Larger portion sizes are one of the main reasons why people so not lose as much weight on their diets as they expect to. You may think you know how many calories you are consuming but if your portion sizes are larger than you think, then they will contain more calories than you think. There are strategies that you can use to help you control your portion sizes.
Measure Your Portions
If you have been estimating your portion sizes then it is very easy to overestimate how much you are eating and therefore how many calories you are consuming. By measuring foods out it is much easier to work out how many calories you are actually consuming. After a while you should be able to work out your portions visually, although it is always worth checking every now and again that they have not begun to increase in size.
Eat Slowly
It can take up to twenty minutes for your brain to get the message that your stomach is full which means that if you rush your meals you will have eaten far more than you needed to. By taking time with your food and savoring each mouthful you are likely to feel fuller sooner and will therefore reduce the amount of calories that you consume at each meal.Always
Eat From A Plate
Eating straight from the packet is never a good idea but it makes it almost impossible to judge how much food you have actually eaten. You are also likely to keep eating mindlessly even when your body is trying to tell you it is full. Before you know it all the food will be gone and this can lead to feelings of guilt and disappointment that you have eaten so much. A better strategy is to serve the food on a plate or in a bowl and when it is all gone do not refill it.
Concentrate On Your Food
It can be easy to become distracted by other things when you are eating and this can take your mind off your food. When you are not thinking about what you are eating it is easy to eat more than you actually need. When you are eating you should put aside all other activities such as working on a computer or reading a magazine and concentrate fully on the food that you are eating.
Make Servings Smaller
If you know how much of a certain food you would normally eat, serve yourself a bit less. This is an easy way to immediately cut down on the amount of calories that you are consuming at every meal to lose weight. After a while you will soon find that you get used to these smaller portions sizes and these will become normal for you. Drinking water throughout the meal can help you feel satisfied quicker and will help you get used to smaller portions.
Use Smaller Plates
The brain is just as important as your stomach in deciding when you have had enough to eat. If you use smaller plates then you will not be able to fit as much food on it. If the plate appears to be piled higher with food this can help to fool the brain into thinking that the food that it can see will be enough to satisfy it, even if it is a smaller portion than you would usually eat.
It's Ok To Leave Food On Your Plate
Many people feel guilty about leaving food on their plate for a number of reasons. They may not like to think they are wasting food when there are so many people around the world going hungry. If they have gone out to a restaurant for dinner, it may feel like a waste of money if they do not eat everything. It is more important to listen to your body when it is telling you it is full than overeating for the sake of it. If you really do not want to waste the food you can always save it for later.
Conclusion
Reducing your portion sizes is one if the easiest ways that you can reduce the amount of calories that you are consuming throughout the day. However it also one of the hardest tricks that there is to learn because before you started your diet it may not have been something that you gave any thought to. You can simply focus on eating healthy diet rather than counting on the calories. Following these strategies discussed above will be a good place to begin and can help to get your weight loss off to a great start.
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