When McDonald’s first opened their doors in 1955, their hamburgers were a mere 3.7 ounces, the sodas came in 7 ounce cups and french fries were offered in just one size, 2.4 ounces. Fast forward six decades and now we have a 9.2 ounce Quarter Pounder Deluxe, you can order a 6 ounce mountain of fries and 32 ounce sodas will keep you running to the bathroom all day. It’s no wonder our portion control is skewed in a nation where everything is supersized.
One of the easiest ways for weight loss is through portion control. There’s no need for fancy scales, group meetings or gym memberships with these five simple tips.
No one wants to pull out the measuring tools to determine the exact amount we’re supposed to eat. Unfortunately, guessing means that many times we’re underestimating the amount of pretzels we’re eating or the calories we’re consuming. Here’s an easy way to get a better grasp of measurements, no tools required! The palm of your hand is about 3 ounces of meat, the top half of your thumb from the tip to the knuckle equals about 1 teaspoon (for when you use condiments), one handful is about 1-2 ounces of a snack food and a tennis ball is about a half cup for when you want to measure fruits or veggies.
You know when you get a huge tub of popcorn at the movies and it’s gone before you know it? Yeah, don’t do that. Pour out a cup or ½ a cup of your snack to track just how much you’re eating. In fact, a 2004 study which involved 329 people who were struggling to lose weight found that 38% of those who practiced portion control for two years lost 5% or more of their body weight (and those who didn’t measure actually ended up gaining 5% of their body weight!).
Many times we assume that one package or one bag is equal to one serving size. Don’t assume. Many times beverage bottles that we think are one serving are labeled as two or even a smaller DiGiorno thin crust frozen pizza can say that it has five servings. Read the labels to make sure that you aren’t consuming more calories than you’re bargaining for.
Over the years, we’ve shifted our thinking to believe that a vegetable, starch, and meat should all have equal real estate on our plates. However, this isn’t really the case. You should divide your plate into four equal parts: one quadrant for your meat (about the size of a stack of cards), one quadrant for your starch (choose whole grains) and half of your plate should be filled with veggies (skip the buttery, rich sauces). And speaking of plates…. choose smaller ones. A large plate with a small amount of food on it makes us feel hungry when we’re finished. A smaller plate piled high causes us to feel more satisfied when the meal is over.
Sometimes we erroneously think that if we skip the snacks, we’ll eat less. Many times though, the opposite becomes true. We get so hungry that we make poor choices and either eat the wrong foods (hello candy bar in the bottom of my desk) or eat larger portions than we intended (seconds, anyone?). Eating one healthy snack between a meal will keep your energy up and your willpower strong.
