When my 8-year old son began to get obese, I trawled the net for obesity control tips, weight control tips, weight management, etc. None of these had much effect on my son. The only thing that worked was my dietician’s advice – portion control plates, portion control bowls and portion control glasses. However, as it turned out, buying them was one thing, using them was another. Here are three of my best portion control tips:
Use the false oversize perception!
Remember each portion control bowl is 18oz. Most obese people would normally eat (for example), one full tin of canned soup – direct. If they do use a soup bowl, it would normally be a large one and almost overfull at that. This would be 28oz or more. The recommended dietary quantity is just 18oz. If you use these tips, you start off with a small quantity (less than 10oz), add ingredients from your kitchen to its contents, and when you pour into the 18oz Portion Control Bowl, the bowl appears almost overfull. In each case,
make the food tasty and interesting. Here is an example how to do that with canned soup:
Buy only 8oz tins of your favourite canned soup – that way you do not have to store the uneaten portion in the refrigerator.
- Empty the contents into a vessel
- Add a quarter cup of water
- Add 2oz of finely diced tomatoes. Stir well.
- Add 2oz of boiled peas and corn.
- Stir until the soup comes to a boil, lower heat to minimum.
- In a frying pan, heat a teaspoon of oil. When heated add some finely diced onions. Stir lightly until brown and then pour over the soup.
- Lightly brush oil directly onto a bread slice, cut it into four pieces and microwave for two minutes or until it turns a darker shade of brown.
- Pour soup into the 18oz portion control bowl.
- Add the crotons (bread) on top.
Another valuable tip for portion control is saying no to buffets style meals.
Instead of laying out food on the table, serve appropriate portion sizes using portion control spoons onto portion control plates. Cook only what is required. That way, there is not anything more left to serve. Each person should receive a balanced meal that is appropriate for his or her age and physical activity.
And last but not least, eat slowly for successful weight management and portion control.
Ask your family to practice the art of eating slowly. Chew and savour each morsel of food. Ask them to try to identify the ingredients in the food. The person who succeeds in identifying most of the ingredients gets an extra portion of dessert, as does the person who finishes last (or anything appropriate).
Eating slowly gives time for the stomach to send the “I am full” signal. In addition, when a person is eating slowly, he or she will hear the ‘full’ signal more clearly than someone who is eating mechanically and fast.