How I Mastered Portion Control

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Since starting my journey to reach my health and fitness goals in January, I think I've come a long way.  I worked out a lot up until June.  Then in June, I reached a point where it seemed I just needed to trim some fat, and I knew portion control would help.  Prior to that I counted calories which I began to realize, was NOT working.  I wasn't eating proper portions.  If I could consume an entire Subway sub and not go over my daily caloric goal, I did so.  All that did was make me hungrier and hungrier.  The key to portion control is keeping portions small, so your stomach is smaller, so you fill up sooner.  You can snack a couple times during the day to satisfy your hunger, but keep the portions small.

Basically what I did the past month was:
Breakfast:
1 cup of coffee w/ creamer and sugar
1 chocolate chip muffin with butter

**I know, it may seem filling, but it was, and it was what I need to kick start myself in the morning.

AM Snack: 100 Calorie bag of snacks from the snack aisle at the grocery store

Lunch:
A Spinach Salad
or
Leftovers from the night before whether it be Pizza, Sub, or leftover Chinese, I still kept my portions small.  Also, I eat tuna packets on a regular basis.  They come with crackers and mayo.  Even if I ate a crappy lunch like a slice of pizza, I kept it small. One slice is better than 3!

PM Snack:
A protein bar (200 calories usually).  This gave me energy between lunch and dinner and I work out when I get home so by the time I get home from work, I had an extra burst of energy!
Dinner:
Meat, veggies, rice is what I have most often.  I keep the portions small and the second I start to feel satisfied I stop!

Tips for Portion Control:
- To teach yourself portion control, leave a little bit left on your plate from each type of food during every meal.
- Don't go for seconds!
- If you eat a bit more at dinner you will be less likely to snack before bed.


So I trimmed a lot of fat off of my midsection which was my problem area before.  I am still amazed! I've totally adjusted to the smaller portions after about 2 weeks.  I used to be starving when it was time for my AM and PM snack, but not anymore.  I dropped a couple pounds within a month.  And now, when I try to eat too much, I literally feel stuffed so I can easily stop myself!!

Anyone else have any other tips or success stories? Please feel free to share below! And remember...you CAN do it...I did!

5 comments:

  1. What great advice! I found you via the Follow me Wednesday and am happy to be your newest follower! I'd love a follow back at http://www.two-in-diapers.blogspot.com! :)

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  2. I should try this I have a big problem with filling my entire plate with food

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  3. Portion control is one of the most important things to keep your calories under control! Just stoppin' in from a hop. Already a follower! Have a great weekend!

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  4. these are some great tips!! What I found that helped me lose over 30 lbs is Weight Watcher's. You can eat ANYTHING YOU WANT....there are 2 programs, you don't have to count points every day (which some people think that you do)
    You learn that the fat/calories lie in processed foods (much of what you ate above, if you changed with whole grains, etc it would have curbed your hunger even more!)

    I swear by Weight Watcher's!!!

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  5. You are on point about portion control. Another thing I do is eliminate processed foods from my diet. THis works wonders.

    I found you on Tough Cookie Mommy's Monday Mingle. I'm at www.Turborunner.com Would love to have you over there :)

    ReplyDelete

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