Meal Portioning and Weight Loss

Healthy Weightloss? Setting up goals of losing weight can be difficult as it requires a lot of effort and an iron will to stick with your diet plan and exercise routine. One of the most difficult part of dieting is meal portion control. Why so? Think about it. If you've come from an eating habit where you eat anything you want and as much as you want, wouldn't it be hard to start restricting your food portions all of a sudden?

But you must keep in mind that one of the successful tricks that weight loss experts suggest is healthy meal portioning. By learning how to control the amount or or the number of times you eat, you can slowly tip the scales to a healthier weight.

To make meal portion control easier, here are some simple tips:

1.Learn about serving standards. Knowing how to differentiate a small sized serving from a medium or large-sized one can help you determine whether you've put enough or too much on your plate.
2.Go kiddie size. Notice how kiddie meals are automatically portioned? Then it's perfect for your goal of eating in controlled portions. Not only do you save yourself the hassle of having to deliberate how much to eat, you also get to save money from the cheaper kiddie meal.
3.Close the door on second helpings. Instead of letting leftovers sit on the table to invite you to second helpings, put them aside in the ref or somewhere you won't be tempted to touch them.
4.Pack leftovers into many single-serve containers. By doing so, the next time you'd like to heat them up, you can only heat enough food and avoid the temptation of overeating the entire leftover.
5.Take your meals half and half. You can try cutting your meal in half. Take one half for lunch, save the next half for dinner. You can also split the meal with a friend or ask for one half of the meal be wrapped up for take out before digging in.
6.Spread your meals out. Don't go for the regular 3-meals-a-day routine. Keep your blood sugar at a constant level by eating mini meals throughout the day, best to keep it at least 4 hours apart.
7.Veggies over meaties. If you're used to eating meats in bigger portions than vegetables, it's time to hit reverse and eat more greens than meats. This way, you get more dietary fiber into your diet.

The most important thing that dieters should keep in mind, as a lot of weight loss experts would say, is to not deprive yourself of the things you want. It's okay to indulge in sweets or fatty foods once in a while, so long as you keep it at a controlled amount. Remember that you increase your chances of breaking your diet if you completely cut out forbidden foods.