Reducing your portion size is an effective way to decrease your daily caloric intake while still eating the foods you enjoy. To maximize the amount of weight you lose each month, you will need to create a calorie deficit by reducing the number of calories you consume with your meals and beverages. Although it may be difficult at first, rationing your portion sizes and cutting out excess consumption can lead to significant weight loss results.
Daily Calorie Goal
To accurately control your portion sizes, you will need to determine a daily calorie goal that matches your weight loss plan. The LIVESTRONG Daily Plate is one tool that gives you a daily caloric value calculated from factors such as height, weight, age and activity level. For example: a lightly active 60-year-old who is 6 feet tall and weighs 160 lbs. would need to reduce their daily caloric intake to 1,341 calories a day. Cutting portions can offer a less-dramatic alternative to meal skipping that allows you to reduce your caloric intake to your daily calorie goal.
Portion Size and Weight Loss
The website MayoClinic.com recommends reducing your portion size to help cut the number of calories you consume each day with meals, beverages and snacks. To burn a pound of fat, you will need to reduce your portion size so that you are creating a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories over time. In other words, if you shave 750 calories each day by controlling your portions, you are increasing the rate at which your body loses weight by 1 lb. every four to five days.
Selecting Portion Sizes
An easy way to reduce your portion size is to eat the recommended serving size printed on the back of most food and beverage products. The American Diabetes Association recommends limiting your portions of your diet items to match the suggested serving size. Appropriate portion sizes of some common foods include 3 oz. of meat, fish or poultry, 1 oz. of cheese, 1 cup of milk, 1/3 cup of cooked pasta, ½ cup of potato or corn and ¾ cup of dry cereal. When eating high-calorie foods such as meat and cheese, remember that 1 oz. is roughly the size of your thumb, while 3 oz. can sit inside the palm of an average adult.
Other Weight Loss Techniques
While reducing your portion sizes can offer a significant drop in the amount of calories you consume, some foods and beverages can be eliminated to achieve good results. Soft drinks offer empty calories that add to the total number of calories you consume while skimping on nutrients and vitamins. Snacks and treats such as candy bars, doughnuts, pastries and other foods can be replaced with healthier alternatives, such as yogurt, nuts and fresh fruit.
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