teach?

BrotherJosephBlake2013
BrotherJosephBlake2013 Posts: 64 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What is the best way to teach ones self how to portion control meals so I dont eat alot?

and what are some tricks you use to portion control?
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Replies

  • EHeadings
    EHeadings Posts: 50 Member
    a food scale. Easiest way to watch portion sizes- it seriously changed my life! Invest in one and you will not be sorry.
  • Melo1966
    Melo1966 Posts: 881 Member
    Start with leaner foods like skinless chicken breasts and steamed veggies can not over eat calories with them.:happy:
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
    The first week I started here, I just weighted and measured everything I was normally eating. I didn't make any changes to how I ate - just logged what I normally did.

    It was eye-opening - it was really easy to see from that where I could make improvements and changes.
  • waterwing
    waterwing Posts: 214 Member
    It's simple but drink a glass of water before meals..
  • supermodelchic
    supermodelchic Posts: 550 Member
    Well only after having my babies to lose the weight I would use a gerber baby bowl and what fit in that bowl would be what I ate!:bigsmile:
  • Celeigh12
    Celeigh12 Posts: 763 Member
    Seconding a food scale. They are cheap and will surprise you when you see how much a serving really is.
  • BrotherJosephBlake2013
    BrotherJosephBlake2013 Posts: 64 Member
    What are good portion Sizes to eat?
  • cmeade20
    cmeade20 Posts: 1,238 Member
    For most lunches and dinners I usually do four to five ounce piece of meat and 2 cups of veggies. For breakfast a couple eggs and a few slices of turkey bacon or 1/2 cup of yogurt. I find I control my portions best when I

    -Use my food scale and measuring cups/spoons
    -Plan my meals out ahead of time.
    -Bring snacks and lunch with me instead of buying when Im out
  • BrotherJosephBlake2013
    BrotherJosephBlake2013 Posts: 64 Member
    the weird thing is I never eat breakfast I Haven't since high school and that was 9 years ago.
  • cordianet
    cordianet Posts: 534 Member
    Smaller meals more often works for me. If I go too long without eating, I'm so hungry when I do eat that I sometimes eat too much. Even when I don't over eat, when I get that hungry, I sometimes feel that out of control eating machine I used to be, welling up inside of me. Not good...
  • mariarose88
    mariarose88 Posts: 37
    smaller plates! it tricks your eyes into thinking you're eating more!
  • SarahtheJillianfanatic
    SarahtheJillianfanatic Posts: 117
    Water before the meal, smaller plates and filling your plate up with low-calorie vegetables.

    Also, exercise! I'm much less inclined to overeat if I have some good work I don't want to undo. :smile:
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    What are good portion Sizes to eat?

    I highly suggest pre-planning your meals. Enter them into your food diary at the beginning of the day so you know exactly how much everything you can have and then just use whatever measurements make that happen.

    Also, you're best bet is to cook at home as much as you can. You can eat a LOT more volume of food for the same calorie value as out-to-eat food, plus you have a lot more control over your portions.

    I also second the food scale, measuring cups, measuring spoons, etc. Labels will tell you what the serving size is for each item also.
  • wluck
    wluck Posts: 11 Member
    Whenever i buy a large quantity of food, i immediately weight it and separate it into individual servings....ziploc bags are great and i put one serving into each ziploc bag. then when it comes time to cook or eat, everything is already measured out for me
  • Celeigh12
    Celeigh12 Posts: 763 Member
    I didn't used to eat breakfast either. Now it's my favorite meal of the day!

    As to what portion sizes are good for you, I'd start by looking at your overall calorie allowance and divide up your day. For example, I eat about 1700 calories a day. And I like to snack, so I don't want to use up all my calories on meals. I eat about 450 calories at breakfast, 400 at lunch, 400 at dinner, and 450 throughut the day in snacks. Then I make sure in each of those meals/snacks, I have a well rounded representation of protein, healthy carbs, and fats. And I try to get in veggies and fruit wherever possible.

    Your are welcome to friend me if you want to look at my food diaries for ideas! I'd be happy to answer any questions you have (I don't claim to be an expert, but I think I eat pretty healthy, and not crazy restrictive by any means).
  • anifani4
    anifani4 Posts: 457 Member
    As you work with the food tracker you will learn what a normal portion is. It's different for different foods. Also read the nutrition labels on foods that have them. eg; cold cereals. Measure out the serving amount stated and see what it looks like in your bowl. I use smaller bowls and plates so it looks like I have a full plate.

    This is a learning process.
  • jenlarz
    jenlarz Posts: 813 Member
    Portion sizes depend on what you need to fit your calories for the day. For example if I eat a higher calorie lunch and don't have a lot left for supper, I would need smaller portions than normal
  • gkershner
    gkershner Posts: 48
    I agree with the food scale and measuring cups. I also will cook a week's worth of boneless, skinless chicken or pork chops on the weekend to take for lunch during the week so it is all ready to go and add frozen veggies to the lunch container the night before since I have a microwave at work.
  • blackmagic10
    blackmagic10 Posts: 335 Member
    instead of eating 3 big meals eat 5 to 6 small meals what I heard is you never should eat til your full but to eat enough that your ok like i.e I ate a six sub but I could eat the rest of my sub
  • BrotherJosephBlake2013
    BrotherJosephBlake2013 Posts: 64 Member
    I didn't used to eat breakfast either. Now it's my favorite meal of the day!

    As to what portion sizes are good for you, I'd start by looking at your overall calorie allowance and divide up your day. For example, I eat about 1700 calories a day. And I like to snack, so I don't want to use up all my calories on meals. I eat about 450 calories at breakfast, 400 at lunch, 400 at dinner, and 450 throughut the day in snacks. Then I make sure in each of those meals/snacks, I have a well rounded representation of protein, healthy carbs, and fats. And I try to get in veggies and fruit wherever possible.

    Your are welcome to friend me if you want to look at my food diaries for ideas! I'd be happy to answer any questions you have (I don't claim to be an expert, but I think I eat pretty healthy, and not crazy restrictive by any means).

    My Calorie thing is at 2610
  • christa96
    christa96 Posts: 153 Member
    Food scale (got a digital one at Wal-mart for $20), measuring cups, small plates and bowls trick the mind to think you have more. These are my friends daily! Read the serving sizes on the food labels. I start with that then if I want more and I have calories to use, I will allow myself more.
  • Celeigh12
    Celeigh12 Posts: 763 Member
    Hey, Joseph, would you ever consider working with a nutritionist? I think that would be so beneficial for you to help you learn about portions, the right foods for you, and to help you learn how to avoid the binging as well. It can be covered by some insurance too. It's worth looking into!
  • Guamybear
    Guamybear Posts: 1,061 Member
    I like eating a banana before dinner..really helps you feel up. I also gave up eating rice with every meal which kills me and make sure to have veggies.. cauliflower will feel you up before you know it. And DON'T eat seconds..
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    Hey, Joseph, would you ever consider working with a nutritionist? I think that would be so beneficial for you to help you learn about portions, the right foods for you, and to help you learn how to avoid the binging as well. It can be covered by some insurance too. It's worth looking into!

    I second this notion, but recommend seeing a registered dietician instead. Almost anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, but a dietician actually has formal training and certification and will give you better information.
  • Celeigh12
    Celeigh12 Posts: 763 Member
    Hey, Joseph, would you ever consider working with a nutritionist? I think that would be so beneficial for you to help you learn about portions, the right foods for you, and to help you learn how to avoid the binging as well. It can be covered by some insurance too. It's worth looking into!

    I second this notion, but recommend seeing a registered dietician instead. Almost anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, but a dietician actually has formal training and certification and will give you better information.

    Great point!
  • maricash
    maricash Posts: 280 Member
    As others have said, a food scale is key. Start off by weighing and logging the portions that you would usually eat. Then you can see where you need to cut back. For example, I started out weighing what for me was a normal portion of cheese, it turned out that it was about 3-4 times what an actual portion should be, so the next time, I weighed out less. It's all a matter of fitting what you're eating into the calories you have allotted, but there is definitely some trial and error involved. I actually found that I was eating smaller portions than i thought of some things and too large of a portion of others.
  • macx2mommy
    macx2mommy Posts: 170 Member
    Food scale is the best way to learn about portions. I don't use mine often, but I do use it to help 'check in'.

    I am out alot when I am eating, so I have found other guides for portions.

    An ounce of something solid is about the size of a nine volt battery. Good to know for hard cheeses, meat, etc
    Deck cards or the palm of your hand (just the flesh part) is about 3-4 oz of meat, or one serving size
    I don't measure veggies, and try to eat them liberally, but 1/2 cup will fit in the 'cup' of ones hand.
    Grains a portion is a about the size of tennis ball

    I know the Canada food guide has these equivalents, I assume the US has something similar.
  • dena789
    dena789 Posts: 165 Member
    I have not read all of the replies yet but thought that, what may be really helpful to you, is to check out the information provided in the food pyramid - the guide to eating put out by the government. Here is a link http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/Fpyr/pmap.htm This page also lists what each serving size is of each typical food group. It's also good information for what you really should be eating.

    I must admit that I have never been much of a breakfast eater. Perhaps that is part of the reason I became overweight? I still don't eat a lot for breakfast but I do have something. Generally, (besides my coffee) I try to have a piece of fruit, a single serving container of yogurt and maybe a piece of toast or a breakfast bar. Or, fruit and cereal with milk. Keep in mind though that I am also not an early riser so the time between breakfast and lunch for me is sometimes only a couple of hours.
  • kellykaz79
    kellykaz79 Posts: 39 Member
    The following is from the Weight Watchers website.
    •Your fist is about the same size as one cup of fruit or pasta.
    •Your thumb (tip to base) is the size of one ounce of meat or cheese.
    •Your palm (minus fingers) equals three ounces of meat, fish, or poultry.
    •Your cupped hand equals one to two ounces of nuts or pretzels.

    Just a good springboard for getting your brain around portion control. I also agree with a food scale/measuring cups. Using smaller plates/bowls is also a great idea. If you're out, go ahead and put half of your meal in a "to go" box to help you stick to portion sizes.

    It's a learned skill, but you can do it!
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Start reading nutrition labels on foods and pairing that with your food scale and both wet and dry measuring cups. When portion sizes are listed by gram (g) or ounce (oz), that's a weighted portion. When they say cup, 1/2 cup, etc, that's a wet or dry measurement depending on the food (broth would be wet, cereal would be dry). There's not a huge difference between wet and dry cups but it's best to be as accurate as you can be. And then obviously things measured in Tbsp, like peanut butter or mayo, would require measuring spoons.

    I love the recipe function on here because you can add everything together and then approximate how many servings! More liquid things like soups and chilis are a bit harder but a lot of recipes you find in cookbooks or online will give you an actual potion size like 1 cup.

    Here's a good link with more info from the AHA:
    http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Caregiver/Replenish/WhatisaServing/What-is-a-Serving_UCM_301838_Article.jsp

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