Portion Control and Moderation
robingmurphy
Posts: 349 Member
I am terrible at managing my portions and exercising moderation. When I've lost weight in the past, it's been because I change my diet so I'm eating a lot of very low calorie foods (like veggies), but my portions are still huge, and I eat until I'm overfull. How can I learn to eat appropriate portions? My problem is that it's hard for me to stop eating when comfortably full. I keep picking at leftover food or will go wander into the kitchen for a few more bites, and if I'm at a restaurant I eat every thing on my plate, and will continue snacking on leftover appetizers or bread until we go. How do I stop when I've had just enough?
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Willpower or self discipline. It isn't easy but no one else will do it for you. When you have adequate motivation you will find a way.0
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I log it before I eat it. It usually helps, honestly. Log every single thing... makes me think twice about whether I really want that extra meatball. At the restaurant, I usually eat everything, but I don't pick high calorie foods (and we don't order appetizer and bread is usually eaten by my children by then anyway, and we say no if they offer more).
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Logging/weighing my food every day has taught me how to eat correct portions. I am 50 years old now and have come to realize that I cannot eat the same as I used to.(especially if I want to maintain a healthy weight)
Sounds odd but I started to realize how big my portions were when I had a friend who had bariatric surgery. I would watch what she would eat and it kind of clicked how much we overeat in general.
I allow myself about 5meals a day. 3 being around 300-400 calories and about 300 in snacks. I weigh my protein, make sure I get enough of it. I also weight out any bread, pasta, rice, and usually stick to 1/2 portion. This helps me control what I eat because I have a guideline. if I just pile food on my plate I am pretty sure I would eat 3 times the amount.
Also, make sure you get enough healthy fats in your diet. Fats are important to keep you full and satisfied.
After your finished eating, give your body time to let it sink in. Tell yourself you can have more to eat in a few hours. After a while, it just becomes habit.
I mention the fat because even though you're full, you may not be satisfied so instead of eating a ton of low cal/low fat stuff. Have a smaller portion of higher fat foods you enjoy. Hope this helps!0 -
Identify what foods keep you full the longest. For me, it's protein; chicken, steak, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. I build my daily foods around those items. Then I fill in the rest of my calories with fats (butter, avocado, peanut butter) and carbs (vegetables, rice, potaotes, bread).
I'm a volume eater too. I tend to choose things I can eat a lot of (chicken) over something I'd have to have very little of (pizza). That's not to say I never bend the "rules"...I do. I've just learned how to do it.
Going out to eat: I'm a little more lenient with this because I don't go out often. I allow myself to enjoy it.0 -
I know those habits. I weigh out my portions and look to see what they look like size wise on the plate before taking a bite. I recognized that picking at food after eating enough already was satisfying an emotional craving or a desire to clean the plate which is not necessary. When I go out to eat, I've made myself a rule: no bread from the bread basket, no appetizers. Entree only, which in itself is usually twice a portion size. I have to stare at the extra food and tell myself make a conscious decision: eat the extra or stick to your goals. My brain wants it both ways, but ain't gonna happen! I do slip up, but with practice my self control is getting stronger. I am a person that enjoys the food more than the socializing around a meal, but I'm trying to pay more attention to the people than the food. That also helps. Eat slow so that when others go for seconds you're not done with firsts and still have food in front of you while they're stuffing themselves in front if you. I don't keep a fully stocked fridge and pantry either...only what I've planned to eat that week. Try out some different strategies. Good luck! You can do it!0
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Log food the day before and try to focus on filling foods. Usually protein (often chicken) with vegetables is filling. Logging ahead will help prevent eating until over full.
Another method that works for people who eat until they are stuffed is intermittent fasting combined with logging ahead. They skip breakfast to allow larger meals later in the day.
Breaking habits will take a lot of time and experimenting.0 -
I have that problem when I am at my momma's house. I can't say no to it and it is my number one weakness...my weight loss journey in the past before my last pregnancy I remember picking up my kids and leaving after saying my good byes. I work first shift so by the time i get off my parents are already having dinner. I will sit and eat if I can't resist temptation but I would only eat what i know I can take in and to help me curve my momma's food. After I am done...before I can ask for seconds...I thank my parents, get myself busy rounding up my kids and leave. Lol. It's bad advice but that's the only way I was able to resist!
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Good for you for wanting to address this! It is hard to break this habit so experiment with different methods until you find what works best for you. Push away the plate/serving dish. Know your calorie counts, that can be enough to scare you off! Check out calories on restaurant before going out. I like to have a protein shake about hour before i go out. Lots of wAter & salad & veggies.0
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robingmurphy wrote: »I am terrible at managing my portions and exercising moderation. When I've lost weight in the past, it's been because I change my diet so I'm eating a lot of very low calorie foods (like veggies), but my portions are still huge, and I eat until I'm overfull. How can I learn to eat appropriate portions? My problem is that it's hard for me to stop eating when comfortably full. I keep picking at leftover food or will go wander into the kitchen for a few more bites, and if I'm at a restaurant I eat every thing on my plate, and will continue snacking on leftover appetizers or bread until we go. How do I stop when I've had just enough?
What if you eat really, really slowly? Take small bites, chew thoroughly, and count bites. This will give your brain time to catch up to your stomach being full.
I know I can polish off a three ounce bar of chocolate in one sitting if I chew it, but if I go for chocolate chips instead and let them dissolve one by one in my mouth, it takes about 45 minutes to finish a half ounce and I have thoroughly scratched my chocolate itch by the time I am done.0 -
I also log food the day before, and I weigh out only the amount I am going to eat, then I clean my plate of the food I've chosen. At restaurants, I plan my order ahead of time so I can eat the full meal, even if it means skipping another meal on that day to work it in to my goals.0
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I'm also like this and its horrible. Because I don't realise it while I'm doing it, just after its done. Thanks for asking the question, and thanks to those who answered. I know I will defiantly try a few.0
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Try pre-packaging foods into actual single serving amounts. Take sandwich bags and put in each one a single serving of something pre-weighed and then eat one at a time. If nothing else, you'll get a few more steps having to go back over for each serving.0
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Have you tried the volumetrics diet? I thought it sounded interesting. It's basically calorie counting but for people who need help choosing foods that you can eat a lot more of. I found a webmd article on it. http://www.webmd.com/diet/a-z/volumetrics-what-it-is0
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My 2 cents:
Log the food before you eat it. Make sure you look at how many calories you have left afterward, I've found that helps.
Also, put away the food you aren't planning to eat before you start eating.
Also, mindset is very important. Stop saying "I've having trouble not picking at leftovers," start saying "I'm eating what's on my plate and nothing else." The first statement subconsciously gives you an alibi to keep eating - your brain tells you "I always have trouble so it's not my fault"0 -
At a restaurant, instead of an appetizer, get a big salad first, and order an extra vegetable with your meal. Ask the server not to bring bread.0
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I just hold out for one huge meal at the end of the day which stuffs me and do 30 min cardio fasted every day and I maintain my weight easily (which is what I want atm) but you can do two or 3 meals but then, more meals = smaller meals, Works for me well and worth a shot0
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enterdanger wrote: »Have you tried the volumetrics diet? I thought it sounded interesting. It's basically calorie counting but for people who need help choosing foods that you can eat a lot more of. I found a webmd article on it. http://www.webmd.com/diet/a-z/volumetrics-what-it-is
I eat alot of volumetric meals and snacks. I routinely eat a pound or more of veggies with lunch and dinner.....
I 'rice' cauliflower and mix it 50/50 with white rice
Steam a lb of cauliflower and top with buffalo sauce and light ranch
1 polish sausage cut to thin coins, sauted with 1lb of broccoli, topped with 1oz shredded cheese
Broth based soups
MASSIVE salads
Ill eat an entire head of romaine lettuce or other raw veggies, leaf by leaf, dipped into mustard (mixed 50/50 with lemon juice usually).
Sugar free jello
Air popped popcorn topped with splenda & cinnamon, chili powder, lemon pepper, or other seasonings.
cucumber or radish slices with lots of lime or lemon juice and salt
4-5 navel oranges at once.
A bag of frozen blueberries eaten one by one.
Corn thins , which are similar to rice cakes but thin and around 20cals each.
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Well with me I eat what I wsnt just measure the serving size. And it fills me drink plenty of Water as well. It going to take time if you need help im here if you like.0
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beemerphile1 wrote: »Willpower or self discipline. It isn't easy but no one else will do it for you. When you have adequate motivation you will find a way.
There really isn't a better way to say it.
It's really hard (in the moment) to walk away and control yourself, but the simplest thing really.0 -
Another restaurant trick. Before you start to eat, divide everything on the plate in half. Get a "to go" box and put half of the food away.0
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Ugh, my willpower is awful though. Is there some way I can build it up?0
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robingmurphy wrote: »Ugh, my willpower is awful though. Is there some way I can build it up?
Start with small changes. Trying to 180 your life will lead to failure.
My willpower and motivation lag sometimes too, but I'd rather be fit than fat, therefore I put in the work.0 -
robingmurphy wrote: »Ugh, my willpower is awful though. Is there some way I can build it up?
Baby steps. I started with setting my goal on here to maintain weight and I aimed to log absolutely everything I ate accurately. After a few weeks I lowered my goal to lose half a pound per week and eat protein with vegetables or fruit at each meal (plus a dessert after dinner of about 150 calories). Then I decided to add in time at the gym twice per week doing anything.
Baby steps.0 -
songbird13291 wrote: »Another restaurant trick. Before you start to eat, divide everything on the plate in half. Get a "to go" box and put half of the food away.
Ya, I do this. Half an American entree is plenty for me.0 -
pstegman888 wrote: »At a restaurant, instead of an appetizer, get a big salad first, and order an extra vegetable with your meal. Ask the server not to bring bread.
I agree with the first part of this comment; however, asking the server to hold the bread while eating out is only ok if the person is eating alone. When eating with others I would consider that approach disrespectful.0 -
I personally think eating large amounts of those low calorie veggies is the key to making this last long term. I eat around 1250 calories a day (and allow myself to go over that once or maybe even twice per week) and I eat a TON of vegetables. I don't eat much bread, dairy, meat, or sugary treats.
Eating 1200 calories worth of what I used to eat before I lost weight would amount to a couple slices of toast and a piece of pizza a day...not a lot of nutrition or a lot of food. When you eat veggies as the main course with meat/cheese/bread as the flavoring you not only eat fewer calories but you can eat a whole lot more food. So now, instead of pizza I might have an entire container of sliced mushrooms, cooked, drained, topped with pizza sauce, a slice of mozzarella cheese, and a big huge pile of mixed lettuces with ranch dressing. That's around 400 calories where as two slices of medium cheese pizza from pizza hut is more than 400 calories.
Being able to eat the portions you crave makes this whole healthy eating for a life time a lot more manageable in my opinion. I'm kind of from the camp that believes in lots of veggies and little meat/dairy/processed foods for optimal health.
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Log food the day before and try to focus on filling foods. Usually protein (often chicken) with vegetables is filling.
This works better for me than filling up with just veg, other carbs, for example. I've had days where I've tried to avoid meat; I always go over and still don't find myself full. Pop a steak in there and all of a sudden the grumble monster has nothing to say. Protein, fat, and fibre are what a lot of people find satiating.
(Dairy works sometimes but there are many calories to rely on it in a budget.)0 -
I notice that your intake of carbs and sugar is quite high. You can reset your appetite in 3 days by simply dropping your carbs and sugars way down. For three days, keep your carb intake at 75g or less and keep your sugar intake at maximum 15g. That means you will eat lots of veggies/protein/fats at each meal....so stirfry, soup, salad omelet, fish, chicken, beef. Get out your cutting boards and an assortment of non-starchy veggies...in the context of protein and fat, veggies are very filling and satisfying. It's not even important for those three days to have low-calorie days. Your appetite will naturally come back down to an appropriate level in those 3 days, as will your calorie intake.0
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I had a bad dat today. Eating right just didn't workout. My dinner was 1/2cup of yuca. Im so hungry water for the rest of the night. I hope I do better tomorrow. :neutral0
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