Portion Control

With some mindful eating, we could all be possible of shedding extra pounds without diet or exercise.
By carefully watching your portions and meal times, you can become better prepared to loose weight. Try to eliminate eating with your eyes and think about these tricks!

1. Serve on a smaller plate
Everyone loves the look of a well stocked dinner plate, but that’s often much more food than one person needs. Keep in mind that the serving sizes your boyfriend or brothers eat are not normal for that of a female. Spread your food out on a smaller plate, and eat what you’ve served yourself. Take smaller bites, and enjoy your food instead of rushing through your meal. If you finish and still feel hungry, wait a few minutes before going in for seconds, doctors say it takes a few minutes for our bodies to feel full.

2. Do not be swayed by restaurant servings
Serving sizes at restaurants are usually out of control. When out to eat, consider splitting dinner and a side with a friend, it’s usually about enough, and if you’re unsure, you’re waiter can tell you if it will work out alright. Ask for a half or lunch portion, or even ask for a take away box as soon as your dinner comes. By removing half from your plate at the start, you can feel better about eating out and feel confident that you have a nice portion controlled dinner for tomorrow too!

3. Look up the terms
A true serving size may be much smaller than you think. Generally speaking, a serving is about the size of a deck of cards. Think about dishing out dinner from measuring cups instead of that big heaping serving spoon, you may be surprised to see just how many servings you eat in one sitting!

4. Sides, sides, sides!
If you’re already prepared to do some serious damage to that pot of spaghetti, think about your side dishes. Pair main dishes with vegetables or fruit on the table and try to even out your eating. You’ll consume less pasta before you get full and will also add some vitamins to your meal.

By being aware and practicing good control during meal times, you can easily keep off extra pounds. You may even be surprised by how good you feel by not over stuffing yourself! What foods can you not resist second and third helpings of? Did growing up in a family of over or under eaters create harmful habits now?