Counting cups of food is an excellent way to help you lose weight. Measuring your food keeps you in control of your portion size so too many calories are not consumed. It also gives you a visual of the correct portion size so whenever you eat out, you can immediately recognize if your meal is too large or small.
Eat Plenty of Food Within Your Portions
Step 1
Measure 3 cups of lettuce or greens and 2 cups of mixed raw vegetables. Mix them all together and you have a salad. Get used to it if this seems like a lot of food. Vegetables are the one food group that you can over indulge in and not worry so much about calories. This will be your biggest serving of food throughout the day. Eat at least 10 cups of vegetables and greens to maximize your weight loss.
Step 2
Measure your protein with the one cup or half cup measuring cups. Lean meats such as turkey, fish, or chicken can fill the one cup measuring cup to qualify as a serving. Items such as milk, yogurt, or cottage cheese make half cup servings. Find food containers such as miniature bowls, or smaller cups to place your servings in. This gives the illusion of eating more food if you're not quite used to only eating a half cup.
Step 3
Use the half cup measuring cup to measure your starches such as potatoes, corn, or rice. Too many carbohydrates will slow your weight loss. When you work out, carbohydrates are burned first before your fat. Only take in what you need, no more than half a cup per meal, to get to your fat stores faster. Get the majority of your carbohydrates from dark leafy greens instead of breads. Before you know it the weight will start melting off.
Step 4
Drink one cup of water at least every two hours to get your minimum daily serving. Being thirsty is a sign of dehydration, and dehydration can slow your weight loss. Drinking plenty of water can also help keep hunger pains to a minimum and keep you from over eating. It is possible to think you are hungry when you really are dehydrated. When in doubt, drink a cup of water.
Step 5
Minimize eating anything on the fattening, sugary, or salty side of your food cravings. These items are always a half cup serving or less. Ice cream, puddings, cakes, pies, or anything else you really shouldn't be eating a lot of is as at most a half cup size. Take your favorite snack and fix it the way you normally would. Now see how much of it fits into the half cup measuring cup. You now have a visual of what a serving size should be.
Tips and Warnings
- With the exception of vegetables and water, consume only one serving per food group per meal Exercise 3-5 days a week to maximize weight loss Servings still have calories so always be aware of how many calories are in your cup or half cup
Things You'll Need
- 1 cup measuring cup
- 1/2 cup measuring cup
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