Control Your Portions

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

23 Jun 2006 04:00 AM

Controlling portions is a great way to create a commitment to healthy eating habits. Long-term weight loss is often achieved through portion control because through portion control you can still eat several things that you like and enjoy. So here are some ways you can size up your servings and control your portions in order to help you achieve the weight loss you want.

• Portion Your Leftovers - Instead of storing your leftovers in a huge container, break it down into individual meal portions that you can easily take out and reheat as one meal
• Invest in Salads - Salads are an ideal side dish to any meal, reduce your excess starches and empty carbs and replace it with salads as a side dish
• Break down your guilty pleasures - Like potato chips? Break the big bag down into several individual size packages - you are far less likely to kill the big bag when you have to keep opening new ones - this works well for everything from candies to popcorn to potato chips
• Focus on Five to Six Meals - Three meals a day is a staple of modern pop culture, instead of three big meals, eat six smaller meals - this is a great way to stabilize your blood sugar and curb your cravings
• Don't Go Back for Seconds - A good rule of thumb is to wait 20 to 30 minutes after a meal to see if you are still hungry, too often people keep reaching for seconds when they don't need them and it can take the body 20 minutes to tell you its full
• Vegetables are the Main Course - Have them with a side of meat - our culture is meat dominated and we're omnivores and that's fine, but eating more veggies than meat is a better plan than more meat than veggies
• Eating out? - Enjoy the meal but portion off half of it to a take home container and that can be your lunch for tomorrow or your dinner later that day
• Is restaurant ordering too hard? Ask for the kid sized meal - can't give up McDonald's? Go for a Happy Meal and eliminate the words super size from your vocabulary
• You Can Still Have Dessert - Choose low fat ice cream, low fat cheesecake or other indulgence - indulgence can keep you from binging later and portioning your desserts is no different than portioning your meals

What other suggestions can you think of for portioning?

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger