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Even if you eat healthy, portions still make a difference when it comes to weight loss. Excess calories add up and can stall your progress — so it's extra important to be mindful of where you're spending your cals! You can be making smart choices with the quality of food you put in your body, but if you overdo it on the portion size, it can have a negative impact on your weight, waistline, and confidence.
Meal prep wiz Amanda Meixner [3] frequently demonstrates this with beautiful and clear visuals on her Instagram profile. In this particular installment, it's about toppings. Whether you're topping an açaí bowl [4], some chia pudding, or, in this case, some Greek yogurt [5], it's easy to be heavy handed with the fixings. After all, it's one of the best parts of the bowl!
At first glance, you might not notice too much of a difference, but there are some key factors that make one bowl a solid 472 calorie meal, and the other a sugar-laden calorie bomb. Can you spot them?
Here are the big ones:
- Triple the dark chocolate (from 20 grams to 60 grams)
- Triple the honey (from 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon)
- Half the amount of fruit
- Five times the amount of cashew butter (from 0.5 tbsp to 2.5 tbsp)
Here's the thing — those ingredients are inherently healthy. Honey is antibacterial and loaded with antioxidants [6]; dark chocolate is packed with magnesium [7], which relieves muscle cramps and promotes a happier, calmer mood [8]; cashew-butter is an incredible plant-based source of healthy fat [9], amino acids, and magnesium. But when it comes to nutrition, there can be too much of a good thing, especially if you're trying to lose weight. Just something to be mindful of!