Losing weight with portion control is pretty easy if you know how to structure your meals. Choosing the optimal foods for weight loss, eating them at the right times and having frequent meals go a long way toward controlling food portions. In fact, many people grossly underestimate the number of calories they take in. Who has the time to count every gram and calorie taken in? Follow a few simple guidelines to learn how to visualize food portions suitable to your fitness goals.
Step 1
Eat five to six meals per day. This technique will help to control portions because it suppresses hunger, preventing overeating at any one meal. Once you get into the rhythm of eating every two to three hours, you can significantly decrease food cravings and increase your metabolic rate.
Step 2
Try to get 15 to 30 g of protein at each of your meals. The lower end of this range is suitable for snacks, but try to get a little extra protein with breakfast, lunch and dinner. Protein fills you up, controls blood sugar and has a thermic (fat burning) effect on the body. Choose lean sources such as turkey, chicken, fish or egg whites. Whey protein makes a great mid-meal snack, in the form of protein smoothies.
Step 3
Eat a portion of carbohydrates that would fit into your cupped hand. Fitness author Jeff Anderson recommends this visualization technique for controlling portions. Choose carbohydrates that are low-glycemic, for example--oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potatoes, whole grains, apples, berries and grapes.
Step 4
Enjoy some healthy fat with four of your daily meals. "Combat the Fat" recommends four servings of healthy fat a day for optimal weight loss. Undereating fat can be a big mistake that could distance you from your weight loss goals. Choose healthy fats like avocados, nuts and seeds, natural peanut butter, or olive oil. Jeff Anderson recommends a serving of oil the size of your thumb. For nuts and seeds, just have a handful.
Step 5
Drink 12 to 16 oz. of water with every meal. Sip throughout the meal or, even better, drink the water first. Water has an appetite suppressing effect on the stomach. It also acts as a natural thermogenic (accelerating metabolism), according to "Combat the Fat."
Step 6
Have a cheat meal one day per week. Every once and a while your metabolism can benefit from easing up on portion control. Not only does this reduce the emotional and psychological stress of dieting, but it has been shown to elevate metabolism, which can be slowed by caloric restriction, according to "Xtreme Lean" by Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman.
References
- "Combat the Fat"; Jeff Anderson; CQC LLC, 2008
- "Xtreme Lean"; Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman; Ironman Publishing; 2008
- "The Fat Burning Bible"; Mackie Shilstone; John Wiley & Sons Inc.; 2005
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