Weight-Loss Portion control tips?

Weight-Loss
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mikehende

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One of my major problems with dieting is "portion control". I read on another site that if I should eat a sala before lunch and dinner, it will "curb" my appetite so I will eat less, to this I have to say "BS". I tried this yesterday having my mom cook a really delicious meal, guess what? After eating the salad and I am talking a hefty helping of salad, I ate "twice" as much as I would normally do, I am ashamed to say. It's like the salad accelerated my appetite.
I did have to wait past my regular eating time though for my mom to finish cooking and I was starving so was that the reason why this did not work? I will give it another shot, this time I will eat on time to see if it can help. Has anyone else tried this? Also, what other tips can anyone offer here for portion control please? Thanks.
 
I use portion control as well . What I like about it is that I dont deny myself anything I want ...I just cut way down on what I eat . I measure almost everything .

The only hint that I could really offer here is that there is a difference in between feeling "satisfied" and full . I used to think I needed to feel full to feel satisfied and now I have found that is not true .

I used to feel hungry after eating my "portions" . After a while my body trained to be satisfied with those amounts and now it doesnt bother me but it took some time . Its like training your body with exercise ...it all takes time .

Feel free to PM me with any more questions I am not sure if that really helped but let me show you what a day is like for me .

Breakfast : Cup of cereal and half a cup of 1% milk
Lunch : 2 cups of tomato soup and one cup of cottage cheese and unlimited plain lettuce
Dinner : 4 oz of meat (whatever it is ) one cup of pasta and one cup of veggies

Snacks can vary but : 1 oz of chips , 1 serving of crackers , half a cup of icecream or sherbert . 1 serving of fruit , ect.
 
I am measuring EVERYTHING! And am eating slower so that I learn when I am full............not over full. Sometimes when we eat we eat passed that full mark because we are still just eating and not realizing we are full.
 
I think I've just experienced what you guys are telling me here. Again, for lunch today, I was late in getting my lunch prepared in time and I was starving just like last week when I attempted portion control by eating a salad before lunch, the difference between the last time and this time is, last time I ate the salad separately in a bowl about 15 minutes before lunch and you saw what happened [in my first post above]. This time around, I put the big helping of salad in the plate itself and put 2/3 of the amount of food that I would normally have on the plate. I then ate all of the salad first before attacking the rice and fish, what I noticed was that I was starting to feel satisfied by the time I had finished the salad and half way through the rice and fish, I was feeling "full" but I ate all anyway, tsk tsk [shame on me].
For dinner though, in a couple of hours, I will try this again with the exact same food but this time I will put "half" the amount of fish and rice on the plate that I had for lunch and then see what happens, will report back here afterwards.
 
well, very happy to report here everyone, that eating the salad before the meal worked! As a matter of fact, I was still a little full at dinner time but had to eat dinner at the scheduled time due to the low blood sugar thing, anyway, I used only 1/2 the amount of food that I had at lunch.The only problem I am foreseeing with this is I don't know how I am going to handle eating the "Rabbit grass" everyday, any ideas/options?
 
One option that I have used is soup ...usually clear broth soups or tomato soup ...I get my veggie count up with tomato soup and it does fill me up quite a bit . You can try that and you can also try drinking a glass of water as well....

Naida
 
you should never really be "starving". if you're eating the right foods and regularly (every 3 hours minimum) then you shouldn't really ever be that hungry.
 
wish this were true but I have always had both a very healthy appetite and quick metabolism even from childhood so now that I have to cut back to eat just 1/4 of the regular portion of food that I have been eating since forever and also cut back on the number of meals per day, I am always straving but I am making progress and people tell me that soon my body will get accustomed to this new trend and I won't feel hungry all the time, can't wait for that to happen!
 
why are you cutting back on the number of meals per day? you should be eating between 4-6 each day. i've a huge appetite to and have drastically reduced the number of calories i eat, but i eat every 2.5 - 3 hours and am never hungry. how many calories are you eating per day? and how often do you eat?
 
neenaw is right on the dot, increase the number of meals per day to eating once every about 3 hours. Not only does this speed up your metabolism, it also helps greatly with portion control.

I do the same as neenaw, i always have something in my stomach. My body always has food to process so my metabolism never dips hardcore and my stomach never growls. Its the right way to eat, the only way.
 
I haven't begun counting the calories yet as I haven't bought the Food Scale, I am getting all of the info I need together now so that when I get the scale which should be within the next 2 weeks or so, then I will spread it out to 5-6 meals, right now I am only having 3 meals per day with 1 fruit in the morning and some dry-roasted peanuts in the evening as in-between snack.
 
Hi guys, just wanted to update you all on my situation, I still haven't gotten the digital food scale, waiting for the price to go down a little but I have good news, it's been a couple of weeks since I started paying attention to portion control and I am very pleased to say, it's WORKING!! I am down to 190 consistently now [5 lbs to go], anyway, the tips are working, I eat salad before lunch and dinner and drink water and this makes me eat less per meal and I am full for 3 hours at least. When I get the scale then I will really fine tune everything, just wanted you guys to know how things are going and wanted to say THANKS!!!
p.s. My cousin told me that when you eat less your intestines shrink and when you eat more it expands and that the intestines quickly adapt to the new method of eating.
 
Just an update, I realize now that with the water and salad before eating lunch and dinner, I feel full about half way into the meal but make sure I finish everything, problem here is, I don't want to "under-eat", is there such a thing?
 
I still did not get the Digital food scale so I can't be accurate but I think I am just under or close to 2500 per day which is what is recommended for my BMI, thanks.
 
Well folks, I am very happy to report that my weight is now where I want it, didn't think it would happen this quickly but I think I have the hang of this now. There's no need for me to use a food scale or keep records or even count calories anymore, I believe it is the combination of a glass of water and salad before lunch and dinner and portion control is simply what is doing the trick for me. I haven't been exercising for the last 2 or 3 weeks and the weight still came off, my stomach is now flat even without the situps.
I will get the Treadclimber eventually and I am still waiting on the Pilates AB workout DVD, with these 2 taking care of my exercise needs and maintaining my present eating habits and since I don't have any serious food cravings anymore becuase I eat "anything" I feel like 1 day per week, I have to say that I should be ok from now on and wish to thank EVERYONE on this wonderful forum for all of the great help I have been given and definitely couldn't have done this without you guys, THANK YOU ALL!!! :p
 
Thanks but sorry Wonderwoman, I am definitely not "photogenic" and don't usually take pics of myself anyway, the wife and kids say I have camera-phobia and the only way they get pics of me is either when I am sleeping or they catch me off guard or by some sort of "trickery". :mad: ;)
 
Mike!!!!!!..I am so thrilled for you!!!!....Now you KNOW the meaning of a "lifestyle change"!!!!!!
 
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