Some people know when to stop eating. I don't. I struggled most of my life with over eating. I could eat a bag of chips in an hour. Mindless eating is what I call that and to this day I can still do it, which is why I do not keep chips in the house and buy individual serving sizes. During my 80 pound weight-loss, I trained myself to control those habits to avoid over indulging.
If you're like me and struggled with overeating and portion control, it may be time to rethink your habits and redesign your relationship with food. Take it from a girl who knows first-hand.
Here are 8 tips to help you take control and not eat out of control.
Know Your Numbers
When eating doesn’t feel like a guessing game, you’re more likely to meet your goals. Calculate your daily calorie needs and identify calories based on your goal whether it be to maintain, lose or gain weight. Know your numbers and make educated decisions about what you’re eating. Not all calories are created equal either. Check with your doctor if you are not sure how much you should eat and what a safe amount is to reduce while losing weight.
Measure & Weigh Food
You can't be exactly sure of how much you’re eating unless you measure portions properly. Learn what a serving size means. Instead of eyeballing things, buy products that are single servings and pre-portioned so you can be precise. Use measuring cups and scales to accurately calculate foods at home.
Never get too Hungry
When you are hangry, you're going to overeat. Get ahead of the hangry monster by snacking on fruits, nuts, vegetables, granola bars or single serve chips throughout the day in between meals to keep you feeling full and your metabolism humming. See Snacking Tips for more ideas.
Cook 1 Serving
Sometimes removing temptation altogether is the best method. By cooking single portions, you won’t have the temptation of over indulging. Many product are available now to purchase as single servings like rice, vegetables, fish and chicken.
Use Small Plates
Serve meals on salad or a dessert plates. Smaller plates help control food portions. Remember it takes your brain 20-30 minutes to recognize a full stomach too.
Cut Your Food
Cutting food forces you to slow down your eating. By slowing down your eating process, you give your brain time to catch up to track the fullness in your belly. It can take 20-30 minutes before the brain recognizes fullness. We're all too busy these days and eating fast to get it over with to move onto the next thing. Slow down and take the time to enjoy what you're eating.
Pack Leftovers
As soon as your meal is ready, portion the meal into individual containers and place in the refrigerator. When leftovers are put away, it's easier not to return for seconds.
Drink Hot Tea
Drink tea throughout the day. Drinking something hot like tea leaves your stomach feeling full. Green tea in the morning, decaf berry tea at lunch and mint tea after dinner is a routine to consider. Mint tea is particularly good for calming the mind-body before bed and can assist with digestion.
Kate F. says
My best tip is to cut your food and eat more slowly. I've always done that so I can recognize when I'm full and not eat too much.
Kirtley Freckleton @ The Gist of Fit says
The biggest for me is to not get hungry! I get hungry pretty quickly too so I try to always have healthy snacks with me:)
Skinny Fitalicious says
Me too! Always have almonds or apples in my purse.
Lecia Lance says
This makes sense. I know about portion control, but putting away would help not do 2nds. Thanks
laurie damrose says
I always try to us smaller plates ,it helps keeping the portions lighter.
GiGi Eats says
I am a BIG portion kind of girl. Family-size... FOR ONE please! AH HA HA HA AH! But I have to say that even though I eat big portions, it's warranted because I only eat protein (healthy, lean proteins) and vegetables with healthy fat. So when my foods add up, they're less calories (or so I think, as I don't count calories - lol) than say, if I ate large portions of fast foods, ice cream, etc.
Skinny Fitalicious says
Lol...I have a hard time controlling myself when it comes to food healthy or not healthy.