Satisfied with smaller portions of favorite treats?

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.

I can, but I have to put it in a bowl, weigh it, and put the rest away. When it's things that might go bad (ie, baked goods) it's harder though... I want to enjoy it while they're still fresh, and I tend to go a bit overboard. Typically it still fits in my calories.

Restaurant food though... forget it. I'll eat the whole plate if it's right here. Leftovers just never taste as good to me (especially if it's served with ice cream, obviously).

Everybody is different.

For me, I can be satisfied with small servings of SOME things.

Brownies, cookies and cakes: I can just eat whatever amount I budget for here. These tend to be the absolute richest of my treats and I am happy to eat only a small amount.

High quality ice cream? Yes if it's really rich sometimes only a bite is fine. Sometimes I need the half a cup. And sometimes I'll budget for more when I'm planning the day and eat half the pint or make a sundae with caramel-butterscotch sauce and nuts as a special treat. Both ways are fine for me. I don't think I've struggled with this since starting counting calories.

Chocolate candy: I this is something that I struggle with. A piece is always enough until I mindlessly go back for more so I'll buy it and keep it out of reach and I'll budget a piece here and there and keep the rest where it's really hard for me to get at it.

Potato chips: No way in hell. I cannot just eat one. One bag, yes. One chip, no. I don't keep them in the house I try not to eat them when I encounter them, I can't just eat one. I can't even put them out of reach because they are just that good and I'm not able to moderate my intake.

Also, the richer and tastier something is dessert wise the easier it is for me to be satisfied and eat less. Like 340 calorie ice cream is easier to just eat one bite of than 140 calorie ice cream. Baked goods that are freshly made (either at home or in a bakery) are easier to just eat a small amount of. If I start getting "diet" foods low fat, low sugar or whatever then it becomes harder for me to say, I've had enough.

I can't keep certain things in the house. I swear I'll wake up in the middle of the night, realize I didn't finish it and get to work. So I have to buy just the serving size or two whenever I'm craving. DQ mini blizzards, for example. For other items I make just the serving size and that's how I control my portions. Mug "coffee cake", pancakes, pizza, yum. I had pizza for dinner so many nights in a row that it became like a normal meal rather than a treat. Got the idea from a thread on here within the last two weeks. LOL

Yes, smaller portions are everything for me. I have happily stuffed myself on basic pantry staples, so it would be pretty rough on my family if I just stopped buying anything that I might be tempted to overeat.