Satisfied with smaller portions of favorite treats?

I found that after measuring some of my favorite foods out in servings they just are not worth it. Have you ever measured a serving of chex mix? Its laughably small, idk anyone who eats that little. Same with Oreos, who eats 2 Oreos? But you just need to decide if the treat is really worth it or not, because certain things will satisfy me, while others just make me want more.

I agree with all posters above. Yes you can, but it takes a while to retrain your brain and stomach as to how much you should be eating! Also, I find that when I'm dieting well.for a while some things taste too rich.

It depends on the food. I can eat 2 oreos, and be fine. I can eat one handful of chips and stop. Other foods are trigger foods for me, and I eat the whole package before I stop. And some foods aren't worth the calories, so I don't eat them at all.

This is me, as well.

I ate 1 Hershey's kiss yesterday. Just one. I felt half way proud that I just ate one (22 calories) but then I thought I would never buy these to have at home because eating one measly kiss here or there wouldn't be satisfying.

Not like I need the WHOLE bag to eat at once, that's not what I mean. Just that I am not one of these people that goes "oh cool a thimble amount of chocolate, boy gee that sure curbed that sweet craving!" :noway:

I can. It took a little getting used to, but now I find recommended serving sizes like 1/2 cup of ice cream or 2 Oreos a perfect amount. Lots of times, I even just have 1/2 serving - for example, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups have 1 package (2 cups) as a serving. I eat one cup, and give the other to my daughter (or someone else) and am perfectly satisfied. Sometimes, though, when I have calories left, I will have larger servings of things I enjoy eating.

I feel that thinking "who only eats <serving size amount> of <food>?" is a path to failure for some, depending on how they handle it.

You definitely can! As the girl who hardly ever ate the correct portion size for most of my life, I measure nearly all of my snacks now and usually feel satisfied with the serving size. It just takes some time to adjust. I also find using MFP helped with the beginning stage for me. Knowing that I could add a snack I was craving more of today to the plan for tomorrow made me feel less like I needed to eat more right than minute.

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Took a while, but yes. When I started I cleaned house and threw out all the junk food because I didn't trust myself. Lately I've been bringing things back in, and I'm finding that a little really does satisfy me. Yesterday I budgeted two pieces of Dove chocolate and only ate one. I was shocked to find that I didn't actually want the second one and felt good when I put it back in the bag!

What helps me is Ziploc snack bags. I refuse to pay the ridiculous price of '100 calorie snack packs' so I make my own. I buy full packages of things (this week it is Nilla wafers) and put one serving in each bag. If I eat a bag I log it - IMMEDIATELY. Usually that's enough to deter me from reaching for another bag (seeing those calories!). I also find that one little bag is actually enough. A few months ago I would have scarfed the whole box (no joke), but now a few cookies a day really does tide me over and keep me satisfied.

As far as ice cream - I make my own. And I mean the real stuff - cream, milk, eggs, and sugar. I logged the recipe in MFP to figure out a 'reasonable' calorie amount (8 servings = 231 calories). As soon as it comes out of the ice cream maker I dish it up into 8 equal portions in little Tupperware containers and stick them in the freezer. Well - 7 Tupperware. The 8th portion gets eaten immediately But real ice cream is SO rich and so thick that one little cup is plenty. And since they're individually portioned once I lick the cup I'm done. Now I get ice cream once or twice a week and still stay within my daily calories.

A McDonalds icecream cone is about the only way I can handle ice cream but I am not a big ice cream eater anyway. Now chips, different story but I buy the small bags and it works fo me. I don't bring trigger foods in the house like M&Ms, Hershey bars,etc.

I can live with small portions because I hate eating those low carb diets and fruits and vegetables only all the time. I guess whatever works for me but I want all foods so I have to find a way to eat in moderation. I buy a small piece of cake in the grocery rather than a whole cake.

I'm sure if you try really hard and foster a new habit.

For me, I've decided my definition of moderation is to stay away from my trigger foods as daily habits, but when I do have them give myself free reign. I'm not at all interested in having a half cup of ice cream nightly, or two ores a day; I'd rather eat a quarter of a gallon twice a month, or a whole pack of oreos every once in awhile, and then move on.

I find that I have the most difficult time with salty foods... last night at the movies I couldn't say "no" to the theater popcorn + butter.. even the small was a ton of calories. I'm thinking about starting to bring my own popcorn but being a rule follower I am nervous about "sneaking" food in. Anyone else have any ideas?
For other items I buy based on size of servings, if it isn't worth it I just don't purchase it... this way I don't have to worry about it!

There is so much you can do with popcorn to make it flavorful, and keep it low in calories. My wife has gotten into the habit recently of buying plain popcorn, spritzing it with butter flavored cooking spray, and topping it with all kinds of interesting seasonings.

I'm a big film fan, and I LOVE the movies. I don't eat during them much anymore, but I grew up sneaking stuff in. Paying for three kids, plus herself, at the movies was expensive enough growing up, and my mother was not about to blow her budget on the overpriced concessions (though that's how the theaters make most of their profit). She use to go down to the local dollar store, pick up a few bags of chips, or popcorn, and cookies, put them in her large purse, and we'd snack on that in the movies. If you feel wrong doing it, I understand and respect that. But it's definitely a great way to save money and control what's available to you during a film.

Can you learn to be satisfied with smaller portion sizes of your favorite treats overtime? For instance I love icecream, and if I could be satisfied with the 1/2 cup serving that would be no problem, but it's just so hard to have the 1/2 cup and have that be it! Maybe it's because I'm so used to having bigger portions when I do indulge and I've become accustomed to that. So has anyone successfully learned how to be satisfied with less bites? Lol

No, I can't. That's why I try to avoid them, unless I am sure I'll not be doing much harm by eating them. I try to behave as good as I can for a longer time before allowing myself my favourite treat. For example, I only allow myself a pizza once a month, but if I have it, I'm having whatever pizza I want, with toppings, and french fries. Then the next day everything's back to normal. For particular foods I can allow myself small portions, such as cereals, snacks and so on, but if it's something that has too many calories and I can't control myself around it, I can't incorporate it within my everyday diet. I am not the best in giving opinions about this, anyway, since last Christmas I pretty much forgot about this all and ate everything I wanted for 3 weeks

1/2 cup is nothing. you could do what i do and find a low cal alternative? i switched to chocolate soymilk ice-cream which is lower cal and so i can eat more. there are so many alternatives to our beloved fav foods. also, maybe fatten out your fav food by mixing something with it (fruit in with the ice-cream)?

I've absolutely become satisfied with smaller portions of my favorite "treats." For one, I don't have to juggle around a lot of other foods in my meal plan to accommodate and two, having desserts sitting on the counter for multiple days has taught me the fine art of portion control instead of binging as soon as it comes out of the oven.