Next to what you eat, the most important thing when it comes to losing weight is how much you eat. Unfortunately our sense of how much a portion of any given food is has been greatly distorted over the past two decades. Commercially packaged foods that seem to be a single serving actually contain 2 to 3 servings on average. Restaurants have taken this even further. In an effort to make the patron feel like they are getting their money's worth, many restaurants are now filling your plate with up to 5 servings of food. It's not hard to see how this can cloud our judgment about big a portion of pasta for example should be.
Portion Control Tip #1 - Use A Smaller Plate
One of the easiest ways to control portions is to simply use a smaller plate. Instead of a large dinner plate, use a smaller salad plate and fill it up. You will feel like you are eating a lot more food than if the same amount was presented on a larger plate. This works well for eating at home and even at buffet-style restaurants that usually provide a smaller salad plate along with the larger plates.
Portion Control Tip #2 - Fill Up On Veggies And Salad
When you are filling your plate, start by adding lots of salad and vegetables. They are low in calories but high in fiber, vitamins and other nutrients. You can easily fill half the plate with fresh vegetables and green salad. Filling up on this "good-for-you" food will also keep you from eating too much of any other dishes that you are having alongside.
Portion Control Tip #3 - Take A Break
Did you know that it takes our stomach at least 20 minutes to signal to our brain that we are full$%: This makes it easy to overeat on a regular basis. The solution$%: Take a break. If you still feel hungry after having eating an appropriate amount of food, stop and go do something else for a little while. You'll notice that after a few more minutes you actually don't feel hungry anymore. It also helps to slow down while you are eating and taking little breaks in-between bites.
留言列表
