Portion control is a dieting concept where you eat everything you want, yet in small quantities, thus your taste buds get satisfied without putting up the unwanted extra weight.
This can work for you, if you got two qualities – self control and a full stomach. Self control is important, because you are eating a bit of your favorite food and not the whole thing. Remember, this is just for the taste as you can never please your stomach enough. You got to know where to stop, and for most of the time, the portion is going to be pretty small. And yes, the more you fill up your stomach with low calorie food, the lesser your need will be to eat junk food or the rest of the portion of your tasty food.
Now, we are going to present you with 6 such tips that will help you to make portion control work for you.
Size of Portions
This is the most important step. First, make sure that the size of your plates and, bowls are small enough, this way even if you fill up the plate completely, you will still eat only a bit. It is a mental thing, so too small utensils might work negatively, so plan it well.
Keep the rest of the food away
This is a mistake that most people do. If you keep the whole lot of food on the table, there is no way you can escape it. Keep it away, in the fridge or in the kitchen and don’t even think about it. Just eat what you have served in your portion.
Never eat out
No, this does not mean you can’t eat that tasty restaurant food, the point is, get it packed and bring it home. This way, you can serve only as much as you need, and the rest is left for later. The problem of eating in a restaurant or a fast food joint is that you have the entire content on your plate and leaving anything behind is basically just a waste of food and money. While eating at home will save you the trouble of finishing it up straightaway and the rest of the leftover can be a good supplement for the next day’s breakfast.
Take control of the fridge
Firstly, it is a habit for many, moving around your home and opening your fridge every now and then. This is a very bad habit, because every time you open your fridge you either eat something or get tempted in eating and somehow control that urge with great determination. All this is not good for dieting, it only makes you more attracted towards food and finally you will break down and start eating. First step is self-control. Remember, it is your health and you should take charge of it. Also, as a preventive measure – lock the fridge. That will remind you the next time you open it, absent-mindedly.
Hiding foods
Keep the foods away from your quick glance. This works out nicely, the less you see the foods, the less you would feel hungry. Keep it in places where you would normally, not check. If it is the fridge, keep it at the back and some stuff at the front, thus hiding it from the quick glance.
Snacks
While snacking is sometimes good, don’t make a habit of it. Portion control work for snacks as well, one just needs to implement it well. Remember, use smaller plates and keep the rest of the snack away while eating. It is very easy to start dropping the rest of the snack on the place, so keep the rest well away from the reach of your hands.
Portion control works on everything, whether eating out or your regular home based foods, or even snacks. The most important thing is self-control, once you have that – you can make good use of portion control.