How to Use Portion Control for Weight Loss
So, you need to lose some weight. Your clothes are fitting a little snug and you are afraid to step on the scales. One simple method for weight loss is to be aware of and limit the size of your food portions that you eat at each meal. Here are some tips to use portion control for weight loss.
Instructions
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Eat small meals frequently throughout the day. This helps to keep your blood sugar stable and you won't feel so hungry, as your next meal is never far away. An easy technique for portion control for weight loss would be to simply half what you eat at each meal. If you normally eat a whole sandwich, you could try just eating half a sandwich instead. If you still feel hungry after the smaller portion, wait for 20 minutes for your brain to register that your stomach is full. If you still feel hungry after that time, nibble on carrots or celery.
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Before you eat your main meal, eat a salad or a bowl of low fat soup. This will help to fill you up before you eat your main course and so you won't feel so tempted to eat seconds. Educate yourself on portion sizes and stick to it. Get into the habit of using a smaller plate; you can't pile quite so much food on it! Fill most of your plate with vegetables and healthy grains and reserve a small portion for meat. If you have leftovers divide them up into single serving portions and refrigerate or freeze. Eat slowly; try to listen to your body's cues as to when it is full, not stuffed, just comfortably full. Increase your daily water intake to feel fuller.
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Restaurants frequently serve oversized portions. As soon as your order arrives ask for a takeout box and put away half of your meal. This way you are not tempted to keep eating the food because it is still in front of you and you have a nice sized single serving portion of food for another meal. At fast food restaurants, if you can, order a kids meal.
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When you are out grocery shopping, don't buy huge bags of snack food. Just buy one or two small single serving bags at a time. If you are economizing (who isn't) and do buy those big bags of snacks in bulk because it's cheaper, you can divide them up into one portion size containers and eat only one portion at a time. If you don't have the time for that you can simply fill a small bowl with the snack and take it with you to watch TV, put the bag away, don't take it in with you, this encourages mindless eating.
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Use a journal to record what you eat and look over it every day to really see what you are consuming, you might be surprised. Find ways to cut back on the portion sizes you notice you eat over the course of a day. You can use a small notepad or an online journal such as Peertrainer. If you are overweight and want to lose a few pounds, by using portion control you will decrease your caloric intake which will lead to successful weight loss. Good luck!
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Resources
- Photo Credit Morguefile.com
