Tips for eating family dinners

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Poupet
Poupet Posts: 14 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi there-Just wondering if anyone has any helpful tips for keeping control during family dinners. I serve healthy food, its just the serving sizes that get to me sometimes. I find it difficult to have a half a cup of rice or to hold back on seconds when it comes to pasta or potatoes (my weakness). I love MFP because I dont feel deprived of the foods I love, but I do feel deprived of the amounts I want to eat!!!

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  • kassied09
    kassied09 Posts: 397
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    I feel like that will get better with time- getting used to eating smaller portions will definitely take time, but your stomach will get smaller. Work out and drink water as well- it will help keep you full.
  • curiositycat
    curiositycat Posts: 111 Member
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    I find that if I already have a dessert in mind (usually a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich) to look forward to, it's much easier to keep the portion sizes under control. Having decaf coffee with dessert also helps fill me up so I can eat less at dinner and know I won't be hungry later.
  • leannmr2002
    leannmr2002 Posts: 12
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    use smaller plates to trick your eye/brain into thinking you are getting a "full" plate
  • BeverageTreats
    BeverageTreats Posts: 149 Member
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    And make plain steamed vegetables and load up half your plate with that first.
  • kr3851
    kr3851 Posts: 994 Member
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    I struggle with pasta and rice servings too!!

    I've started making much more veggies than I would usually, and eating those first on my plate, so that I'm full when it comes to rice or pasta time! Sure, I WANT more pasta or rice, but I don't NEED it as I'm already full. If you really can't bear not to have more... wait 20 minutes or so before having a second helping. I find that I've either found something to do, feel full, or actually eat more because I'm genuinely hungry.

    Often, I think I'm hungry when really I just WANT more. We need to learn to listen more to our bodies - because giving in to them so quickly in the past has made us spoiled!!
  • kjannan
    kjannan Posts: 248 Member
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    I use a smaller plate & put some aside for lunch the next day.

    I gained weight because I felt like if I didn't eat lots I'd miss out & my partner would eat it all- now I leave him to it!!
  • Lakerlady5747
    Lakerlady5747 Posts: 77 Member
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    Potatoes are my weakness as well! Anyway, I have found that if I make up my plate and leave the rest of the food on the counter/stove, I'm not nearly as likely to take seconds than when I have all of the food on the table. This is something you might want to try, along with using a smaller plate so you feel like you have a full plate of food.
  • Silvercivic
    Silvercivic Posts: 156 Member
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    I try to log the foods I eat before I eat them. Sometimes I hit that "done logging for the day" button at like 4:00 because I've already logged my dinner and dessert. I wanted to eat more food tonight, but I didn't want to go back and change what I already logged!
    Good luck and keep up the good work!
  • it_be_asin
    it_be_asin Posts: 562 Member
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    Eating for satiety is important - load up on the leafy salads, non fatty/starchy vegetables, and low fat protein; and give yourself a taste of the most filling starchy stuff you can find and anything fatty. I find rice, corn and oats are more filling than wheat - but your milage may vary.
  • christine24t
    christine24t Posts: 6,064 Member
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    this probably isn't an option since you have a family, but i only make really small portions of food. 1/2 a cup of whole wheat noodles instead of just a big pour into the pot. That way there are no "leftovers."
  • cloneme_losehalf
    cloneme_losehalf Posts: 356 Member
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    A couple things that worked for me when I faced that before on another program.
    1...I did not set the things on the table in view.
    2...I filled half my plate with the better veggies.
    3...I used a smaller plate.
    4...I drank water while preparing the meal.

    I do the same thing now ... sort of. I portion everyone's meal out and put the stuff away. If they are eating the right portions I don't think they need to get into the bad habit of bad portion amounts. IF they are hungry a while after dinner, then that warrants a need for a snack.

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