Volume is Crucial! Reduce your Portion Size
Ask anyone who has achieved long-term weight loss and how they did it and they are sure to mention portion control.
How many times have you heard people say or even thought yourself: “I eat really healthy but I can’t lose this weight”. This is when we need to have a good look at our portion sizes throughout the day to see if we are consuming too many extra calories.
Learn how to size up your servings and avoid overeating with these Top 10 ways to control your portion sizes:
Tip 1 - Use a smaller plate for your meals. By using a small plate your plate will still look full but you will have less on the plate.
Tip 2 – Start your meal with a clear soup or green salad to ease your hunger a bit so that you aren’t as likely to over eat.
Tip 3 - Complete a food diary for a week then you can actually see all that you eat. It is important to be honest with yourself here, include every little bit of food you eat. It may be surprising just how much you would eat over the course of a day.
Tip 4 - Serving sizes in restaurants are usually twice as much food as you need. Divide your meal in half and share, ask for a doggie bag, or order the entrée size. Share a dessert with a friend if you want a sweet fix.
Tip 5 – Keep pots and dishes away from the table where it is easy to go for seconds. Remember it takes about 20 minutes to feel satiated. By sitting back and giving yourself a breather you may realize you weren’t really hungry enough for another helping after all!
Tip 6 - Spend a week measuring your serving sizes (use the table below). You might find that you’re eating two servings of cereal for breakfast and that your evening bowl of frozen yogurt is really 3 servings.
Tip 7 - Look at and educate yourself on serving sizes on nutrition labels. You might think that a breakfast muffin is a great low- calorie choice, but that’s only if you eat half the muffin.
Tip 8 – Master the art of mini meals. Try eating several smaller healthy meals during the day instead of the traditional 3 meals a day. Mini meals are by far the best way to prevent overeating because you’ll get never too hungry and lose control of your portion intake.
Tip 9 – Make dinner the smallest meal of the day. For dinner, load up on nutrient-dense low calorie vegetables like carrots and green beans. The fiber in vegies will help you feel fuller. Don’t forget to add a palm size portion of protein to every meal.
Tip 10 – Everything in our lives is fast – fast cars, fast trains, fast broadband and, of course, fast food. There’s lunch on the run, dinner in under 30 minutes, two-minute noodles and take-away to grab and run. Life – and eating – is rushed and stressful. Eating slowly is also one of the most successful techniques to help lose weight. Remember it takes 20 minutes for our stomach to tell our brains that we are full. If you eat fast, you will eat way more than you need. When you eat slowly the eating time increases and you will naturally eat less.
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