Lose Weight using Portion Control
Thursday, December 17th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
Have you paid any attention to your portion sizes of food over the years? There are many individuals out there who really aren’t aware that this has become a problem. Mainly this is due to not reading the labels, which always provides a serving size suggestion. So when you sit down to eat, you could actually be having two to three servings more then you were supposed to during your meal. This is especially true at restaurants.
Since portion sizes have grown so much over the years, a great weight loss method is to use portion control.
Many restaurants offer pasta dishes, like spaghetti and meatballs. When you get the plate, there is a huge mound of spaghetti loaded with sauce and meatballs. If you read the back of the package of a box of spaghetti, a single surveying would probably be a quarter of the dish received in the restaurant. The same goes for steak. The recommended size for a serving of steak would be approximately 3 ounces but when you go to a restaurant, the sizes that are listed on the menu are generally 9, 12 and 16-ounce steaks.
While this information may be news to you, there are easy ways to combat this problem. If you don’t want all the extra calories, then we suggest sharing your food with someone else you are dining with that night. If no one is interested in sharing, you might just want to tell the waiter/waitress to box half of it up before it even comes out. This way you’re less likely to overeat.
However, eating at home is just as difficult. It’s very easy to head to the stove for seconds, thirds, and maybe even fourths. In order to control your portion sizes at home you should eat on smaller plates, or specially designed portion plates. Plus, we would also recommend serving the meals as individual plates instead of “buffet style” in the center of the table. Even though you would think smaller plates would make you go back for more, often times you trick your body into believing it’s full when the plate is empty.
Another area that can hurt your calorie intake is watching TV and eating at the same time. Often people take this route and don’t even realize it. The best thing to do here is turn off the TV while you eat and sit at the kitchen table. While it’s not as fun, it will help cut back on the food.
It used to be if you snacked before you ate a meal you would spoil it. This really doesn’t hold true anymore and if you’re hungry between meals, just have a healthy snack. Whether it’s a small salad, fresh veggies or fruit, taking this route will keep you from overeating.
Many people do not realize that when they buy food in bulk, they tend to overeat without realizing it. So sometimes buying bigger is not always better. If you do buy in bulk, separate the package into small individual portions, making it easier to stay on track and be focused with the correct portion size.
Oh, and most importantly, if you have dishes sitting out with candy and cookies we highly recommend getting rid of them. If you have a cookie jar, or even sugar and flour canisters on the counter, you should put them away. Since your brain knows it’s there, the first thing that will come to mind when you’re hungry will be the first thing you see. So make a bowl of fruit and place it on the table. If you always go to the fridge, make a vegetable tray and stick it in there where it’s easy to reach.
Following these tips can result in weight loss, and the best part is that it’s easy and relatively painless.
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