Portion size vs 1200 calories

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  • laurie571
    laurie571 Posts: 152 Member
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    I could careless about portion size. My rant for the day is who eats 4oz of chicken? I always have enough calories to eat 8oz+ so who cares.


    .....................I eat 4 ounces of chicken, that's who. :wink:
    me too
  • slindsey137
    slindsey137 Posts: 214 Member
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    I prefer to live by what my stomach tells me than what fad diets do...

    ^This always makes me laugh. I see it a lot on here. People living by what their stomach tells them to do is how they got fat in the first place. Controlling your calorie intake is a proven scientific method, not a fad diet. :laugh:

    Actually my problem was not listening to my stomach, it was my taste-buds/used to eating to much brain. When I actually pay attention to what my stomach tells me, and do it in a healthy way, I lose more weight. I know the difference between being hungry(stomach) and having the munchies(brain) its the munchies that get me into trouble. When I eat more slowly, I know when I am full, and can stop eating.
  • EccentricDad
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
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    To answer your question, portion size is EXTREMELY important.

    Your stomach is ONLY the size of your fist. Yes, your fist.

    Your stomach, however, is to some degree elastic and can take more food than it needs. I think it was created this way because our ancestors would go days without food and the stomach adopted a way to OVEREAT so we wouldn't starve to death.

    If you only eat enough food that would fill that fist sized stomach, then you are getting the right amount of food for that meal. This is why they say you should eat when you're hungry instead of during scheduled meals; because if your'e eating fist sized meals, and you're hungry 6 times a day, you should know how much food your stomach needs.

    The calorie of the food you're stuffing in your face is important to know because the secret to losing weight is putting in less calories than you're burning. So if you're eating 5 oz. of chicken (huge piece of protein with high caloric intake), then you should be having low calorie carbs with it. Any diced veggie would do. And the next time you eat (2 - 4 hours later) should NOT have protein unless you did a work out; so a bowl of fruit or some carrot sticks and humus would suffice.

    I have lost 12 lbs just this month alone in dieting this way. 1200 calories doesn't "seem" like much; but it's a lot when you're eating the right foods.
  • laurentina19
    laurentina19 Posts: 2
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    I enjoyed reading all these posts. I was worried today because I went way over (760) worth of calories. However, this week had under 1200 calorie days, most all of them. I was hungry so I had grapes, more than I should have had and also Ritz crackers. That was bad.

    What I don't understand is how they can figure how much I will way by eating the way I ate for the day.

    I alo feel that hi and low days are good for boosting of matabolisim. Anyway good luck everyone and I hope I can lose
  • RicochetRabbit
    RicochetRabbit Posts: 43
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    Well the chicken was larger than the size of my palm, the campbells cream of mushroom soup was not low cal, huge amount of t-greens/turnips and califlower. I haven't been loosing as fast as I would like and wondered if I was eating too much at dinner instead of a larger lunch? Maybe my portion sizes were too large no matter what the number of calories.

    I don't know. All I know is that plate was large, good and I am full. I hope I will still be happy about it in the morning when I step on the scales.:happy:

    Thanks for the comments.
  • licialorraine
    licialorraine Posts: 13
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    the reason people say to watch your portion sizes is only to reduce your calorie intake. ex - if you eat a bowl of cheerios for breakfast you could be eating 2 serving and not knowing it, but if you measure out the cereal you only eat one serving, and are only having half the calories you normaly do. i stick with counting my calories and its worked great for me:) its much more acurate than just watching your portion sizes. i used to do that and lost weight very slowly because i would look at a granola bar, or a yogurt and think "its only 100 calories so its okay" and i would think i was doing great, but 100 calories here and there adds up fast, i was doing that way to offten and i was going over my calories alot, but i would recomend that you count your calories, and watch your portion sizes. then you can eat more often through out the day and still fit within your calorie goal :D
  • frenchy2010
    frenchy2010 Posts: 70
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    I prefer to live by what my stomach tells me than what fad diets do...

    ^This always makes me laugh. I see it a lot on here. People living by what their stomach tells them to do is how they got fat in the first place. Controlling your calorie intake is a proven scientific method, not a fad diet. :laugh:

    Actually my problem was not listening to my stomach, it was my taste-buds/used to eating to much brain. When I actually pay attention to what my stomach tells me, and do it in a healthy way, I lose more weight. I know the difference between being hungry(stomach) and having the munchies(brain) its the munchies that get me into trouble. When I eat more slowly, I know when I am full, and can stop eating.

    Good point. There is a big difference between appetite and hunger. I find when I don't look at my diet as restrictive (no this, this, or this) and instead look at it as open (eating as many fruits and veggies as you'd want), mentally I am more inclined to eat healthfully and rarely think about what I'm "not" eating. Restrictions have never worked for me.

    And if you are going to eat a piece of cake or pastry, then you might as well savor every single morsel of it.

    Interesting that jenilla1 is M.I.A....
  • frenchy2010
    frenchy2010 Posts: 70
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    the reason people say to watch your portion sizes is only to reduce your calorie intake. ex - if you eat a bowl of cheerios for breakfast you could be eating 2 serving and not knowing it, but if you measure out the cereal you only eat one serving, and are only having half the calories you normaly do. i stick with counting my calories and its worked great for me:) its much more acurate than just watching your portion sizes.

    It may be more accurate than estimating, yes. But in my opinion, long-term it can be an obsessive pain in the *kitten* and if you don't have the gadget to do so every single minute of your life, you need to understand what a "portion size" really is for you. I can only handle about a fist-full and a half of food at a time, no more. And it may be different for other people.
  • dwarfer22
    dwarfer22 Posts: 358 Member
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    1: this site says you will weigh this much in this long based on the math of your calories. It says if you ate like this every day you would weigh this much. It simply calculates your calorie deficit for the day and multiplies it over 5 weeks. As a 3500 deficit equals 1 lb, it calculates how much you would lose. It is a very rough estimate as it doesn't take into account varying degrees of activity levels or caloric intakes. It means just what it says, if every day were like today- and you can't clone your life so don't take it as an absolute.

    2: I think the original poster is questioning the timing of her calories during the day and which is a better option. Either spreading cals out evenly through the day or eating less earlier and having a big dinner. For me, I try to spread it out more. I find that eating a big dinner actually spikes my insulin and causes me to be hungry later at night. everyone is different. Differences in metabolism, eating habits and types of food eaten can affect how your body uses food energy and how you
    Lose or gain weight. Closely tracking times and ants eaten can help you identify what works best for you. Maybe try a cpl weeks of big dinners then try 5-6 small meals. See how your body reacts and make a decision. Just don't be too rigid about it. Do what works for you. Good luck!

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