Portion control is one effective strategy you can use if your primary goal is to lose weight. Even if you limit yourself to good quality nutritious food, if you eat too much then you are consuming too many calories and will likely fail in your weight loss efforts. What follows are a few simple tips you can use to help you stay on track with your weight loss goals…
7 Portion Control Tips To Help You Lose Weight
| Difficulty | Cost | Time | Age | Person | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Easy
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$0 or Free
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30 Minutes
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Inspired From:
You Will Need...
- NIL
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Change Your Plate Color
This tip is firmly rooted in the realms of the psyche and says that the color of your food should not match your plate as this makes it look like you are having smaller portions.
Participants of a Cornell study had a meal of pasta with Alfredo sauce served on a white plate, with tomato sauce on a red plate. The result of the study showed that these participants served themselves on average 22% more than others who uses contrasting colors for their food and plates.
Step 2
Add Veggies To Create Bigger Servings
If you really can’t live without bigger serving sizes you should try loading up your dish with non-starchy vegetables.
A few large chunks of tomato in your pasta dish will have your brain thinking the serving is much bigger, but the reality is you are reducing your calorie intake by eating less pasta and more of the lower calorie higher fiber vegetables.
Step 3
Don’t Leave Food In Sight
Having the serving plates on the table in your line of sight will create the temptation to have just a little bit more.
Leave the dishes in the kitchen and let your meal settle for at least 20 minutes before thinking about having more. This is the approximate time it takes for the stomach to tell the brain you have had enough and by leaving the serving dishes out of sight, you reduce the temptation of nibbling before the message has gotten through.
Step 4
Sharing Is Good
The average restaurant puts way too much food onto a single serving. To get around this you could order one main dish and an extra salad on the side to share between two people.
One dessert between two or three people will still have you feeling satisfied while eating less empty calories.
Step 5
Have A Glass Of Water
The health benefits of drinking plenty of water are well known including your body needing it for efficient bodily functions. It can also be an aid to losing weight.
Drinking a large glass of the stuff before you eat helps your stomach expand to make you feel fuller with lesser food and subsequently less calories due to the fact that water is calorie free – so drink up!
Step 6
Study Your Serving Sizes
If you take the time to visually learn a few simple serving sizes you will be in a better position to adequately control your food intake.
A typical serving size of meat it should be equivalent in size to a deck of cards – or about 3 ounces. Serving sizes of grains or raw vegetables will be similar in size to a tennis ball, or your closed fist.
Step 7
Divide Your Plate Before Eating
This simple tip will help you to portion your plate correctly. Start by dividing it in half. Fill one side with vegetables or fruit and leave the other side for servings of starch and protein in equal measure. Over time you will start to easily recognize a properly balanced meal.
Meals like spaghetti and meatballs, steak and potatoes are therefore only half a meal and you should now see that fruit and vegetables need to be added in order to make the meal nutritionally complete.
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