Portion control - my Achilles heel.

I just wanted to share this weakness since I know I'm not alone. Portion control, what a mess. All my adult life I have been eating 2 to 3 times the serving size and now healthy serving sizes look too small.

Now that I have been working with CC and increasing my activity for 10 weeks my portion blindness has come back to stab me in the back and a had a few days when my daily calories were 500 to 800 calories higher than they should have been(I log at the end of each day). That has brought this issue back into sharp focus for me.

Why is this cropping up now? Because I have lost 21 lbs(YAY!) and can no longer get away with the higher calories each day like I have in the past 10 weeks. I'm 5'5" tall, SW 250 lbs, CW 229 lbs, I'm 39 years old and a mother of three(15, 10 & 7). I've set my personal calorie limit at 1500 but am happy enough up to 1700 depending on how active I have been that day. I only weigh once a week but prefer to see a 2 lb loss rather than a 1 lb loss each week. I average out at about 2500 to 2600 calories a day burned but have dipped as low as 2000 on do nothing days.

I know I'm not alone in having portion blindess and all I can say is that the food scale is my best pal as well as the portion information on the sides and backs of food packaging. Eating slower helps me a lot as well.

So don't feel alone - I think there are a lot of us out there :) Any pointers would be welcome, of course.

Hey I personally think frozen meals such as Lean Cuisine are a huge help when training myself to recognize proper portion sizes. Now, when I go out to eat I am capable of realizing that usually, I am given 2-2.5 times the amount of food I would normally eat. I was so used to finishing whatever was on my plate because I had no idea how much food I was eating, but tonight, for the first time ever, I actually packed some food up from the restaurant and will eat the rest tomorrow!

I don't know that I have any new pointers beyond the usual: Weigh and measure stuff, use a smaller plate, etc., but you do adjust to it.  I've totally gotten used to thinking of restaurant servings as two or three meals instead of one.  It gets easier.

I drink plenty of water during my meals as well, it helps me to feel more satisfied.

I like to add green salads to my meals, it's my psychological mechanism, seems like a bigger meal, very low in calories, but high in fiber (keeping you satisfied for longer), so I think I'm eating more... when I'm not...

Lastly, I think that what be very helpful is to log your meals right after or at least two times a day (say afternoon?). This way, if you have extra limited for some reason your calories, you are aware in the middle of the day and you can re-plan your next meals accordingly... instead of realizing you have passed you max after you ate them.

I too have the same problem (I'm only just figuring out the difference between a normal sized meal and an over-sized one), but I definitely agree with those that mentioned using a smaller plate, or eating frozen meals like Lean Cuisine-just to get the hang of a regular meal size of course! Good luck with your weight loss!

Yeah, weighing everything is the way to go. Weighing everything, religiously, (okay, I don't weigh fresh vegetables, but everything else!) makes portion control easier.  Eventually, I hope I'll get a feel for it, but for now, my food scale is my guide.

When I'm going out some place, I try to weigh out food in advance, like snacks and such, and take those with me.  I can weigh an ounce of nuts, put it in a plastic bag and have my snack ready, with calories already accounted for.

Portion control is actually what helped me stay sane. If I can't have a little real cheese or the occasional kiddie cup of ice cream, I feel deprived.

Food scales are useful. Also, since you are cooking for a family, you might just take your normal portion and cut it into 1/3 or 1/2. When I freeze meat,  I calculate the weight and divide the meat into slightly smaller than suggested portion sizes. Then I freeze each piece individually. After a while, you can eye it and that makes cooking for more than one person easier for a diet or maintenance.

I've had that problem since I can remember and just recently am getting control over it. I also keep my measuring cups and spoons out on my counter so when I go to eat I measure out things. It also helps by using romaine lettuce or spinach as a garnish around the food. So it looks like a lot of food.. but it really just a normal portion.  Plus greens are good for you!

Actually, it was after I started eating with my (then new) boyfriend that I saw that my portions were out of control. He made his regular size meals times two when he made food for the two of us, and it was actually a bit less than what I used to eat alone. I'm a bit wary of eating with others and always eat far less than I would at home or alone and had half of what he had. And he's a natural eater who stops when he's full regardless of food left on his plate, something I've never been good at. Now I'm having small portions, try not to take two small ones but one and a half. Always thought that the portions stated on the rice or pasta packages were for small children. Incredible that it got to that.

I fill up with veggies 2/3 of my plate and then meat/fish with just a tiny amount of gravy, use small plates, eat slower and try to keep the thought of why I do this every time I eat. But I eat what I want. Learning portion control and the kcal content of foods have given me a new life!

Something that's really helped me is to eat off a plate instead of out of a bowl.  I literally can and did eat every meal of mind out of a bowl from oatmeal in the morning, salad in the afternoon, and a curry of some sort in the evening.  Bowls are really hard to judge the portions on so when I started trying to pile everything onto a plate (not the oatmeal obviously), I was amazing at how much food I was actually eating!  Mentally, it was enough to help with my satiation.  If you're already eating off plates, well, then this was not that big of a help - but maybe it will help someone else!

You are so right when you said others have that problem.  I do, for sure.  I bought a weight scale that measures grams and that has really helped.  I log my foods at least four times a day to keep a handle on my food intake.  I drink lots of water.  I have found many times when I think I am hungry, I am really thirsty.  Those signals get confused for me.  Try drinking the water before you get a meal.  One person has suggested using a grill plate ( one that has divisions on it) and using the biggest section for veggies, and the two smaller ones for the carbs and one for the meat.  I found that helped even has a mental picture.  Congratulations on the weight loss and keep going!  Down 93 pounds as of one year yesterday.

I have "logged" food mentally or on cc before I cook it.  This has really helped me in the portion control department.  So far I have stayed below my daily calorie intake limit. 

I'm finding it difficult to eat the proper amount of calories that doesn't have a lot of fat or sugar.  Any suggestions?

Original Post by xspiritoxliberox:

Something that's really helped me is to eat off a plate instead of out of a bowl.  I literally can and did eat every meal of mind out of a bowl from oatmeal in the morning, salad in the afternoon, and a curry of some sort in the evening.  Bowls are really hard to judge the portions on so when I started trying to pile everything onto a plate (not the oatmeal obviously), I was amazing at how much food I was actually eating!  Mentally, it was enough to help with my satiation.  If you're already eating off plates, well, then this was not that big of a help - but maybe it will help someone else!

Great tip! I'll definitely use plates for everything possible! I've purchased small bowls that take 1/5 of my large soup bowls and they're ingenious when it comes to portion controlling my yogurt and cereal meals. And the few times I want to have some rice or pasta. If it didn't look strange, I'd bring one with me whenever I wanted to eat out, just to measure 

When you eat out, if you request the to go box immediately, you can remove a portion of the meal from your plate right away. That way you are not staring at it and picking at it waiting for someone to bring a box....

Some tips I have come up with:

Take a box of pasta (or whatever) and pre-portion out the serving amount (2 measly ounces) on a scale and put it in a snack-size zippy bag.  You'll get 8 bags for a pound box - and then put all 8 bags back into the box.  Then when you are in a hurry, it's ready to grab without digging the scale out.  I do this for my M&M's because I get started on those and I lose track very quickly.  (And yes, I do allow myself M&M's once in a while!)

I bought several salad-sized plates for my dinner. 

There are ice-cream scoops that measure out 1/2 cup, 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon.  This helps me with condiments, especially mayo and margarine spread for my toast.  There are also long-handled serving spoons (like they use in cafeterias) that you can purchase that can help with scooping a portion from a large pot of stew or mashed potatoes.

And then you can use your body - the first knuckle of your index finger approximates a teaspoon.  The flat of your hand is about 4 oz.  Your thumb (first and second joints) approximate a tablespoon.  There are more if you are interested, I'll let you know.

I also go to the dollar stores and buy those little 'baby containers' and pre-portion out things that need refrigeration.  Again, doing this in advance helps when there is a time crunch or you just don't feel like digging out the scale 'again.' 

And if you are a restaurant - look it up ahead of time for the calories.  Many of your chain places post their calories (Applebees does on the menu, as does Ruby Tuesday and Red Robin, I think).  That way, you can factor those calories or choose items that will fit into your calorie 'budget' ahead of time.

Are you seeing a pattern here?  Most of these things require 'ahead of time' planning.  Those of us who have trouble figuring out when enough is enough need this extra planning to be sure we aren't overdoing it by accident.  My other favorite tip is that if I go to a restaurant, I have to remember that this isn't my last meal and it's not my anniversary or birthday or other celebration (when it's not any of those things, of course.) 

Growing up, going to a restaurant was something our large family did only three or four times total.  I tend to treat every visit the same way - like it's a major event.  But having lunch with the girls every Friday doesn't necessarily fit the same mind-set.  I'm still in the process of that particular change!

Sorry this post was so long, but I'm just feeling 'chatty' today. 

If only our daily calorie intake was somewhere around hmmmmm.....let me see...........3000cal, then life would feel like heaven on earth and maybe the chances for people to be aware of an ED or Anorexia etc would be micro thin.

I mean, I as well when I was younger would just eat food portions that didn't at all seem stingy or deprived to me, but since getting to a healthier lifestyle, the considered food portions seemed to me like someone was trying to funny or something............. `_` (Not laughing).

I see that Women can only intake 2000cal daily which is 500cal less than a Male's daily intake, even though women get pregnant and need extra food during their pregnancies to make sure their babies are well nourished.............Errrm WHY? Sorry hold on, I'm still thinking............. ..................

It would be nice if Women could get to consume just as much nourishment as Men, if not more. (Considering the whole pregnancy etc.)

This is no discrimination against Men, I agree that men should get to consume as much nourishment daily because they generally work real hard.

I'm now over this whole .........situation as I like to call it, (Thank God) and I'm now used to eating those once seemed ridiculous food portions just because I've simply broken down my meals into smaller sizes, in this way I can eat more frequently and hardly ever feel like my stomach is caving in.  Great way to solve Situations like this hugh?

I'm 58 and have had this situation my whole life...so I'm not saying that you should quit and give up.  I've always said I'm the only person I know that could gain weight on healthy/diet food. I am saying that being aware of it is the best part. I'm still 25 lb.s over and think I most likely always will be after having lost a large amount. What I do...if we're in a situation where there's so much "good/bad" food..lol., I ask my husband to fix my plate. Works...I will put 2 or 3 spoons full of something rather than getting just some :-). Best wishes to you...keep moving...that's the saving grace for me.

Original Post by them243241688:

I'm 58 and have had this situation my whole life...so I'm not saying that you should quit and give up.  I've always said I'm the only person I know that could gain weight on healthy/diet food. I am saying that being aware of it is the best part. I'm still 25 lb.s over and think I most likely always will be after having lost a large amount. What I do...if we're in a situation where there's so much "good/bad" food..lol., I ask my husband to fix my plate. Works...I will put 2 or 3 spoons full of something rather than getting just some :-). Best wishes to you...keep moving...that's the saving grace for me.

Hello them243241688. I like this comment, in a way this is something I can relate to.

I think a lot of the suggestions are good.  I tend to log my calories as I go, or soon after.  At dinner when I'm making my plate, I also have my lunch container there and 1/2 what I would normally eat at dinner and put it towards my lunch the next day.  I like leftovers better than the junk at the store for lunch, plus we save a lot of money.  I also like to have a salad, it does feel like I'm having a larger meal, but without the guilt (depending on the kind and quantity of dressing, if any).

I'm also thinking about going to a 10" place vs the 12" plates we currently have.  If your meal fills the plate more, it will help trick your brain into thinking you're having the same amount of food (or more) since there's less empty space on your plate, you feel less deprived.  A lot of times there is a psychological factor. 

Original Post by bonnysaxon:

Some tips I have come up with:

Take a box of pasta (or whatever) and pre-portion out the serving amount (2 measly ounces) on a scale and put it in a snack-size zippy bag.  You'll get 8 bags for a pound box - and then put all 8 bags back into the box.  Then when you are in a hurry, it's ready to grab without digging the scale out.  I do this for my M&M's because I get started on those and I lose track very quickly.  (And yes, I do allow myself M&M's once in a while!)

This is a GREAT idea! Why hadn't I ever thought of that!?

(I'd love to know the other body measurements you have, also... I've been staring at my fingertips for about five minutes now. XD)