Training myself to eat less (smaller portions)

swiftjen77
swiftjen77 Posts: 17
in Food and Nutrition
Ok this may sound like a dumb question... but this is something I had never tried before and (AMAZINGLY!) it's working and I don't feel like I'm dieting... has anyone ever made the conscious decision to simply eat less? I have a 2 yr old and don't have time to exercise. Need to lose about 20 lbs (25 would be awesome) and have realized lately I eat way more than a lot of other people I know do. If I go to Moe's I can eat an entire burrito bowl or an entire nacho plate. My other mommy friends I meet with every week never eat their entire plate of food and I didn't use to either. I'm like... ok what is going on here? So then I decided to try eating way less since most of the time I'm not very hungry when mealtime arrives anyway. Hence, I must be eating too much! So in the last week I have tried REALLY paying attention to how much food goes on my dish and as soon as I feel the tiniest bit satisfied and the hunger is gone, I stop.

I've already lost 4 lbs in a week! Without even exercising! It's unbelievable! Now I get full much faster and cannot even come close to eating my entire plate at Moe's. I go there once a week so it's a good rule of thumb for me. I just wanted to know if anyone else has lost weight doing this?

I feel like it's revolutionary yet so obviously simple at the same time, like... why didn't I try this before now? Duh!

Thanks!

Replies

  • Jennifer_Lynn_1982
    Jennifer_Lynn_1982 Posts: 567 Member
    Not dumb at all! Its tough to recognize the signs of actual hunger vs. eating out of boredom or because the food is just in front of you. Good for you for recognizing it and giving it a try. Keep with it!~
  • benotnothing
    benotnothing Posts: 3
    Great job and yes that is def an issue for a lot of ppl, over eating. I am starting today eat less portions but also choosing healthier options.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    edited January 2015
    Yup, works for me. Other ideas to try along the same line:
    • Portion out on a smaller plate.
    • Pack half the restaurant meal away as soon as you get it (typically restaurant portions are twice what we need).
    • Practice mindful eating and slow down.
    • Eat with chopsticks.

    It takes about twenty minutes from when you start eating for your stomach to register fullness.
  • swiftjen77
    swiftjen77 Posts: 17
    Great tips and thanks guys! There's been a few times that I was interrupted during my meal and when I finally had time to come back to it, I was like "hmm I'm not even hungry now". Well obviously that's a sign that I didn't need to eat all that food. And I'm not a snacker or anything. I never eat in between meals so that was never my issue either. I gave up sodas a long time ago so this overeating thing has been my enemy and I didn't even realize it until the last couple weeks. I'm so excited to see the scale go down now. And yes, I eat healthy things. I have chia seeds twice a day in water with a dash of unsweetened cranberry juice, and I eat ground flax seeds (whole flax seeds have no benefit from what I've read) on my less-than-quarter-cup of granola every morning, and I'm mostly vegetarian. The chia and the flax makes me feel full too. Plus they both are loaded with awesome healthy things like omegas and other things that I can't remember. Ok, I'm done now. Just had to share my success story! :-)
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,740 Member
    Excellent! You've discovered mindful eating. Very healthy and, better yet, as you said, SIMPLE. A lot of times we overwhelm ourselves trying to make something simple way too complicated. You are doing exactly the right thing for YOU. Keep it up and thanks for sharing!
  • Amitysk
    Amitysk Posts: 705 Member
    Good! I have been using smaller plates and even smaller utensils to help! I also pay attention to if I am really hungry or if I am just trying to clean my plate. This has been so helpful in portion control.
  • laneyb47
    laneyb47 Posts: 3 Member
    One of the best things I"ve done is buy a pressure cooker. It was a little costly but it's so worth it. My husband and I both work long hours and then we meet 3 days a week..at the gym..he's on his way home, I am usually already home, have fed the animals etc, get changed and meet him there. By the time we get home after the gym, we'd been eating dinner at 8 or 9 o'clock which is way to late. So...the pressure cooker that we got cooks everything so quickly, and then automatically keeps everything warm til we get there. Time saved and we are not rushing! It's better for us, veggies are cooked quickly and keep their nutrition and cleanup is a breeze! One pan!! We also have started using smaller plates which really seems to be the key....our workouts are done, we're not rushing to get home and spend another hour figuring out what to eat and how to cook it. This has been the best thing in the world for us! Any shortcuts to eating healthy and saving time is a plus for me!

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