I don’t need to belabor the obvious: if you want to stay on your diet, you need to watch your portions and follow the serving size. But how does that work and how can you do that without carrying a kitchen scale everywhere you go? And more importantly how can you actually stick to that? Here are some tips.
The general rule
As a general rule a serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards, a serving of rice or pasta is the size of a baseball, and a serving of a dessert is the size of a matchbox. Check out the portion plate.
Or, if you need to be really strict about it, you can actually do a kitchen experiment and use the kitchen scale to measure the food you usually eat (following the calorie counter of whatever diet you’re following). Take a photo of it with your phone, or ‘eyeball’ it so you’ll have a working idea of how much you can eat on a daily basis.
Fool the eye
I know what you’re thinking: damn those servings are small. But you can force yourself into sticking to this portioning by using smaller plates and bowls, which will 1) make you feel less deprived, and 2) force you to physically refill your plate if you want another serving, and the extra effort may be enough to stop you—or at least rethink what you’re doing.
Share with a friend
Eating out? Most restaurants will serve huge plates of food. To avoid binging, share with a friend or ask the waiter to serve just half and wrap the rest—before you even start eating. You can save the leftovers for the next meal
Portion ahead of time
Avoid temptation by dividing food into serving sizes the minute you get home from the supermarket. Get airtight containers to store chips or nuts, or divide meat into individual freezer bags.
[…] Many fitness and diet experts recommend eating five small meals instead of three small meals. These are easier to digest, prevent “energy crashes” and also help you avoid binging. Just stick to the right serving size. […]