When
embarking on a weight loss diet, it’s easy to think about all the big steps
that need to be taken regarding portion control and food: counting calories,
keeping track of fat grams, eating enough fiber, etc. It’s easy to get
overwhelmed. Yet, if you take it one small step at a time, you can break this
portion control effort into easily handled steps.
Start Planning
The easiest
way to get a handle on portion control is to set aside one day out of the week
and plan your menu. Nothing too detailed, unless you need it to be that way –
just quickly jot down what you think you will eat for each meal and snack.
At that
point, grab your plastic sandwich bags and your food storage containers and set
aside how many you will need for each meal, each day: two sandwich bags for
snacks, three storage containers for meals. Why? Because when you prepackage
your food for school or work, you take away the danger of mindless overeating.
You can do the same for food at home, too.
You may
have saved money buying the family-sized bag of pretzels but if you end up
eating the whole thing in one sitting, you find the cost of it staring back at
you from the scale numbers as you weigh yourself. So portion out your snacks at
home, too. It will save you from unnecessary temptation.
Be Mindful of What You Eat
When you
are eating out, a small but effective way to control portions is to ask for a
doggie bag to be brought out with your meal. That way, you can quickly put half
of the meal away for later and concentrate on eating what’s in front of you,
which is more likely to be a proper portion anyway.
Here’s
another super easy trick: know the serving size of your favorite treat. Then
prepackage it. Is it a handful of
chocolate candies? A half cup of that rich ice cream? Or maybe just a thin
slice of cheesecake? Denying yourself is never a good idea when trying to lose
weight. It seems contradictory, but when you give yourself a (little) treat
while dieting, you will have a better chance of sticking to your weight loss
program. The key is to know the size of a single serving, and then make sure
it’s ready on hand to have when the urge to indulge strikes. The best of
dieting intentions can go awry when we are having one of those ‘weak’ moments.