My Grandma Payne made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich one time when I was a kid. I was so excited to get a PB&J! I always loved peanut butter. I would put heaping tablespoon after heaping tablespoon on the bread, slather it with Jelly, and enjoy while my dad worked a third job to pay for my habit. But when Grandma handed me the sandwich she made, I was greatly disappointed. She only put a thin layer of peanut butter on the bread and a thin layer of jelly on the other slice.

This is not what I had in mind, Grandma!

I am not sure if Grandma used so little peanut butter because she grew up in the Great Depression and Dust Bowl eras, or if she had a true understanding of proper portions for Nutrition.

Grandma was morbidly obese. She had her stomach stapled in the 1980’s and lost a great deal of weight. But the ordeal she suffered through to lose the weight was not appealing to me.

She offered to pay for a gastric reduction for me. I declined.

Years later I watched a documentary called “Super Size Me” by Morgan Spurlock in which he volunteered to put his body through a meal plan of fast food, something his system was not comfortable with. It made him very sick. His body was accustomed to different foods, different portions.

It effected him physically. It effected him psychologically.

We have grown accustomed to very large portion sizes. We simply do not need that much food. But psychologically and physically we crave these portions and food choices because our bodies are addicted to it. Our bodies adapted. And now they cannot be satiated with less.

There is an educational story from Exodus 16 about manna from heaven. God provided just the right portion for each person, enough to sustain them each day. But on Friday, they received a double-portion so they would not have to gather on Saturday.

Many went out on Saturday and saw no additional provision of manna. Presumably, they consumed their double portion on Friday and had nothing to eat on Saturday.

This is the kitchen scale I purchased on Amazon.com to begin my weight loss journey – Digital Kitchen Scale/Food Scale – Ultra Slim, Multifunction, Easy to Clean, Large Display (grey)

Overeating is all about gathering now what our body does not need until tomorrow and then going out the next day and doing it all over again.

They key to my philosophy of diet is to train myself on how much my portion should be. This has been a enormously educational experience.

And now I use the same portion of peanut butter taught me by my grandmother. Turns out, she knew what she was doing. Turns out knew what was best for me.

Turns out I had no clue.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; – Proverbs 3:5