it was, chances are you're eating a third more food than necessary.

Food is very visual. The average person would look at the first plate and think, I am still going to be hungry after this. But the second one might leave you feeling over faced. Ever heard the expression your eyes are bigger than your belly? It has some merit.

It takes about 20 minutes for you to start feeling full. So, if you had a big plate like the first one and filled it, you could keep on eating not realising you have eaten enough until it's too late. We have all had that feeling where it hits us suddenly and we are uncomfortably full but we don't know why because we didn't think we ate that much. You might have eaten more than you realised if the plate was big.

However, if you eat from the small plate, you may think you're still hungry when you've finished. Just wait for half an hour and see how you feel then.

By all means, if you are still hungry, listen to your body and eat some more. Go for seconds but try to make it a celebration of veggies, salad or fruit as the main body of the plate. The fibre should fill you right up then, with fewer calories.

I'm not saying you should bin your lovely expensive plates, but just be more aware the next time you dish up that it doesn't need to be full to the rim.

A good rule of thumb is that the protein should be about the size of your fist and the carbohydrate should match. Then the veggies should be twice that amount. See what that looks like on your plate and it might surprise you.

Just have a little more awareness about portion sizes and you should see a reduction in dress sizes.

Secret Sugars - How to avoid a sweet overload

It is everywhere, there is no hiding from sugar. Sometimes you might not want to, and that is fine, but when you are trying to cut down on the sweet stuff it might be harder than you think.

I can tell you 41 different terms for sugar right now, and in fact, I will list them for you at the end of this blog.

When it comes to eating better we can all be sucked in by labeling. Low fat - often means loaded with sugar to replace the flavour lost, healthy - sometimes means it has a few healthy ingredients like oats/nuts/seeds, no added sugar - can mean that a sweetener is used instead.

My advice would always be to go for the foods which have natural alternatives such as honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar. While the chemically modified versions may be lower calorie, they are foreign to your body so it is less likely react to or process them normally. Also, as your brain doesn't recognise these new ingredients it is rare that they actually satisfy your sweet craving leaving you still wanting more.

Some names are more obvious that others, some sound healthy because they have other known foods in their name, for example, Fruit Juice Concentrate. Others you might not recognise as a sugar because they sound so strange eg, Maltodextrin or Turbinado.

While it is true, that some sugars aren't so bad, (I am an advocate of honey) if you are trying to cut down your sugar intake, finding ingredients such as this in certain foods won't help you if you are trying to manage the amount you consume. Because as always, it is about moderation.

The best advice I can give you is to always choose natural, unflavoured products eg, yoghurt or oats and add the honey or sweet option of choice yourself. That way you know how much you're consuming and you can manage it.

Another tip which is something I try to live by, check the ingredients list. If it has more than one line of ingredients it is probably not good for you. Use your common sense though here as this in rare occasions doesn't apply. For example in Nakd bars, they are made using natural goodness but have a few different ingredients.

Generally, if you don't recognise or can't even pronounce the ingredients, back away. There will be lots of secret sugars, preservatives and chemicals which your body does not want or need.

As promised here is my list of 41 sneaky sugars:
Agave Nectar, Barley Malt, Beet Sugar, Black Strap Molasses, Brown Rice Syrup, Brown Sugar, Cane Sugar, Caramel, Carob Syrup, Coconut Palm Sugar, Corn Sweetener, Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup Solids, Crystalline Fructose, Date Sugar, Dehydrated Cane Juice, Dextrin, Dextrose, Dried Oat Syrup, Evaporated Cane Juice Crystals, Evaporated Cane Juice, Fruit Juice Concentrate, Glucose, Golden Syrup, Gum Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Honey, Inverted Sugar, Malt Syrup, Maltodextrin, Maltose, Maple Syrup, Muscavado, Palm Sugar, Refiners Syrup, Simple Syrup, Sorghum Syrup, Sucanat, Sucrose, Treacle, Turbinado.