How to Lose Weight With Portion Control

When Mom made you eat everything on your plate, was she setting you up for bad habits as an adult? American-sized portions have distorted our perceptions of what a normal meal should look like. Most of us do not need the amount of food we eat in order to maintain a healthy balance, and that is one reason why weight gain is sometimes so hard to avoid. Overeating can be put to a halt by learning what your body actually needs and listening to your body's fullness triggers. Read on to learn how to lose weight with portion control.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Before eating anything, consider how hungry you are and in what type of situation you are in. If you are eating because you are bored, sad, happy, or for any other emotional reason, stop here and try to find another outlet.

2. If you are actually hungry, pick up a smaller plate than you would usually eat on. Try a dessert plate rather than a large dinner plate. This will help to train you on how much food you should be consuming.

3. If you are dining out at a restaurant you know has large portions, ask the server to split your meal in half and box it up to go in the kitchen. That way you will not be tempted to finish it in one sitting.

4. Use these simple rules to measure out portions. A woman's fist is about one serving of vegetables or fruit. A rounded handful is close to a serving of most snacks. A tennis ball is the size of a serving of ice cream. A checkbook size is about 3 oz., or one serving of fish. A deck of cards, or the palm (not fingers) of your hand is roughly a poultry or other meat serving size.

5. Recognize hunger and fullness cues. Take your time while you eat and after you've eaten about half of what you expect to eat, sit back, take a few sips of water, and wait. After a few minutes, are you still hungry? Many times, we don't feel full until we have already stuffed ourselves silly. Give your body time to register the food you are taking in.

6. Try eating five to six small meals per day, rather than three large ones. These meals should be much smaller than what you are used to and should never leave you feeling "full." Stop eating when you think you are still a little hungry and you'll have just enough time to digest that meal before the next.

Tips & Warnings

• Of course you need to choose a healthy option in order to lose weight and keep it off. Look for grilled foods, fruits and vegetables, low carbohydrates, and natural, unprocessed items.
• Never let yourself feel completely famished. Bring along small, healthy snacks like fruit or almonds.
• Slow down. There is generally no need to hurry through a meal. Taste what you are eating. Do you even like it?

Resources

• Eyeballing Portion Sizes
• Weight Control Information

[trepond]

on 3/11/2009 Right on!!