In today’s world of super sizing and loaded plates at restaurants that make people feel like they’re getting their money’s worth, it’s not surprising that many people have no idea what an appropriate portion size should look like. Think of a bowl of cereal. Most people probably pour at least twice the amount of cereal in their bowl compared to what the serving size listed on the box reads.
Getting more for your money has lead to the high rate of obesity and other health related problems. Just because you’re getting lager portions for a little more doesn’t mean you’re doing yourself any favors health wise. In the long run, it might even end up costing you more money anyways with the medical expenses associated with varied health issues that overeating and obesity can lead to.
What you can do about portion size?
I’m not saying you should go out and buy a food scale to weigh and measure all of your food, unless you really want to. Just become more familiar with what appropriate serving sizes look like. Measure out the bowl of cereal once to get an idea of what one serving should look like. Most cereals range from 3/4 to 1 cup per serving. When eating meat, the appropriate serving size should be about the size of a deck of cards. Start looking at labels. You might be surprised.
It’s hard to stop at one serving when you have an excessive amount sitting in front of you. The best way to avoid overeating is to make the food less available. Instead of grabbing the whole bag of chips and eating until you feel full, look at the serving size and take that amount out, then put the bag away. You can even divide the big bag into smaller individual size serving bags when you first open them. That way, it’s easy to grab the right amount each time without having to measure each time.
Plan ahead
Restaurants have made it a little easier to gauge how many calories are in the meals with calories usually listed on menus now. But, if you don’t know how may calories you should be eating in the first place it won’t do you much good. Often, a meal at a restaurant will have almost a day’s worth of calories. I don’t know anyone that only eats one meal a day. Make sure you find out the amount of calories you should be eating and then decide if eating the whole meal is a good idea.
If you have a hard time not eating everything on your plate that was served to you, ask for a to-go container with your order and put half in the box before you start eating. Try not to make buffets a frequent choice when eating out. The endless food and choices make it hard not to overeat.
The goal of eating is to fuel you’re body and it should be enjoyable. You should feel satisfied, not stuffed when you’re done with your meal. You’ll feel better afterwards and know that you’ve taken a step in the right direction towards a healthy lifestyle.
