Sticking to Portion Sizes

healthy_juls

I have trouble sticking to my alloted portion sizes for meals. For example, around lunch time i tend to get very hungry and overeat before i know it. Any tips?

kristen6022

Same here. I can eat a whole bag of pita chips if someone doesn't stop me. I can put down some food without really feeling full and I tend to eat fast, so I never really know when I get full until I feel sick. My only suggestion that has worked before is to make sure before meals that you drink 2 8oz glasses of water. It tends to fill your stomach so you don't over eat.

healthy_juls

I hate that feeling that my stomach has stretched from overeating, It makes me depressed and i just start feeling so bad about myself.

thisisme13

Don't wait until you are starving to eat.

If you can't get from breakfast to lunch without being starving by lunch have a snack in between.

Fill up on protein, fiber, water and fat to help you feel full for longer.

jennij1984

I was having the same problem so I started added lemon water and a small snack mid morning.....it has helped tremedously!

1stday13

My best friends. Food scale, measuring spoons & cups. Count chips, measure everything before you sit down & eat very slow. At least 20 mins. chew slowly. Savor bites. put fork down between bites. It is really working for me. Good luck. Also as said. small snack !00 cal or so. & lots of water' :flowerforyou:

TomTomato

This is probably my biggest problem. I agree with what everyone else here recommends. I would only add that you can try to control your environment more by not having more available. For example, I made split pea soup to have for lunch at work during the week. After the soup was done cooking, I immediately portioned it off into single serving Rubbermade containers. This helps in a couple ways. I know the amounts in each container as well as the calories. I also can't really enlarge my portion, because it would be more difficult.

gabegrammy

I work in an Italian restaurant, and carry my meals with me. I cook at home using the recipe builder and weight when finish to determine my portion size and calories. I eat regular food cooked healthy and control portions. I do not over eat, but I do eat alot of veggies. I drink alot of water also.

palmerar

Measure everything, smaller plates, put snacks/ food out of sight, eat slower, drink water/ tea, chew gum, begin a new assignment or task at work/ home that will distract you.

lioness803

Add a snack between breakfast and lunch! I snack a lot, but if I let myself get too hungry then I binge like crazy.

gatorginger

Eat a mid morning snack such as fruit and drink a 16 ounce bottle of water with it it really helps me

Bailey532

I used to do the same thing. The trick is to find out what makes you go crazy. Sounds like you may do the same thing I do. If I get too hungry, I go crazy eating too much. I just no longer let myself get to the point of being so hungry. I eat small snacks more often. I have a piece of fruit in the morning, then my oatmeal when I get to work, a small snack (sometimes 2) before lunch, then lunch, then a small snack, another snack if I'm going to the gym (full of protein) and then dinner. Sounds like a lot, but I eat around 1200-1400 calories a day. My snacks are fresh fruit, fresh veggies or cheese most often. I also put fresh fruit and veggies in baggies on Sunday so I have them for the week. That way I can grab a baggie and go. I do the same with almonds. Try to boil some eggs so you can have hard boiled eggs available and have some greek yogurt in the fridge. Good luck!!

drchimpanzee

Snack! But in a planned good way. Don't just hit the vending machine for a candy bar. If you eat something a couple hours before your next "big" meal you won't be as hungry.

theCarlton

I break my meals down so that I can eat something every 2-3 of hours. (If I pack a soup, fruit, and salad for lunch and snack - it doesn't get eaten all in one sitting). I also separate out my servings, and I usually follow the serving size on the package. I don't ever really get hungry or too full.

jmparis65

One of the biggest changes I made, I switched from the "classic" 3 meals a day to eating smaller portions 5 times a day.

That certainly helped with the hunger feels as at times it seemed I was eating almost all the time.

Try to get some protein in at least everytime

elyelyse

smaller plates really works!
Also, one mind trick I play is to tell myself to start with an appropriate portion, and if I finish and really want more, I can reassess the situation. It may not work every time,, but it is much easier to say no to that extra portion once my belly is already filled with food. (especially if I remind myself that the calories I save by sticking to the one portion can be used on something else!)

Kelley528

I became very regimented to stick to portion controls but it keeps me from feeling hungry.

Like others have said, a food scale is my best friend. I weigh out everything/ count out everything to the last chip and it has become some routine that it is just habit I do without thinking about it. I have to have snacks between meals otherwise I feel hungry like you do. I always have 1-2 snacks between breakfast and lunch, 1 snack between lunch and dinner, and a snack after dinner. In the mornings i do a piece of fruit, yogurt, and or/pretzels. The key is to weigh/count everything and have your snacks before you start feeling starving. I usually have my first one about 2 hrs after breakfast. I can easily eat an apple or yogurt or pretzels at my desk. Some days my lunch is later than others so I will have a second snack about 2 hrs after the last. Fo some reason, my body has gotten used to snacks 2 hrs after meals and that keeps me going until the next meal.

If you count the food properly it is easy to stick to calorie limits/portion controls. I successfully ate 3 meals and 3 snacks a day while doing 1200 calories a day. Im now on 1430 a day and usually have to pad my snacks with extra weight/calories just to hit my daily goal.

lisamac62

I totally agree my "best friends" are my measuring cups I have 3 sets, my measuring spoons I have 2 sets of the whole set and 3 just Tablespoons by themselves, and my food scale.
If it is going in my mouth then it gets measured and weighed and recorded on my diary every single meal or snack and every single day. In the past by this day (day 45) I would have already given up on this process and assumed that I knew how much I was eating. In doing that I was only setting myself up to fail.
FYI.... I found out though that if you get the scale out and weigh out things like chips instead of counting out the 9 or 12 that is on the food label most of the time you will get more Just remember though that you can't do this with everything

daniellemm1

Eating just one serving certainly takes some getting used to but it is doable. I look at the label and determine what a serving is and only put that on my plate. Surprisingly after I eat slowly and have time to digest my food, I realize that one serving is really all that I needed. My eyes wanted more but my belly only needed the one serving.

I eat about 200 calories for breakfast, then two hours later I eat a 100 cal snack. I eat a small lunch then at 2p I have another 100 calorie snack. Dinner I don't ever get hungry during the day by eating every few hours.

Throughout the day I drink water, oh so much water I just sip it as I work.

jlemesur

What helps me is: glass-o-water before lunch. I use a small plate and make sure it's mostly full a greens. The green veg. fill me up kinda quick. I also like hot banana peppers with my lunch. They also seem to make me full quick. I don't know the reasons, they just seem to help me eat less at lunch.

TeaBea

Bring several baggies of cut up veggies with you to work. I always have something healthy on hand .... I can munch on carrot sticks or pea pods if I need a snack.