Individual portions..

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goldfishgoo
goldfishgoo Posts: 67 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know I will have to eventually "learn" what a real portion size is. You know the deal, you want to make a sandwich. You think you are being good getting "correct" filters (meat, cheese, condiments, etc). But if you weighed the items you may be in for a big surprise! So, you grab the scale...always? Hmmm... Even if you are good and did the weighing thing, that can take up time. I thought of my kids lunches. Every week when I buy groceries I make "portion bags" so our mornings go by faster. They grab the items pre-bagged. I gave up buying pre-bagged/smaller serving sizes because they get pretty pricey. So if it works for them it should for me too.

I started with a few of the 2oz cups. I measured serving sizes according to the package. Then they all get put away either refrigerated or shelved. I have a container in the refrigerator to hold the little cups. Little butters, little peanut butters, little jellies, etc. The serving size for Oreos is 3 cookies. The container only holds 2. That is a good thing.. definitely don't need a lot of those! I weighed out meat slices too.But obviously they don't fit in the cups. So I put a piece of wax paper between servings and put the whole stack in a zip bag. I use reusable containers in various sizes for other things too.

Yes, it is a lot of work. But, I do this on grocery day when I'm doing kids' lunch items anyway. Yes, the little cups add up. But, they wash easy and I don't use every one of them in a day. So, cleanup is minimal. Yes, it takes up space. But if I don't get my act together in this idea of what a real serving size is, I'LL BE THE ONE taking up extra space! Besides, the extra space really is minimal.

I did not do this all at once. It was a little here a little there. I do have to say it is so nice to get up, pop my bread in the toaster, then grab my jelly and Smart Balance cups. Voila! Fast food! It is not for every item I eat, just the things that I feel are time crunchers. Also I make my own sandwich bread so I slice it as needed

Replies

  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
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    Good post! I do this also. It helps that I own a paper goods store that sells all this stuff (bags,portion cups, wax paper etc) but I can't post it here under forum rules :(
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,004 Member
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    Hm. Good idea, I guess. You are way more organized than I would ever be. :laugh:

    The food scale works fine for me per meal. I know the portion sizes after all these years, so I just TARE out the scale(zero it out) between each ingredient while building the sandwich on the plate - on the scale... To each their own.
  • goldfishgoo
    goldfishgoo Posts: 67 Member
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    darn! I always scope that stuff out!! ::happy:
  • goldfishgoo
    goldfishgoo Posts: 67 Member
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    I am anything but organized! I had been using my scale for a while now when I bake. (I find it easier/better to weigh than use measuring cups) Reality hit me in the face on the serving size issue. Actually, I can be very lazy on that one. I would KNOW I should measure but was not patient enough to take the time. It would be "easy" to buy pre-packaged stuff but sooooooo expensive. So this became, not nec. a "solution" or "easy fix" but more like a boost in the direction I needed to be.
  • goldfishgoo
    goldfishgoo Posts: 67 Member
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    Oh and congrats, cmriverside, it looks like you really worked hard with only a couple of pounds to go! :drinker:
  • tambam69
    tambam69 Posts: 270 Member
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    Very good ideas
  • BrookeLee2
    BrookeLee2 Posts: 39
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    Yeah, my family typically does this with meats and dessert/snack things! It really helps control the eating.
  • volume77
    volume77 Posts: 670 Member
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    i do pretty much the same thing
  • goldfishgoo
    goldfishgoo Posts: 67 Member
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    Doing my own pre-portioning also makes it appear to be more than it is because of the smaller containers. The stuff sold in stores have a bigger box or in the case of chips/crackers/etc, the bags are full of air. Funny thing is, if I put the same product in my smaller bag it would be the same volume but my eyes would be fooled enough to calm my head down! :wink:

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