Portion Control Tips

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mcrowe1016
mcrowe1016 Posts: 647 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was hoping to start a post where people can share their tips on portion control. For the first time in my live, I have started to get the hang of it.

Here are a few of mine:
1 - Hummus is a weakness of mine. I can eat a huge plateful. To curb that, I started buying red chili hummus. It still tastes good, but the extra kick is enough to get me to put down the plate and eat slower.
2 - I am a sugar addict, and eat ice cream every day. I spend the extra $ and by weight watchers brands. Individually wrapped help me stop eating, but they still taste good enough that I am getting my kick. - It is also easier to say no earlier in the day because I know I will be getting sugar later in the day.

Does anyone else have some good advice? I would appreciate it.

Replies

  • bethdris
    bethdris Posts: 1,090 Member
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    I live by my measuring cups....I don't usually "eye ball" something b/c if Im really hungry, my eyeball makes it bigger! :)

    I've finally realized that a portion is ONE serving, and I read all labels. Cals can add up fast, if im not paying attention.

    I DON'T eat out of the bag, jar etc...I take my one portion and put it in another dish.
  • njoithomp
    njoithomp Posts: 61
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    Great ideas! For your ice cream cravings, I find that the Skinny Cow brands actually taste better than the Weight Watchers ones. I love the vanilla ice cream cookie sandwiches, the caramel truffle bars, and the cones. mmmm....
  • childofares
    childofares Posts: 51 Member
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    A lot of times I portion out things. I decide on what my snack will be, say oat-bran no salt pretzel bites. I can have 15 for 90 calories. So I use those tiny zip-lock bags and separate the big bag into 15 pieces in a tiny bag. This also helps to keep them fresher :)

    Those little bags are awesome and very helpful for the times I want to just grab something quick and easy. My weakness is also soda so I buy Zevia which is no calories, no caffine, no cards and no salt. I still get that carbonation pop kick in an easy can but not all the soul sucking Pepsi ingredients!

    Edit cause I forgot: I love the smart ones key lime pie and turtle sundae. It's enough to satisfy my craving once or twice a week and not too bad on calories.
  • See_Jenn_Run
    See_Jenn_Run Posts: 67
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    I do love Skinny Cow ice cream!

    I use kid-size bowls and plates for my meals whenever possible. I've discovered that the smaller dishes look really full when you put just one serving of something in them. This helps keep you from getting sad when you dish up your supper on a "normal-sized" dinner plate and it fills only a little bit of the plate. :) As long as I eat slowly and actually savor my food, I typically feel pretty satisfied when I'm done!
  • Chunkabutt83
    Chunkabutt83 Posts: 461
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    A lot of times I portion out things. I decide on what my snack will be, say oat-bran no salt pretzel bites. I can have 15 for 90 calories. So I use those tiny zip-lock bags and separate them into 15 pieces. This also helps to keep them fresher :)

    i do this also, it saves my life lol! And i always measure everything also, no guessing here
  • brianne801
    brianne801 Posts: 4 Member
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    One of my favorite portion control options is immediately putting some of the food in front of you away. For example, when my husband and I have a good reheatable type of meal like a casserole of some sort, I immediately take a fourth or a third of my dish and put it in the fridge so that I can take it to work the next day. Another easy meal to do this with is pizza. The more immediate I put away what I don't want to eat, the better I do.

    Another is purely psychological for me - but sometimes I cut the food I'm going to have (such as a pizza slice) in half. Something about having "two" instead of one slice makes me feel like I'm eating more. I'm not sure why, but it really works for me!
  • crummywatertowr
    crummywatertowr Posts: 45 Member
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    I too believe in measuring cups and scales. When we return home from the grocery store I weigh our meats into individual serving sizes and then freeze them. Last night I made turkey pasta and couldn't have seconds, which is always my downfall.
  • bluemist248
    bluemist248 Posts: 207 Member
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    I use smaller plates to make smaller portions look more filling. It's amazing how well it can trick my stomach!

    Also, my mum complains she eats too much cereal when pouring it straight from the box, so each week we weigh it out using my digital scales and keep each portion in separate round air-tight plastic food boxes for each breakfast of the week. She finds this also limits the amount of milk she uses on it.
  • lazatin
    lazatin Posts: 452 Member
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    I eat all my meals on a small plate...looks like your getting so much more..I eat with a baby spoon especially if it is something really yummy, takes longer that way..i use a measuring cup also cuz lots of things that are 1/4 of a cup and that is REALLY small!
  • mcrowe1016
    mcrowe1016 Posts: 647 Member
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    Skinny Cow are good! I ate those for a long time, but I get bored. I was eating the chocolate striped fudge, then the giant fudge bars from WW (they are huge and only 100 cals) and now am eating the snack sized ice cream sandwiches from WW. Soon enough I will get tired of those and switch back to Skinny Cow. =-)

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