Thoughts on portion sizes?

Roboticist

Hi MFP!

Was wondering if you guys had an average portion size for your meals - how do you dictate how much to eat when preparing food? Another question I want to shoehorn here: Is there really a need to eat (as school/work breaks would dictate) if you aren't feeling hungry? I know this supposedly kills the metabolism but I also don't see why it would be necessary to eat until the body calls for it.

livingleanlivingclean

I don't understand the "eat your meal off a side plate" thing. Most of meals are so large they don't even fit on a normal plate. I often use salad bowls. I choose less calorie dense options so I get more volume. I pre plan my meals to fit my macros, weigh everything and just find a dish appropriate to the amount of food post cooking.

If you have no appetite, and are struggling to get enough calories, I would suggest eating when not hungry.... You may find you start to get more obvious signals that you need food.

CCTex78418

I plan my meals for the week ahead of time and only cook what is planned. This also helps with grocery shopping. As far as eating at a fixed schedule, it's really not necessary. As long as your calorie intake is less than your caloric output, you will lose weight. Don't make it complicated and burdensome. Eat a little less, move a little more, stay hydrated. I personally weigh out my food but know some folks that were successful by just eye balling it. Good luck.

yogi323

It doesn't kill your metabolism. Eat when you're hungry. My average portion size is dictated by how hungry I am and how many calories I have to eat in the day. Normally, my day goes something like eat a very small breakfast, usually right around 200/300 calories. A snack for about a hundred calories. Lunch is about 500 calories, and so is dinner, and a dessert for another hundred or so calories. Normally I'm not very hungry in the morning, but I still eat something small because I get up at seven and lunch isn't until two or three, and if I don't eat anything, I will eat everything in sight when lunch comes. On days I don't work, I normally cut out breakfast and just have a bigger lunch.

Also, I prelog everything I think I would like to eat the night before, and then as the day goes update the diary with specific weights for my food. It helps me have a game plan and realize how much food is truly enough.

devil_in_a_blue_dress

My portions are dictated by calories? And I eat when I am hungry.

kommodevaran

Meal frequency does not affect metabolism. Don't eat when you're not hungry - unless you have an eating disorder or are underweight.

Portion sizes should be adjusted to what kind of meal it is, and to how many meals and what else one is eating the same day, and to the user - size, age, gender and activity level, and preference, taste- and macro-wise. When planning my menu, I start with my calorie need (1700 - female, 5'3, 125 lbs, 44y, in maintenance). Some foods are made/preportioned to a set weight/size - salmon fillets, crispbread. Some are preportioned to variable weight/size - potatoes, pork chops, chicken thighs, apples. Some foods are in bulk - rice, milk, peanut butter. For dinner, my standard portion sizes are 50 grams of barley, rice or pasta, or 200-250 grams of potato or sweet potato, or one cob of corn. One salmon fillet, or one chicken thigh, or six chicken wings, or one pork chop or one or two lamb chops. 70 grams frozen peas or green beans. For porridge I use 40 grams of oatmeal, millet, polenta or cream of wheat, and 100 grams of milk (and same amount of water, and salt). I chop up a melon and eat 100-150 grams each day. Pomegranates, 70 grams. Pomelo, grapes etc, around 100 grams. Brie, 25 grams. Nuts and nut butters, 20-30 grams. Spreads, 12-30 grams (eyeball). Vegetables eaten raw, around 70 grams, except cucumber, which I eyeball, chop off a piece, weigh and eat. Eggs, count and eat. Milk, small glass, 80 grams.

arditarose

Not eating snacks doesn't do any harm to your metabolism. Eat when you want/when you're hungry.

My serving sizes are dictated by how many calories I have to eat, and how many calories I want to allot to a particular meal. I pre-log and have been weighing my food for quite awhile, so if my dinner is logged with 6 oz of meat and 142 grams of rice, but a friend calls and wants to grab a drink afterward-I might take out the rice, add in some extra grams of veggies-etc.

Roboticist

Such great responses, thanks! This community is fantastic. Good to know eating meals less frequently doesn't mess with metabolism. Smaller carb portions seems to be ideal.

arditarose

Roboticist wrote: »

Such great responses, thanks! This community is fantastic. Good to know eating meals less frequently doesn't mess with metabolism. Smaller carb portions seems to be ideal.

Well, too many carbs do not cause weight gain/stalls...but too many calories do. Often, I'll skip the rice and double up on veggies and meat because I can get more bang for my buck calorie wise.

Lounmoun

Roboticist wrote: »

Hi MFP!

Was wondering if you guys had an average portion size for your meals - how do you dictate how much to eat when preparing food? Another question I want to shoehorn here: Is there really a need to eat (as school/work breaks would dictate) if you aren't feeling hungry? I know this supposedly kills the metabolism but I also don't see why it would be necessary to eat until the body calls for it.

Portion size depends on calories and how the item fits my daily goal. I pre-log my food which helps me figure out what portion size would be right.
Listening to your body for hunger cues can be faulty. If we could all rely on our body cues to only eat when we were hungry and stop when we were full then many of us wouldn't be here. If you are getting enough calories to support your life and get nutrition your body needs to function then there is no reason to eat if you are not hungry. If you are only eating 1000 calories, missing many nutrients, trying to exercise for an hour, etc then I would say force yourself to eat more even though you aren't particularly hungry.

rosebette

My portion size is based on my calorie goal. I tend to eat at least 3-4 ounces of protein for lunch and dinner. For starches, usually no more than 1/2 a cup of rice, 1 cup of cereal or oatmeal, or 1 cup of pasta. I measure everything. If I have extra calories (which isn't often) I'll often have an extra ounce of protein at dinner, rather than more carbs, not because carbs cause weight gain, but because the protein has more nutritional value.

fidangul

I usually eat more later in the day so my morning portions are generally smaller plus i dnt feelthat hungry.... But just so that i dnt over do it in the evening i use a side plate and it does help because my plates is full...and as i prefer salads rather than cooked veg i'd fill the best part of my plate like that and that also helps satisfy me...

jddnw

Regarding portion size

I just know from experience what a right sized plate of food is for me. A full meal is usually a palm size portion of meat or fish or beans, a hand size portion of rice or potatoes, and a hand size portion of veggies. This is all done with my eyes. I don't restrict myself using a food scale or measuring cup. My plate is mostly full but not overflowing. I don't have seconds. If I wish to to gain some weight I increase my snacking. If I wish to lose some weight, I decrease my snacking. My meal size stays pretty stable.

Bobbie63

I think though, if your portions have gotten out of control, and it is a reason why you have over eaten (speaking to myself now), it is a good thing to practice portion control for a while, to remember what a portion of potato is. I ate 2 portions of soup today, but at the time it was all i was eating, so I was fine with that. But I know lots of people who could eat a plate full of noodles and it is just so far out of what is good. So, again, Bobbie needs to practice this.

Machka9

Regarding portion size ...

That's what a scale is for. I weight most of my food to ensure that it is indeed 1 serving and not 4 or 5 servings.

Cheese was a bad one for me. What I thought was 1 serving of cheese was actually about 4 servings.

And then you have to determine how many calories you want to eat.

Today, I had a good bicycle ride, so I had 2 servings of a fairly low-cal pizza (yummy!!). 2 servings fit within my calorie goals.

livingleanlivingclean

I have a question. I know American nutrition labels give info per serving. In Australia, we do too.... But we are also provided with nutrition info per 100g.

Everyone seems to talk about eating a certain number of servings of food. Does no one just work it out per gram? I wouldn't know what a serving of PB is for example, I just put a certain number of grams in... It could be 1.23 servings. Or 0.78. I wouldn't know!

Machka9

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

I have a question. I know American nutrition labels give info per serving. In Australia, we do too.... But we are also provided with nutrition info per 100g.

Everyone seems to talk about eating a certain number of servings of food. Does no one just work it out per gram? I wouldn't know what a serving of PB is for example, I just put a certain number of grams in... It could be 1.23 servings. Or 0.78. I wouldn't know!

I'm not sure what your question is.

Here in Australia, a serving of PB is 20 grams. I use a Woollies version of nutella and it is 20 grams too.

So I put 10 grams on one slice of toast and 10 grams on the other.

I could use any number of grams (12, 8, or whatever), but 10 each just seems about right. Then I log it as 20 grams.

kommodevaran

Set "serving" and "serving size" are ridiculous terms. Like "family" should always be one woman, one man, one 9 year old boy and one 6 year old girl. Or something.

Francl27

I just eat whatever fits in my calories and will make me full enough, lol! And not being hungry really isn't an issue for me... unfortunately.

avskk

I pre-log my meals according to what fits my calories, macros, and the supplies in my kitchen. I adjust my log as needed for spontaneous snacks and exact serving weights -- so if I pre-log an 8oz ribeye steak for Tuesday dinner but at cooking time I find my steak is actually 9.5oz, I'll either correct the entry (if I have room for more calories) or trim the steak to the size I'd planned. A "serving size" for me is whatever fits in my calories and helps me meet specific goals, particularly fitness goals.

DinoChicken

I use two kitchen scales.. One that measures in 0.5g increments up to 10lbs and one that measures in 0.01g increments up to 200g..

As far as portions.. It depends on how many of what nutrient or macro I'm going for. If I have a lot of wiggle room I'll carve out what I want to eat and do the math to log it accurately then plan my other meals on what's left of what I need (carbs/protein/fat)

I will say tho scales are crutial.. Especially with meat.. Just a sliver of extra thickness and you can add ounces!!

inked_Calimom82

You should base your portions on how many calories u need to be eating a day. I'm tryin to lose weight so my daily calorie goal is 1800. It also depends on the intensity of your exercises if u are doing that. I eat every 2-3 hours, regardless if I actually feel hungry. I drink a ton of water so sometimes I may not feel that hungry when I eat but fueling your body with small portions every few hours is best for me because it helps with feeling satisfied and prevents overeating. Eating every few hours also helps speed up the metabolism. It's like adding wood to a burning fire every few hours, it continues to burn. Going several hours without eating causes your blood sugar to drop and then when u finally do eat, your blood sugar spikes. When your blood sugar spikes that causes excess insulin in your blood which causes your body to store fat more easily. Not good! Especially for me because I'm trying to lose a lot of weight...You shouldn't wait until your stomach growls for food to eat. That's all bad!!!

marcelo_templario

Roboticist wrote: »

Hi MFP!

Was wondering if you guys had an average portion size for your meals - how do you dictate how much to eat when preparing food? Another question I want to shoehorn here: Is there really a need to eat (as school/work breaks would dictate) if you aren't feeling hungry? I know this supposedly kills the metabolism but I also don't see why it would be necessary to eat until the body calls for it.

No, in old times we were farmers and hunters, we worked from the very dawn for getting food, it is obvious that lunch came good, if you don't feel hungry then don't eat, it's just an stupid myth, calories are calories no matter what.