Portion Control
 

Hi everyone!

Lately I've been trying to figure out different portion sizes to avoid getting a second (or third) helping of something.
Do you have any tips to help with portion control? I've been trying to limit myself to one to everything (ie. one toast in the morning, one portion of two different fruit and coffee) but I can't say that it has always been working.

How do you guys manage to limit yourselves when there's a dish that you really like (for me it's definitely pesto pasta)? I'd love to hear your thoughts :)

If I put a single portion on my plate and then put the rest away, it's easier for me to resist. It makes me feel more guilty about having seconds if everything is already put away and off limits for the rest of that meal. I do sometimes have more, but only after I let the first portion settle, and I find I'm still legitimately hungry (and if I have enough WW points left for my day..that's the plan I use).
The trick of using a smaller plate helps me to, as does eating slowly and savoring each bite. Taking smaller bites also helps me to feel like I've eaten more than I actually have, so seconds aren't as tempting.

GordonGirl16, thank you!
I'm really struggling at the moment but I'm seriously making an effort. The smaller plate thing seems to work for me. I'll try that tip of putting everything away as soon as I can and I'll get back to you :)

What made a huge difference for me was to tell myself that I could have the second serving tomorrow (if in my own home or getting a doggy bag) AND that I was not going on a very restrictive diet tomorrow, no this was not the very last time I was ever having "X" again, and that this was not the last bowl of "x" on earth.

Thanks Tommy, that actually really makes sense. I'm trying out different things and so far, reasoning with myself has been the most effective thing, surprisingly.

If you're following a formula on portions that are listed on the box etc then you might still be going hungry and hunger leads to failing. So find the right portion size to fit your hunger. That may vary from day to day. I don't know what to think of portion control, I think in essence it works and it's what I'm doing practicing IE. But eating until satisfaction is a better gauge than some arbitrary amount of food.

I agree. Most of the food I eat is homemade and I don't tend to follow recipes so it's usually a plate/bowl size thing.
I'm getting better at judging what I'm truly hungry for but it's especially difficult to stop eating if I over-serve myself. I find it easier at restaurants, for example, to push things away since I can clearly tell that their portion sizes are huge.

Chinese buffets are especially tough for me. :(

What's been helping, though, is for me to think of my food intake like a bank account, something that reality star Bethenny Frankel recommends. (I was shocked to find that a lot of her advice is pretty darned sensible.)

When I do sometimes eat a larger-than-average portion, I keep surrounding meals extremely light to compensate for it. But, yes, dividing meals or at least putting down the fork for 10 minutes can give a body time to recognize that it's had enough food.

I find just having one big glass of water before every meal makes me feel full before i'm even done eating. It helps!

If you make your own food, then only make one serving. If you have to make more than one then measure out your serving then put away -- or better yet, freeze -- the other portions.

Other people have already given great advice. I do a lot of it! I also drink a lot during my meals. I eat slowly and if it's something I really want to savor, I put my fork down between bites, take a drink, then take a bite, fork down, drink, bite and try to make it last.

Thanks so much everyone!
I'm really grateful for all the replies!

PartTimeHippie I head that bank account thing before and it really makes sense! I'll definitely try it!

Calicofox That's a great simple idea that I can start doing now. Thank you!

Koshka Measuring out food sounds like a good solution. I usually freeze the leftovers anyway but my problem is eating too much before putting away. Thank you!

StephanieAZ That's great advice, Stephanie. I've been trying to eat mindfully recently and it's been hard. Your advice actually really sounds like that.

Portion Control has always been my nemesis, and a smaller 'portion' is usually defeated by seconds. But what GordonGirl says has also helped me - waiting a bit - five or ten minutes, because then I often (not always, sigh) change my mind, especially if pasta is involved. The bit about the brain taking awhile to register that the stomach is full is true, I think.

Do you have any tips to help with portion control?
I usually eat whatever seems reasonable to me. I know it doesn't help a lot, but it works for me. Maybe i'll consider two toasts are a portion if i find them really light or if i consider it's to little food or i'm hungrier than usual. If i have orange juice with the toast this would probably make me reduce the toast portion and so on. It doesn't mean i eat as much as i whant but i eat as much as i need to feel satisfied without feeling bloated or too full.

How do you guys manage to limit yourselves when there's a dish that you really like (for me it's definitely pesto pasta)?
If there something i really like (pesto pasta) and there are other food, i'll generally eat a medium/big green salad and then have only my favorite food so i can splurge a little. I'll probably have what i would consider to be 3 portions of my favorite food. So instead of serving beans, meat and pesto pasta i would serve pesto pasta, pesto pasta and pesto pasta. I don't do it all the time, but i'll eat my favorites maybe 3 times in a week and i tend to get nice portions, which doesn't mean i'll overeat. Also, not cooking a ton of my favorites helps me control my portions. I love a french dessert that i can cook to perfection but the recipe is for a huuuuge amount of dessert and it's really hard to cook only half or a third of it so when i do cook it, i share it with my 3 best friends. I still have a hard time if i keep the leftovers on my fridge as this sometimes means there's a good chance i'll binge, but this may not be your case.

Hope my somewhat subjective answer helps!

GordonGirl16 ~ Hey, Im gonna have to try that, Get 1 portion and put the rest away cause chances are I wouldnt get it out again and heat it up until my next meal. Thanks for the idea.