How To Control Portion Size
It’s easy to put on weight but very difficult to lose it. Regular exercise and healthy eating must be made a part of daily life if you want to lose weight. You also must control portion size if you want to control the number of calories you consume. According to diet and medical researchers, portion control can help you cut down calorie intake by as much as 25%, which in turn helps you lose weight faster than you can imagine. However, cutting down on food is easier said than done. Portion control requires some smart planning and brisk execution. Here is a quick guide that will help you control portion size:
A. Portion control at home
1. Buy smaller dishes. Aside from cutting down calories per serving, smaller dishes also play on your psychology and make you think that you have consumed your regular diet (without missing out on anything).
2. Control what you eat and cut calories from each meal. Here’s an example of how you can accomplish this: Let’s assume you are having steak for lunch. Use very little oil while cooking the steak and cut out as much of the sauces as you can. Substitute fries with a fibrous vegetable such as a carrot. Fibrous fruits and vegetables fill your stomach quickly and satisfy your hunger. Such clever tactics help you cut down calorie- and fat-intake, and digest your food much faster.
3. Improve your will power. To control portion size, you need tremendous discipline, which you can only get by building up will power. Meditation or self-hypnosis can help you craft will power that’s made of iron. Learning hypnotism and meditation also require dedication and you must make an honest effort to learn these techniques if you cannot resist food.
4. Learning to read nutrition labels helps you understand just how many calories go into a particular food. Once you learn to read these labels, you will know exactly what goes into each serving. Knowing these details will make you conscious of what you eat and also make you a more responsible “consumer” who cares about what he feeds on.
5. Learn how to relate nutritional content with size of serving by filling up measuring cups with regular-sized portions of rice, vegetables, meat, etc., and then emptying these into a plate. This exercise will help you understand serving size and its nutritional value and once you are good at this, you will be able to easily tell how many calories your serving contains. This will help you control portion size.
6. Also, once you learn how to tell nutritional value, stop eating out of a bag – pour everything into a dish, know how many calories it contains, and then chomp on it.
7. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dine like a beggar. We’re not saying this – this is age-old saying. Food takes time to digest and a good part of your dinner may turn into fat if you hit the sack within 2 hours of dinner. So, it’s best to cut down on your dinner portions.
8. Do you snack on chips and fries while watching TV or when friends drop by? Well, these processed or fried-at-home foods are loaded with trans fats and make you gain weight quickly. There’s no point on cutting down on their portion size – in fact, you must completely give up on such unhealthy snacking habits.
9. Eat slowly and chew each morsel very well. This will help you enjoy food in a leisurely way – which is how it should be. Eating slowly will also make you more conscious of what you eat and you will gradually be able to cut down on your portion size.
10. Avoid second helpings.
B. Portion control at restaurants and supermarkets
1. Cut portion size by requesting for smaller portions based on your understanding of nutritional value per serving (see #5 of Part A above)
2. Save some food for your pet/s. Your pets will love the treats and you will love your pets even more because they just helped you control portion size.
3. Avoid desserts. If you cannot, share your dessert with your friend or wife or kid.
4. Avoid the snack area in a supermarket. Most folks stuff up their shopping cart with processed and unhealthy foods like pretzels and cookies and then repent later.
5. Buy food that’s available in packages that specify serving size.
6. Completely avoid junk food like pizzas, burgers, shakes, etc.
7. Never ever upgrade your meal at a restaurant no matter how great the upgrade deal sounds. You will end up putting on weight and putting off health.
8. Avoid buffets. Buffets allow you to eat as much as you can and most folks tend to overeat because they want full value for their money.
9. Eat slowly while dining. Enjoy the restaurant’s ambience, eat leisurely and ask the restaurant’s support staff to pack 50% of your dish in a take-home container. If you feel hungry later, you still have the container packed with food.
Conclusion
As stated earlier, cutting down on portion size can help you reduce calorific intake by as much as 25%. Consuming lesser calories combines with other weight loss strategies like regular exercise and healthy eating, and helps you lose weight faster. So, go on ahead and use the tips and tricks outlined above to control portion size and burn fat in double quick time.
Leave a Reply
One Response to “How To Control Portion Size”
Hi, thank’s thats what i needed to know. maybe you could explain in more detailes, as i have no knowledge on this topic and i like to learn as much as possible to become proficient.