Having A hard time getting my portions down. Anybody got some ideas?

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lisal68
lisal68 Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Bought those sectioned plates, but they still don't look like it's enough food. I'm diabetic and have many other medical problems, it's hard to cook so I try to get fast stuff I can nuke!!!!!!!

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  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Fill your plate up with veggies if it's looking a bit sparse. For Chinese and Indian, I'll have half my plate covered in salad. Loads of veg with dinner.

    Maybe try cooking some simple dishes from scratch, you might start to enjoy the process. Steak, baked potato with salad, for example takes very little prep.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Try experimenting with meal timing and different calorie distribution throughout the day. If you are sure you are eating enough (hitting your calorie and macro goals), trust the process. Overweight people are used to large portions, it will become a habit to eat more reasonable servings, but don't cut too much too fast, either.

    Cooking doesn't have to be difficult - you can search for easy recipes and instructional vids on youtube. And lots of foods doesn't even require cooking; you can eat sandwiches, salads, yogurt, fruit and vegetables, for instance.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    My portions have got bigger actually because I eat a LOT of veggies and typically, a normal plate just doesn't cut it anymore.
  • AmazonMayan
    AmazonMayan Posts: 1,168 Member
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    I dumped whatever I cooked onto lots of leafy greens. I had to have quantity. Be sure that is a safe option for you. It worked for me and now after some time, I'm more full on less and don't have to see massive food in front of me.
  • DKG28
    DKG28 Posts: 299 Member
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    You can do it! the hardest part is that we eat with our eyes as well as our mouth, and if you're used to seeing larger portions, the smaller portions look inadequate. I eat my dinners off of dessert plates - that means I still have a heaping plate. And it takes a while, but I finally learned that I can feel that it's enough food in my stomach - but it's a more subtle feeling than the stuffed full feeling which I'm well acquainted with. But not gonna lie, when I started weighing out portions, it was VERY disappointing. My brain didn't want to accept those amounts though my stomach was perfectly fine (as long as I paid attention to including protein). After a couple weeks of sheer willpower I get used to the smaller portions and they're okay. What helped me too was to plan a whole day's food at once. Then I can see that I can get everything I want - just spread out over a day instead of getting everything in every meal, and then there's also the reassurance that another meal is coming. I grew up getting teased that I eat like there's no more food coming my way ever, and being aware of the next meal and what it is is helping me a lot with the psychological dimension of feeling like there's not enough. Still learning to like those veggies you can eat a huge amount of and still be low carb and low calorie. Those are the best bet. You can nuke a very wide variety of food that aren't prepackaged and processed.
  • JadeRabbit08
    JadeRabbit08 Posts: 551 Member
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    You can't beat weighing your food for greater accuracy and peace of mind.

    Still use the plates until you have trained your eye to measure what a portion should look like.

    I eat a lot of salads too as I am often time poor and don't want to spend ages cooking. If you are used to eating big portions throwing some cooked chicken onto a big salad can fill you up.
  • cyberblonde
    cyberblonde Posts: 100 Member
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    I always find ready made meals are not filling enough and therefore I aviod them. It's hard though if you find it difficult to cook for medical reasons. My dinners always look huge as I have piles of veggetables. I have a big appetite and I either need to fill myself with veggies or a would pile up more rice or meat on my place. Gridled veggies are the most tasty if you are able to do this, try 1/2 courgette, 6 mushrooms, 1/2 pepper and 1/2 onion grilled and then piled on top of 100g pasta, plus some pesto stirred in. Quick, easy, good for you, not too many calories and lots of your plate! Good luck :0)
  • Abm4n
    Abm4n Posts: 529 Member
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    Einstein worked out that space and time are related...so what?

    So, if you take LONGER to eat the same meal it will seem to be BIGGER! Psychologically speaking that is. So, I have started to cut my food into smaller pieces, and to put my fork down before I chew 20 times before swallowing. I used to be a food "gobbler" but now I try to savour every mouthful. Also I read that if you pray or give thanks for the food before eating it will be more satisfying.

    So when it comes to food, size is not everything!
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I load up on veg. If we're having pasta or something saucy, I mix a bunch of vegies in to make the portions larger, or I side my steak etc with a large variety of vegies. Or I put a big salad on the side (put it in a seperate salad bowl if that helps).
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    lisal68 wrote: »
    Bought those sectioned plates, but they still don't look like it's enough food. I'm diabetic and have many other medical problems, it's hard to cook so I try to get fast stuff I can nuke!!!!!!!

    If you want to lose weight, then you are going to have to devote some attention to it. What jade rabbit said, that the plates arent really going to cut it and you should be weighing your food so you know what amounts you are eating. You need to know that becayse you need to ensure you are in deficit, which means you will lose weight.

    You can use a microwave, but the problem with packaged or heavily processed meals is they contain high amounts of fat and salt.

    You should investigate cooking some of your own food. it doesnt have to be complicated and can be a lot healthier for you. Frozen veg are fine. Soups and stews can provide with you with some cheap nutritious meals.

    The recommended diet for a diabetic is a healthy, balanced diet that is low in fat, sugar and salt and contain a high level of fresh fruit and vegetables. Thats the same sort of diet thats easy to achieve a calorie deficit to lose weight on. Lean proteins and complex carbs.
    If you follow such a diet then you will get much more food.
  • ZBuffBod
    ZBuffBod Posts: 297 Member
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    Be sure to go by weight instead of sight. Don't cut your portion sizes too quickly...gradually reduce the amount you eat so your body gets used to the new portions. If you drastically reduce your intake, you are more likely to backslide on your fitness journey.

    Load up on lots of veggies. I make some meals ahead, portion them out, and freeze them. Saute or grill your veggies with lots of seasoning if you are not into vegetables...they'll have a more savory taste.

    Good luck.
  • Solamer
    Solamer Posts: 67 Member
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    I HATE TO COOK and LOVE TO NUKE so I have to weigh in. Apologies for length.

    LARGE bowl + Mixed salad greens so the bowl is almost full + Protein a little bigger than the size of my palm + Low cal dressing + chopped carrots, celery, onion(whatever you like really as long as its veggie).

    This is very quick to make but all that salad takes a long time to eat (all that chewing and forking) and it feels like a lot of food when really it's very calorie light compared to other things of the same volume, like a giant bowl of mac n cheese. I read somewhere your body takes about 20 minutes to register when it's full so eating slowly (or eating something that forces you to eat slowly) really helps. Don't skip the protein! It makes a boring salad that much more satisfying. Throwing in canned black beans is good too to satisfy the chewing and the feeling of wanting something heavy in the stomach. I do what is easy otherwise I fail. Store bought mixed greens + rotisserie chicken + canned black beans are staples of my grocery list.

    Also healthy single serving soups that I can find on sale--I like the organic pacific ones that come in the box and add frozen vegetables to the soup for more nutrition/feeling of fullness in a large bowl and nuke it. I always check sugar and protein and opt for the ones with more protein and less sugar. These levels don't matter much for losing weight (just a deficit will do that) but keeping those levels in check seems to help me with feeling full and helps curb cravings.

    These are just some things that work for me to keep me feeling full, obviously your "lazies" (as my husband calls them) may be different.
  • MaryCS62
    MaryCS62 Posts: 266 Member
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    I'm sometimes hungry after I've finished my portion, but I've also noticed that after about 1/2 hour, I'm feeling very full. It does take time for the message to get to your brain, "Hey, you've had enough!" As others have said, eat slowly, give yourself bulky, calorie light vegetables, and eat slowly. It will soon seem like enough. (Also diabetic, had high cholesterol/triglycerides, my goal now is to get off the meds!) I've lost 35 lbs in 10 weeks, but I am very strict about logging everything, & weighing everything before I eat.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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    lisal68 wrote: »
    Bought those sectioned plates, but they still don't look like it's enough food. I'm diabetic and have many other medical problems, it's hard to cook so I try to get fast stuff I can nuke!!!!!!!

    Buy those steamable veggie bags. You nuke them and, with four cups of veggies and 120 calories in the entire bag, your plate will be overflowing.
  • shanapatty
    shanapatty Posts: 1
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    Most of the time this is just a hard habit to break, the thing that worked best for me was not plate size but the fact that I was usually eating whilst watching tv/reading a book, even listening to the radio. Your brain is focused on other things around you and by turning everything off and just sitting down and taking at least 20 mins to eat your meal in silence makes all the difference. In the beginning it's pretty boring and seems to take forever but you notice the difference in your appetite quickly and over time it can become a good 'downtime' for yourself to relax as an added bonus!
  • vanessaaball21
    vanessaaball21 Posts: 2 Member
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    I am also having trouble with portion size. There are a lot of great suggestions here. I would also suggest eating high fiber and filling foods early in the day; oatmeal and apple. I have had success eating more soup and salad.

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