Friday, December 3, 2010

Friday’s Confession: I Suck at Portion Control

Friday’s Confession …

I SUCK at portion control. No, really. I’m not being modest here. Portion control is probably the biggest challenge I face when it comes to redesigning the healthier, more fit and sexy, ahem, body I’m striving for.

I’m pretty good at making healthy choices most of the time. I don’t do sodas, I switched my whites to wheats and all that jazz, but I need to remember that just because something is healthy doesn’t mean that I can eat it in mass quantities. My eyes see things bigger than my stomach; and quite honestly if it tastes good I simply like to eat it.


Yes, I would normally fill the bottom bowl with whole-grain wheat pasta and organic ground turkey sauce – and possibly go back for seconds; while really I only need the smaller bowl and maybe some broccoli, green beans or spinach salad to round it out. What I'm choosing to eat is great, but how much of it is not.

Now, I’m trying to eat smaller, more frequent meals (every 2-3 hours) and realize that if I like a dish, I can always have more of it for a another meal later. I’m also using lunch plates for my meals instead of the big ol’ dinner plates. If it can’t fit on the plate, then I don’t need it.

How about you? Am I the only one? How do you handle portion control? Me and my belly would love to know.

Winks & Smiles,

14 comments:

fabdogooder said...

I have found that if I eat much slower (because I have been know to scarf down my food) once I am done with my meal I feel as full as I would have If I had a larger portion.

Christy Z. said...

I containerize everything! Meaning, I try to make extra food, and freeze it. If I am eating it fresh and plan on freezing, I use the same containers to measure first. (I hate to re-wash.) There is no way to stuff more rice or pasta into a 1 cup container, but it is easy to do on an empty plate.

I also containerize at the same time that I am serving so I am not tempted to go back for seconds.

meg duerksen said...

i suck at this too!
AND i get busy and don't eat until a meal and i am starving so i eat too much!
i need to think about what i am eating instead of being so brainless about it.
great reminder today!

it is fun to see your face again when i click over here. :)

keyalus said...

I do the small bowl trick all the time. I use my son's kiddie bowls for most of my meals.

I try to fill my plate up with veggies, protein and then carbs in that order. I like to fill up on veggies and meat first. Pasta & rice are quite calorically dense for the amount of food in a portion.

It has taken some time (almost a year now and I'm still working on it), but I'm learning to recognize the point where I'm satisfied but not full. Call it intuitive eating if you will. I'm not scared to leave food on my plate anymore. I don't feel compelled to eat until everything is gone just because it is there. I eat until I'm just about full and then I stop.

There is a lag between the time you eat and the time you feel full. If you eat until you feel full, you will feel stuffed in a little while. I just don't like feeling stuffed anymore.

Banteringblonde said...

Yah, I am awesome at portion control. My problem is I eat to many portions :P

Fifty K said...

Portion control, what portion control. I stink at this too!

Lauren Starks said...

I'm pretty good with portions. Once I really learned (and implemented):

* Vegetables or fruit is about the size of your fist.
* Pasta is about the size of one scoop of ice cream.
* Meat, fish, or poultry is the size of a deck of cards or the size of your palm (minus the fingers).
* Snacks such as pretzels and chips is about the size of a cupped handful.
* Apple is the size of a baseball.
* Potato is the size of a computer mouse.
* Bagel is the size of a hockey puck.
* Pancake is the size of a compact disc.
* Steamed rice is the size of a cupcake wrapper.
* Cheese is the size of a pair of dice or the size of your whole thumb (from the tip to the base).

Then it got a lot easier for me. Sometimes I still struggle (if I get toooooooo hungry), but most of the time I'm pretty good.

Also, I started ONLY cooking 1 portion per family member. Good for the kids not to learn seconds -- Good for me because there's really none left. Then, if I'm still hungry later, I can find a healthy snack. (Stops the overeating at the dinner table, for sure).

Rae said...

I TRY to be good with portion sizes but I'm always so hungry. I keep telling myself that I have to eat until I'm full. Not stuffed but full. So yeah, I fail at portion control. LOL

Unknown said...

Thanks, Ladies! Great and informative comments! I'm looking forward to putting them to use - smiles!

Mammatalk said...

Good conversation over dinner helps!

Anne said...

When I'm on prednisone (a corticosteroid) I am always famished and portion control is not an option :)

Thank goodness I'm not on it too often anymore!

MizFit said...

I have to say Im continually baffled at portion sizes.
I KNOW they are little (the ole 'deck of cards' cr*p :)) but still Im always shocked how my portions ---while not seemingly BIG to me---are way outta whack too.

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