You might be struggling to lose weight without doing much exercise. There are numerous ways to shed extra pounds, such as dieting, cardio, walking, etc. Portion control for weight loss is the best and most healthy way to lose weight. In general, it is all about monitoring your healthy eating. Usually, we tend to eat whatever is laid out on the plate in front of us.
Overeating has become a growing epidemic as many people struggle for ways to shed weight. However, the question is, why do we overeat? One of the primary contributors to overeating is portion size. Some other factors are boredom, extreme emotions, and deep sorrows. Also, it can occur due to a wide selection of food items.
Keep reading to learn more about portion control for weight loss!
What is Portion Control for Weight Loss?
In a nutshell, portion control is the amount of food that one puts on his or her plate. Usually, we serve ourselves multiple portions of food in a single sitting.
Portion control has become the biggest nutrition hack for weight loss, healthy life, and much more. It’s all about understanding your body’s needs and eating according to them. Sometimes, we have a giant portion of food on our plate, and we overeat, which leads to weight gain.
Typically, people who want to lose weight think they need to drastically reduce the amount of food, which is not the actual case. Here comes portion control for weight loss, in which you lose weight without feeling hungry all the time.
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Why Is Portion Control Important for Weight Loss?
Before implementing anything in your life, you must think about its importance. The primary importance of portion control for weight loss is that it limits the intake of calories.
Eat what your body needs instead of mindlessly overindulging!
Portioning our food helps us control the number of fats stored as fats in our body. When you eat a confined portion of your diet, your body use stored fats which causes weight loss. The more stored fat your body burns, the more weight you lose, up to a point, which is why we want to make sure we maintain a healthy, balanced diet while we utilize portion control.
9 Tips to Control Portion Size
Not to worry, portion control doesn’t mean eating a carrot all day to lose weight. Portion control is to eat the portion of food that satisfies your hunger. It includes understanding the breakdown of food that you are eating.
Here are some tips that help you control the portion size to lose weight:
Some key players in your weight gain are the size of your plates, spoon, and glasses that influence how much you eat. For example, if eat in bulky size, plate your food appears smaller, which leads to overeating.
A research study has shown that people who eat pasta in a large bowl take more pasta than those using a medium-sized bowl. Moreover, nutritionists explain that you can eat 33% more ice cream given in a greater bowl.
Generally, people ate more due to large dishes without understanding portion control. If you are willing to try portion control for weight loss, swap your plates to a smaller size. It will help you lower the amount of food and drink you consume.
Sometimes weighing food is not appealing; you can use a portion control guide to limit overeating. It will help you eat the optimal and well-balanced meal.
A rough guide for each meal is:
- High-quality proteins – ¼ th of a plate
- Vegetables – ½ portion of the plate
- Complex carbs – ¼ th share of the plate
- High-Fat foods – ½ tablespoon
One of the chief help to understand the portion control for weight loss is to read the label. Reading the nutrient label will help you determine the ideal serving size. Remember that not everyone needs that same serving size.
You can limit the daily intake of food by understanding portion control.
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No matter what you eat, ask for its half portion. The serving size in restaurants is 2.5 times larger than a standard serving size. There is no need to hesitate and ask for a children’s dish or half portion when eating. It will help you limit the intake of several calories and help prevent overeating.
Avoid buffet-style restaurants & use portion control for weight loss!
If you want to gauge your portion size without any tool, you can use your hands. Typically, your hands are the indicators of your body. For example, people with bigger body sizes have finer hands.
Here is the rough guide you can follow for each meal:
- High Protein Food – 1 palm serving for women & 2 palms serving for men
- Salad – 1 fist-size serving for women & 2 fist-size for men
- High Carb Foods – one cup for women & two for men
- High Fat Foods – one thumb-size portion for women & two for men
If you want to avoid portion control, take a glass of water 30 minutes before your meal. Water will help you feel less hungry and hydrate your body. Several research studies indicate that 500ml of water before each meal results in a 44% greater decline in weight. Weight loss is because you intake fewer calories, and your body burns the stored fats.
Taking your food slowly helps the brain register that you are full after eating. You might have noticed that slow eaters eat less than those who eat fast. Eating slowly leads to a grander feeling of fullness and decreases the food intake.
Apart from this, eating while watching TV increases your calorie intake and makes you obese. Therefore, focusing on your meal when you eat will help you control your portion size.
Sometimes you start eating directly from the food container, which results in overeating. One of the best examples of it is a pack of snacks. Several anecdotal pieces of evidence suggest that people tend to eat more from a large container; rather than taste and quality.
You can implement this in family meals where you forget portion control for weight loss and eat much. So re-portion your food into a small plate and take a well-balanced diet.
One of the best ways to understand portion control for weight loss is a food diary. Writing down all food and drink intake can increase awareness of the type and amount of foods you’re consuming.
Those who kept a food diary tended to lose more weight overall.
Portion Control for Weight Loss – Conclusion
There are many practical steps you can take to control the portion. All the steps described above will help you lose weight without feeling hungry all day. When trying portion control, use small-sized dishes, drink water before taking a meal, and eat slowly.
Improve your quality of life with portion control for weight loss!
