With people consuming more significant percentages of processed and unhealthy foods, more people are struggling to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Ultimately, diets high in bad fats and carbohydrates may lead to decreased metabolism, higher blood sugar levels, and insulin resistance.
Portion sizes might play an important role as well. More significant portions mean more calories consumed overall, often resulting in weight gain when excessive amounts are eaten.
Aside from portion size, multiple factors contribute to overeating, such as food availability, taste preference, biological cues, marketing practices, and cultural values.
Tips For Portion Control
Use Smaller Plates
Have you ever wanted to reduce food and beverage consumption without feeling deprived? Changing your dinnerware is the answer.
A study has found that people are likely to eat or drink less when using smaller dishes or glasses while feeling just as full and satisfied.
In other words, reducing portion size doesn’t mean sacrificing satisfaction: it might go hand in hand with contentment. This is an easy change that may pay off in terms of health.
Measure Your Food
Eating healthy could be problematic when portion sizes are out of control’; it’s easy to overindulge, leading to nutritional deficiencies or weight gain.
Fortunately, measuring food could be beneficial to avoid these issues and maintain balanced portions.
This involves simply weighing and measuring ingredients before you cook them or splitting meals into 8-ounce servings ideal for overall health.
It might require more time shopping at the grocery store and preparing meals. Still, it’s worth it if you may reap the benefits of adequately controlling your portion size!
Use Your Hands As Serving Guide
There are simple guides to remember when considering portion sizes. One serving size is equivalent to a closed fist for grains and starches.
When it comes to vegetables and fruits, aim for two fists worth. Protein might be about the size of your palm with no fingers.
Dairy servings might be around the size of your thumb and served fat equal to half of a thumb. These tips may ensure you eat balanced meals and avoid overeating certain food groups.
If using your hands proves too tricky, try measuring cups or spoons to get more accurate portion sizes instead.
Eat Half Portion When You Are Eating Out
With restaurant portions often twice the size of a regular amount, overeating might quickly become a problem.
Fortunately, there are simple ways to manage your portion size and still enjoy eating out. If you’re concerned about overeating in restaurants, try asking for a half portion next time, most restaurants are happy to accommodate.
An appetizer or starter dish instead of an entire main course could be another excellent way to reduce the amount you eat while still getting the satisfaction of going out to dinner.
Additionally, staying away from all-you-can-eat places is also an intelligent choice. It could help set boundaries around how much food you consume on each outing.
Drink Water Before Eating
Drinking a glass of water before meals could be an effective natural way to control the amount of food we consume.
According to a study, this simple technique may result in people consuming fewer calories and being more satisfied afterward, feeling fuller even though they ate less.
This is because water temporarily increases the feeling of fullness by stretching out stomach walls resulting in hormonal changes that also increase feelings of satiety.
Next time you eat, consider having a glass of water first. It could be the key to taking in fewer calories during your meal and seeing more significant results on the scale!
Eat Slowly
Slowly eating is a great way to train yourself to eat the correct quantity of food. You might notice that by taking time to savor what you are eating, you might feel full before finishing the food on your plate.
In addition, it allows your body to properly break down the food and send signals to the brain when hunger is satisfied.
This makes it easier to ensure we are not overeating to satisfy our cravings. It takes a lot of work to begin a slow eating rhythm.
Continued practice and patience could help ensure that these habits become ingrained over time, making it easy to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Don’t Eat Straight From Larger Packages
Overeating might lead to health issues like weight gain and even more severe conditions. Fortunately, there are strategies we may use to help prevent it.
One way is to re-portion snacks into individual portions, so it’s impossible to overindulge in a single item.
Additionally, serving family meals from plates instead of larger containers may help create an environment that encourages mindful eating instead of mindless snacking.
Food is fuel for the body, and too much energy in one sitting might be harmful, which may send an important message to those who want to be mindful of their diet and overall health.
Use A Food Diary
Keeping track of your calories may be essential to make better food choices and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Awareness of how many calories you’re eating might encourage you to choose more nutritional options for your meals and snacks and control your portion size.
Initially, it may take effort, but the long-term benefits of tracking calorie intake far outweigh any drawbacks.
Cutting down the number of calories you eat may provide a better understanding of your food choices, making it possible for everyone to lead a healthier life.
Final Thoughts
Controlling portion sizes to prevent unwanted weight gain without completely changing your diet or following a strict regimen might not cause any side effects; instead, you may stay healthy.
Start by serving meals on smaller plates and bowls, making the portions appear prominent and more satisfying.
Additionally, use smaller utensils like forks, spoons, and knives to cut your food into bite-size pieces instead of large soup spoons and steak knives.
Try mindful eating as well, so you could savor every bite while genuinely being aware of when you begin to feel complete.
You may also split up portions of high-calorie foods with someone else instead of eating everything on your plate in one sitting.
Lastly, fill up on fiber-rich foods like vegetables and legumes, which contain fewer calories while giving you that feeling of fullness.
With these practical steps, you might be able to control portions while enjoying your favorite healthy meals.
