It’s week thirty-eight, the second week of the new year, and I feel like I’m finally making progress again! As I mentioned last week, I’m focused on water and sleep, which has been working well this week! I also wanted to look at some tips to help me control my portions. It’s really easy to eat too much without realizing it. Some of what I found I learned in Noom [affiliate link], and some I found online, but they are all effective. Read on!

Pounds lost: 55.2

% to super goal: 43.8%

Doing the damn thing!

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So. Portion control. I don’t know about you, but before I started Noom, it was not uncommon for me to plow through an entire bag of chips. In one sitting. Or half a bag of candy. Or an entire plate of food. You get the idea. I wasn’t paying attention at all to the amount of food I was eating, and it sure showed.

Logging food and calories is working for losing weight, but I certainly don’t want to have to do that the rest of my life. I want to get to the point where I just have a sense of when to stop eating in a given day. To do that, I needed some tricks on how to know when enough is enough, and to develop some habits that would help me eat reasonable amounts of whatever food at a time.

6 Tricks to Help Control Your Portions

None of these portion control tips and tricks involves using a scale. I am not down for toting a food scale around with me everywhere I want to go. I needed some easy tricks that help me remember what reasonable portions are. That way I won’t have to be tied to a calorie tracker for the rest of my life!

Don’t Eat From the Container

This one has been the BEST help to me. Basically, don’t eat straight from the bag, the container of takeout, or any other container or package that food comes in. It’s rarely true that there is only one serving in a given container. So do your best to get out a single serving, and put that on a separate plate. When it’s gone, you’re done!

Look at the Labels

Food companies are tricksy! When you look at the label, you might see “180 calories” and think, oh great! That’s not that much! Till you look closer and see “180 calories…per serving.” And a package many times is more than one serving. Check what the serving size is, and make sure that you’re only eating one serving at a time.

Use Smaller Plates

This one is interesting. Something you see a lot is that you should use smaller plates in order to “trick” your brain into thinking you have more food in front of you than you actually do. I will say that I’ve done this, and it does seem to help…sometimes. An interesting article I found, however, indicates that how long it’s been since you last ate will have more of an effect on this perception. In the study referenced in this article, it found that people who hadn’t eaten in three or more hours had no trouble identifying that a small plate and a larger plate contained the same size portion. People who had eaten more recently did seem to think that the smaller plate contained more food than the larger plate.

In contrast, this article talks about studies performed where people ate less pasta from a smaller bowl than those that ate from a larger bowl. Same with ice cream, they served themselves less ice cream when they were given a smaller bowl than those that were given a larger bowl.

So use this trick, if it works for you, but be aware that if you are extra hungry, you may still overeat.

Eat Mindfully

Have you ever sat in front of the TV just mindlessly snacking? I have. This is another way that we end up eating more than we intend to. Noom recommends that we don’t eat our dinners while distracted, with TV, computers, or something else that takes our attention away from our food. Instead, they recommend eating with all your attention on your food. This will help you be aware of exactly what you’re putting into your mouth.

Eat More Slowly

It takes a while for our brains to register that our stomachs are full. For that reason, if we eat too fast, we may end up with that uncomfortable, “too full” feeling because we ate way more than we needed. The more slowly you eat, the more time you’re giving for your brain to catch up with your stomach and start to signal that it’s full. And when you start to feel full, stop. You can always eat a little more if you’re still hungry – but once you’ve eaten those calories, they’re there to stay.

Split a Meal When Eating Out

When you go out to eat, either ask for a half-serving or share with someone. The portion sizes in restaurants are frequently over-sized and more than you need. If you’re like me and feel guilty leaving food on the plate, this is a serious drawback. Another trick is to ask for a “doggy bag” or take-home container with your food – then split it out as soon as you get it. Then only eat the remaining half. Also, try to convince yourself that it’s OK to leave food on your plate. See if you can get to where you only eat until you’re no longer hungry – when you’re satisfied but not overfull. If you’re focused on eating everything on your plate, and there’s way too much food on your plate, then you’re defeating yourself.

What are some other tricks you’ve used to help with portion control? What do you struggle the most with when trying to eat smaller portions?

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