These photos show exactly how much food to eat to lose, maintain, or gain weight over the holidays

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These photos show exactly how much food to eat to lose, maintain, or gain weight over the holidays

Sarah Schmalbruch, Dec. 11, 2017, 5:44 PM, This is Insider, http://www.thisisinsider.com/h...the-holidays-2017-12

Be mindful of the food you eat at Christmas dinner.+Simple/Unsplash

MealKitt founder Julian Gaine took a series of photos that show how much you should eat for Christmas dinner depending on your weight goal.
The photos show portion sizes according to if you want to lose, maintain, or gain weight.
According to Gaine, portion control is the easiest and most fundamental way to achieve your weight goal.

Who doesn't love the holidays?

It's a time full of celebrations, gifts, and delicious food.

Unfortunately, though, all of that delicious food can lead to some unwanted weight gain.

Julian Gaine, the managing director and founder behind MealKitt , wants to combat those extra pounds through portion control.

Gaine recently released a series of photos that show how much food you should eat during a typical Christmas dinner, depending on if you're looking to lose, maintain, or gain weight.

INSIDER spoke with Gaine about the photos and portion control in general. Keep scrolling to see what he told us.

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Former Member

The photos depict three courses of a Christmas dinner: a smoked salmon appetizer, an entree consisting of turkey, vegetables, stuffing, and potatoes, and pudding for dessert.

The amount of food you should eat as an entree if you're looking to lose weight.

The photo above depicts how large an entree you should eat if you're looking to lose weight. Gaine said the photos were created under the assumption that a Christmas meal is going to account for around 60% of your calories for the day.

He said that it's common for people to have a small breakfast, then eat a large meal, and "nibble" for the rest of the day.

12/15/174:58 PM

Former Member

Gaine said the photos are geared towards an average man who's between the ages of 20 and 50, is anywhere between five foot six inches and six feet tall, and weighs between 200 to 220 pounds.

The amount of food you should eat as an entree if you're looking to maintain weight.

According to Gaine, the average man who gets around 30 minutes of brisk exercise per day needs about 2,500 calories per day to maintain weight, whereas the average woman needs around 2,000 calories per day to maintain weight.

The portion pictured above is broken up into about 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbohydrates, a ratio Gaine said is ideal for weight maintenance.

He said that since the difference between a man and a woman's daily caloric needs aren't all that different, these photos can apply to women as well.

12/15/174:58 PM

Former Member

The difference between weight maintenance and weight loss or gain is around 600 calories per day, according to Gaine.

Gaine said that the main culprits behind weight gain are carbohydrates and sugar. When a client wants to gain weight, Gaine ups their carbohydrate intake, which is why the gain photo includes more potatoes than the maintain and lose photos.

12/15/175:00 PM

Former Member

He believes that portion control is vital when it comes to achieving a weight goal.

How much smoked salmon you should eat depending on your weight goal.

"There are loads of diets out there, but portion control is the easiest, most fundamental thing you can do, because it means that we can enjoy what we love to eat just in the right amount," Gaine said.

Gaine cites increasing portion sizes as a main factor in the obesity epidemic that's taking both the UK and the US by storm. He said that the sizes of both plates and cutlery have increased in the last few decades. He also said that mass production of food has led to consumers getting more food for their money at the grocery store, and they've come to expect the same from restaurants.

As both fast food and high end restaurants increase the sizes of their meals, Gaine said it's not uncommon to end up eating almost a full day's worth of calories in just one sitting.

12/15/175:01 PM

Former Member

Gaine is a big proponent of educating people about the kind of food they're eating, and increasing awareness around just how many calories they're consuming.

How much Christmas pudding you should eat depending on your weight goal.

Gaine stresses mindfulness when it comes to eating. While he doesn't suggest cutting out foods entirely, he does recommend eating foods in moderation. He said that often people fall into the trap of assuming a food is healthy, and therefore thinking they can eat it in large amounts.

12/15/175:01 PM

Former Member

"You have to take a step back and say, 'wow this bag of nuts is half my calorie intake for the day.' So I think people need to be mindful that even good food needs to be eaten in moderation," Gaine said.

How much of an entree you should eat depending on your weight goal.

12/15/175:02 PM

Former Member

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