Controlling Portion Sizes | Cutting Calories (2024)

FAQs

Controlling Portion Sizes | Cutting Calories? ›

To eat smaller portions, try the following ideas

Research has shown that people almost always eat more food when offered larger portions. So portion control is important when you're trying to lose weight and keep it off.

If you overall consume less calories by way of having smaller portions then normal, then eating smaller portions will help you lose weight. If you eat less each meal, can you lose weight? If you eat less each meal AND are in a caloric deficit, then yes you can and you WILL lose weight.

While it's not possible to shrink your stomach, it is possible to change how your stomach adjusts to hunger and feelings of fullness. Researchers have found that over time, you can become accustomed to feeling fuller with smaller amounts of food.

People hear low-calorie and immediately think, “eat less food”. Now while that can be true, it doesn't have to be true. You can certainly eat larger portions of foods and still lose weight and fat. You'll just have to make different food choices and "eat for volume".

In one day, you would consume 1,595 more calories than if you had the same foods at typical portions served 20 years ago. Over the course of one year, if consumed daily, the larger portions could amount to more than 500,000 extra calories.

High-fiber foods not only provide volume but also take longer to digest, making you feel full longer on fewer calories. Vegetables, fruits and whole grains all contain fiber. Popcorn is a good example of a high-volume, low-calorie whole grain. One cup of air-popped popcorn has about 30 calories.

Try bulking up your portions with veggies, eating more protein or tricking your mind by using smaller plates. These simple tips can help you control food portions without feeling hungry.

How do I make my stomach smaller portions? ›

Eat slowly

By taking smaller bites and enjoying every mouthful, you will feel full without eating too much. Our brain takes around 20 minutes to register that you are full after eating, so eating slowly can reduce your total food intake. Just give your stomach some time to signal your brain that it's already full.

For salad and other raw greens, aim for portions that equal about two baseballs. With cooked vegetables like broccoli, each portion should be the size of about one baseball.

To perform a manual calculation, moderately active people can multiply their current body weight by 15 to estimate how many calories they would need each day. Anything less than this is a deficit.

It's a simple but effective strategy: Serve yourself less food and you'll eat less, and lose weight as a result. Still, downsizing portions is only one piece of the puzzle, however. For weight control—and good health—there are foods you'll actually want to eat more of.

Smaller portions may help to reduce energy intake. However, there may be a limit to the magnitude of the portion size reduction that can be made before consumers respond by increasing intake of other food immediately or at later meals.

A slow, even rate of weight loss — such as 1 lb (0.45 kg) or 0.5–1% of your body weight per week — is best for a cutting diet. Although a larger calorie deficit may help you lose weight faster, it can increase your risk of losing muscle, which is not ideal for this diet.

If you have a goal of weight loss, volume eating can be a helpful way to manage calories without actually having to count calories. In volume eating, having a large amount of food on your plate doesn't necessarily mean more calories—this is good news if you are trying to maintain a calorie deficit.

Research has not shown that eating frequent small meals increases weight loss success, though it may have other health advantages. Eating more often may decrease the feelings of hunger that can sabotage anyone's good intentions.