Portion Control.

AndiK0504

I have such a big problem with portion control!!! I think it might be from the lack of food we had growing up? When the food is there its so hard for me to stop myself at one acceptable sized portion. I always tell myself I'll just do more in the gym to make up for it but I always get out of control. I know this is the biggest thing stopping me from loosing weight. Does anyone have any tips?

Sincere24

I've found using smaller plates really control my portion size at meal time. Although i do cook to portion, mentally seeing my plate to the brim, despite it being a smaller plater...psychologically helps me into think i'm full and/or i've had enough for the meal.

Another thing that helps is water, drink a full 10oz cup during my meal certainly quinches my thirst and aids in keeping my appetite in check. Something i tend to go by is keep 1/3 for air, 1/3 for food and 1/3 for water...puts things into perspective during my meal.

This all goes in hand with making sure you have a balanced meal to begin, both high in fiber and protein

NaomiJFoster

That's my biggest problem, too, just because I really enjoy eating. This is a common mind-trick, but try using the smaller plates in your dish set. It fools the mind into thinking it's a 'full' plate, but obviously there is less food just crowded into a smaller area. Also, try measuring things. I've started measuring my breakfast cereal in the morning and was surprised at how much I had been over-doing it. Now I've developed an idea of how to judge it visually on my own. Restaurants are the worst for me. They give you so much! I try to remember to ask for a to-go box and put 1/2 or 1/3 of it away before I even start eating. It doesn't really work well though, not for me.

Oh, and there is some sort of visual guide that you can do (google it). Something like the size of your fist is similar to a portion of something, the size of your finger is similar to a portion of something, etc. You use body parts to judge portion sizes. Ugh. I can't remember. But the info is out there somewhere.

NCchar130

Try to have a variety of things with each meal or snack. So if it's a high calorie food like almonds or peanuts, I limit myself to the portion I can 'afford' per my food diary and then fill in the hungry space in my stomach with other stuff. Fruit and nuts is a pretty common snack or light meal for me. But I can eat a lot of peanuts (and I'll regret it later both for the stomachache and the calorie hit), so I have to be careful. I try to do that at all my meals. And I make sure to savor every bite of my portion of my most loved foods. If it would help, just remind yourself you don't have to eat ALL the food RIGHT NOW, there will be more later.

medaud10

Measure your portions and post your calories before you take that second helping so you see what the extra food is going to do to your goal calorie count for the day.

beccaxswitzer

I feel you there. I struggled for years with my habits of overeating, almost as if it were due to scarcity (which it was not). I'll share with you what works for me and maybe it will work for you:

1) Writing down everything I eat immediately after or right before I eat it. Example, if someone brings donuts to the office and I break and eat one, I write down that I ate 300 calories. Adding another 300 right after that puts me at almost half my calorie allowance for the day, and just seeing it on paper (well, on FitnessPal), really helps prevent me from reaching for a second (...or a third).

2) If you are eating a dangerous food (one that's hard to stop eating), take an appropriate portion, and eat it in a different room. If you find yourself standing in the kitchen eating fistfuls of cereal until half the box is gone, then next time you have that craving, measure out one serving, put it in a bowl, put the box back in the cupboard and carry your bowl to a different room to sit down and eat it. When it's gone, it's gone!

3) After eating a normal serving, wait twenty minutes. You'd be surprised to find that you no longer crave more of it, or you will find that you actually are not hungry.

Hope those tips help!

AndiK0504

Thank you all for the helpful tips. I'm going to put them all into action starting now!

IronSmasher

Is weighing and recording your food not helping?

Amber82479

I use salad plates for my meals and I weigh and measure everything. It's the only way that I can control portions!

BurtHuttz

Playing off of what IronSmasher said, I only really started to understand portion control after using MFP for a few months to track food. I now have an idea just by eye of what constitutes a serving. I can have more if I want but I can't pretend like I don't know what I'm doing. After enough time measuring cups and ounces and tablespoons, you can start to just understand.

AndiK0504

Keeping track of my food intake with the help of this website is helping a lot. I'm having more of a problem when it comes time to eat. I know they portion size, and I know they calorie content...I just get so carried away.

IronSmasher

Perhaps low calorie veg and salad could help, stuff you can go fairly nuts on.
A low cal soup starter.

You're also going to have to try and figure out if you're actually hungry or not. It doesn't seem to be a case of you losing track of portion control, or not being aware of how much you're eating.

It could possibly be that you're not eating enough and that you've miscalculated how much you should be eating, or you're under counting your calories.
It could be that you're trying to use eating foods as a way to avoid dealing with feelings or issues causing you stress and upset.

TheSpicyMermaid

Try starting to make Bento Boxes for meals or at least lunch. They are fun and easy to control if you get a small little box and jam it with good food.