Which one do I need to do...

MortishaLee
MortishaLee Posts: 10 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Portion sizes or calorie counting or both? Which one is best to go with?

Replies

  • dwilliamca
    dwilliamca Posts: 325 Member
    Reducing portion sizes is an important part of calorie counting. Your goal of course is to eat less calories than you were when you were gaining weight and there are multiple ways to help with this. Changing the type of food you eat may be helpful for some people who are accustomed to eating high calorie foods such as fast food or fat/sugary foods for certain. If you give up the 700 calorie burger for a 300 calorie chicken and salad lunch you saved 400 calories. On the other hand you could cut the burger in half if it is enough food to fill you up at lunch. Other people eat too often. I was a snack-aholic eating basically good foods, but way too many of them adding up sometimes to 1000 calories after dinner. I now only eat one a day. I also had to cut back portions. I love starch and used to eat a cup of potatoes or pasta at dinner, but that adds up to 400 calories or more and my dinner is only 500, so I eat no more than half cup portions of starchy foods. Instead of two pieces of bread, I eat one. Vegetables and some fruits are about the only thing you can't eat too many of. You will have to analyze your present diet to see where you have gone wrong, and then adjust to fit your current goals. As you start logging your foods you'll develop a pattern and will soon learn what works and what doesn't. One thing I do is log my foods just before I eat them to make sure they are within my goals, then I can still change something or eliminate something if I have to.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    Count calories.

    Eat foods in portions that suit you, both in terms of fitting your calorie goal and keeping you satisfied.

    I like to volume eat. I eat dinner out of a serving bowl as a normal plate is too small. I have a friend who claims to be full after a small handful of food. My meals are predominantly lower cal vegies, with protein and some fats - I choose foods I know will get me lots of food for few calories.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Calories, but sometimes you will need to control portion to fit the calories if a food is higher in calories. A portion of vegetable is 85 grams... Screw that puny sad portion. I eat 5 times that in a setting because it's easy to fit into my calories.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    Calories, but sometimes you will need to control portion to fit the calories if a food is higher in calories. A portion of vegetable is 85 grams... Screw that puny sad portion. I eat 5 times that in a setting because it's easy to fit into my calories.

    A portion is the amount you eat - the serving size is the amount that might be recommended or suggested.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    Calories, but sometimes you will need to control portion to fit the calories if a food is higher in calories. A portion of vegetable is 85 grams... Screw that puny sad portion. I eat 5 times that in a setting because it's easy to fit into my calories.

    A portion is the amount you eat - the serving size is the amount that might be recommended or suggested.

    Ah that makes sense. Language barrier ;). Although I have seen it used interchangeably.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    Calories, but sometimes you will need to control portion to fit the calories if a food is higher in calories. A portion of vegetable is 85 grams... Screw that puny sad portion. I eat 5 times that in a setting because it's easy to fit into my calories.

    A portion is the amount you eat - the serving size is the amount that might be recommended or suggested.

    Ah that makes sense. Language barrier ;). Although I have seen it used interchangeably.

    I think it's an issue that causes confusion, not related to a language barrier - it's something we're taught to understand at uni when studying dietary guidelines and recommendations :)
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    To lose weight, you need to consistently eat less - fewer calories, not necessarily smaller volume. Calorie counting is just one method to eat less. When dieting, you will generally be reducing your portion sizes; but some foods (low calorie items) will normally be eaten in larger amounts, and calorie dense (especially nutritionally poorer) items, in smaller amounts.

    Do NOT go blindly with "recommended serving sizes" - use MFP and weigh everything, so you can eat an appropriate amount of calories for your height/weight/age/sex/activity level AND balanced so that you get in all the nutrition you need every day, and tasty meals too.

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