Portion Control

Dieting isn't about taking foods out. It's about moderation and portion control. Make sure you eat your fun foods in healthy amounts. Research found that most people underestimate how many calories they eat. 86% of women underestimate it by 621 calorie, and over 50% of men under estimate it by 581 calories.

This is scary given the fact that 3,500 calories is equal to one pound. So underestimating by 500 calories a day could be tipping of the scale of whether you lose or gain weight.

Eyeball your portions correctly

You're not always going to have measuring cups or scale with you. And you'd be surprised just how bad we are at doing it ourselves. Don't believe us? Measure out an actual serving size of peanut butter and see how much it is. Hint: It's the same size as the tip of your thumb. Here is a system you can use to eyeball your portion sizes. For references, use your hand, a dollar bill and a deck of cards.

Lean proteins

Use a dollar bill, palmful or deck of cards

Starchy vegetables and whole grains

Use a fistful, serving spoon, ladle or partial cup(1/4 -or 1/2 cup)

Healthy fats, spreads, sauces and oils

Use thumb tips, thumbs, teaspoons, and tablespoons

Dairy

Use a ladle, serving spoon, fistful or partial cup(1/4 or 1/2 cup)

Fruits & vegetables

Use a large or small bowl, fistfuls, or whole items

Tips and tricks

A lot of times, we know what to do, but we still don't do it. Portion control isn't any different. Here are some tips and tricks to keep you on track.

Use the "healthy, moderately healthy, fun food" system

• Healthy foods: Eat lots of it. small bowls & plates etc.

• Moderately healthy foods: Eat in moderation in partial cups, fistfuls, and handfuls etc.

• Fun foods: Eat small portions in tablespoons, teaspoons, thumbs etc.

Fun food doesn't mean bad, and healthy foods doesn't mean good. It just means you have eat them proportionally in your diet.

Measure your food

Most likely you're going to underestimate how many calories you take in. This can be the difference between losing and gaining weight. Using food scales, measuring cups and spoons in the beginning to train yourself to more accurately eyeball your portions.

Use a plate

Using a plate helps keep you mindful while eating. You pay attention to what you are eating and are aware of your portions. Start eating out of a bag of chips, by the end of it you have no clue how much you ate!

Use a small plate

Using a smaller plate decreases the amount of food you can put on your plate and tricks your brain into thinking you're eating more than you really are. Yes, that's right, you actually end up eating less calories!

Supersized Portions

Portion sizes aren't what they used to be from what they we're not too long ago. Just from the last turn of the century we are being served more and more food than ever before. This leads to increased portions and increased waste bands.

Restaurant servings have almost doubled since the 1990's.

• In the 1990's, the average pasta dish served in restaurants was 500 calories (1 cup of spaghetti and sauce with 3 small meatballs). Today, it's twice the amount with the average being 1,000 calories(2 cups of spaghetti and sauce with 3 large meatballs).
  

• It doesn't stop there, in the 90's, the average stir-fry was 435 calories (2 cups) while today the average stir fry is almost twice that with 865 calories (4 1/2 cups).

Grocery store servings have increased too!

• In the 90's, bagels we're 140 calories and 3 inches in diameter. Today, the average bagel is 350 calories and 6 inches in diameter. More than twice the calories!

We've also made our plates bigger! Why wouldn't we make our food bigger, we have to fill out these bigger plates. They've gone from 9 inches in 1950 to 11 inches in 1980 to 12 inches today. The worst part, is the bigger the plate, the more you're likely to eat.

Start Logging

Keep track of your daily caloric intake. Use a calorie counting app such as “Lose it” or “MyFitnessPal” enter link to log your calories and help you be mindful of your intake.

In the journey towards a healthier lifestyle, mastering portion control emerges as a pivotal strategy for effective weight management. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not about depriving oneself but rather striking a balance through moderation.