Portion control

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Courtneyloseit
Courtneyloseit Posts: 18 Member
edited May 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
I want to learn portion control and tell my self I don't have to eat every last bite on my plate. Any suggestions?

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  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
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    Weigh out your foods so you know how many calories you are consuming, and only put on your plate what you intend to eat in order to meet your goal.
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
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    I am not sure how you weigh or measure currently, or how you would prefer to manage this but can only speak from my own experience.

    Before I started weighing, my portion guess work was way off. Since using a digital scale I have started to learn what a proper size portion should look like which made me able to go without the scale in some situations now that I am better informed.

    As far a leaving stuff on your place is concerned, you could still leave parts of your meal and then weigh the difference and deduct. You could also weigh a portion and then leave a few bite and consider those bites bonus deficit and not deduct them. No matter what portion you originally select, you can always change your mind and eat less.
  • NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner
    NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner Posts: 1,018 Member
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    yesimpson wrote: »
    Weigh out your foods so you know how many calories you are consuming, and only put on your plate what you intend to eat in order to meet your goal.

    ^This.

    Trust me, I've eaten HUGE meals and felt full. I've eaten a normal size meal and felt satisfied. Satisfied is your aim not full.

    Never eat to bursting point. That's not good. lol
  • Raysie1
    Raysie1 Posts: 53 Member
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    I was always taught to eat everything on my plate as to not do so was considered wasteful. I have now learned that to throw it in my own human dustbin when I no longer want or need it is far worse.
  • mmw67
    mmw67 Posts: 5 Member
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    I eat out of a pasta size bowl, cook recipes for 4 people...have half (my husband & I) & rest the next day, (also saves having to cook the next day!) have to say all my cookbooks are WeightWatchers!
  • peterjens
    peterjens Posts: 235 Member
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    Here is a good article on portion sizes - http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition-pictures/picturing-proper-portion-sizes.aspx#01
  • beccisayer
    beccisayer Posts: 8 Member
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    Weighing food on my digital scales is a must for me - even fruit and veg to make sure what I think is 1 of my 5 a day is actually 1 of my 5. I make a lot of stuff from scratch so weighing and working out calories can be time consuming but its totally worth it for helping me keep track. Its easier now I've discovered the create a recipe tab on the food diary.

    if your plate looks empty with smaller portions try a smaller plate or a patterened plate - a trick of the eye can trick your brain into thinking your still eating the same amount.
  • kpodaru
    kpodaru Posts: 133 Member
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    what i've told friends to do is put what they usually put on their plate, then take half of everything and eat just that. for a lot of people, visually seeing food will make them want to eat it so if you've already eaten everything off your plate, then nothing left to eat.
  • LovingLife_Erin
    LovingLife_Erin Posts: 328 Member
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    For me personally, having snacks most days, mid-morning and mid-afternoon helps a lot as otherwise by meal times, my blood sugar is low and I'm hungry so I feel rotten and am starving. This leads to me eating way more than I should at meals. If I have a snack (some berries, nuts, ryvita with light cheese on it... it doesn't have to be a huge, calorie high snack) then I am able to stick to a reasonable portion at meals. This doesn't work for everyone, but it helps me a lot.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Put less on your plate to begin with
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    yesimpson wrote: »
    Weigh out your foods so you know how many calories you are consuming, and only put on your plate what you intend to eat in order to meet your goal.

    This. It's a great way to learn what reasonable portion sizes should look like. I don't worry too much what someone else says a portion is, but what's reasonable for me. I also try to fill up my plate with veggies.

    Once I've served up the food, I put it away (or if I leave it out for others I simply don't go back for seconds). I also keep in mind that I don't have to finish what's on my plate, but since the servings are reasonable it's not really an issue--I usually do.
  • kikichewie
    kikichewie Posts: 276 Member
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    I plan out my calories for the whole day, then measure out what I plan to eat with each meal. If it looks like too much or too little, I go to my app and make some adjustments before I sit down to eat. It's important for me to plan dinner before I eat breakfast and lunch, otherwise I may not have enough calories left over. This also makes sure that I eat enough to feel satisfied, but I don't tend to keep eating until I'm stuffed because I run out of food. If I'm not really satisfied at the end of my meal, I can always have more as long as I log it before I eat it. That rarely happens.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Isn't it funny? As kids, we never had a problem with leaving stuff on our plates, not matter how many times our parents told us eat our peas and carrots. I don't buy this idea that we clean our plates because our ancestors were afraid they wouldn't find more food. I tend to think that we assume that what is placed in front of us is a proper portion size, since the person preparing the food ought to know what is proper. Restaurants put twice or more the portion size we need on a plate. Something you might do is divide everything in half before you start eating. Eat half of each thing and then push the plate aside.
  • Toadstool_
    Toadstool_ Posts: 120 Member
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    I absolutely hate waste, so pre-plan my meals accordingly to my day's calorie allowance and weigh things out when it comes to making them. That way I know I'm not over-eating and I'm not wasting food either.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    yesimpson wrote: »
    Weigh out your foods so you know how many calories you are consuming, and only put on your plate what you intend to eat in order to meet your goal.

    This. I always weigh my portions and eat everything in my plate.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    Put less on your plate to begin with
    +1 eating every last bit is fine if you go with the above, which in turrn may mean weighing like everyone else.
    Without an effective method of portion control then any attempt at calorie control is going to be very hard.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Toadstool_ wrote: »
    I absolutely hate waste, so pre-plan my meals accordingly to my day's calorie allowance and weigh things out when it comes to making them. That way I know I'm not over-eating and I'm not wasting food either.

    That is what I do, and what everybody should do :)

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