India is home to a culture that loves food. We accept large portions of different food courses, and have also been raised to clear our plates, leaving no food wasted. All good habits of course, but even if all these are healthy foods, it has an impact on our weight and health. So we end up cutting down on random foods to lose weight, but it doesn’t always work as we expect it to.
That’s because when it comes to healthy eating or weight loss, it’s not just what you eat – it’s also how much. Portion control is a simple yet powerful tool that helps you manage your food intake without necessarily having to cut out your favorite foods. Whether you’re trying to figure out what is portion control, ideal food sizes to support your weight management journey, or how to make better food choices as a whole, this guide covers it all. We’ll prepare you to not just eat less, but eat smart.
Why Portion Control Matters
Bigger portion sizes have recently been linked to the rising rates of obesity. Large portions of food and drinks provide more energy to the body. So while our energy intake keeps increasing, it becomes harder for our body to regulate and maintain an energy balance. This leads to obesity. (1)
The size of packaged foods also influences our food and energy intake. How many of us really share those “family packs” of our favorite chips? Most people can down an entire packet of chips on their own while binging their favorite show, and not even realize it!
It’s thus important to keep an eye on our food portion sizes to stop ourselves from overeating, and prevent the development of obesity. Managing our food intake with portion control is one of the most effective strategies when learning how to reduce appetite without feeling deprived of food.
What’s True Hunger vs. Cravings?
Hunger is a basic instinctive emotion. When our body needs energy, it makes us feel hunger. You ever heard your stomach growling and rumbling if you haven’t eaten for too long? Or headaches and dizziness that come on suddenly when you were fine just a moment ago? That’s your body saying, “Feed me!!”
Cravings on the other hand are not exactly from your body, but your mind’s game. A craving for something is just an intense desire for it, usually a psychological or emotional trigger rather than a biological need. The “hangry” feeling comes from cravings – your emotions are trying to urge you to satisfy your cravings. Notice you’ll even crave a specific food or texture of food; while hunger is more generalized, your body just needs any food to replenish its energy.
You shouldn’t fight your hunger, for the sake of your health. Ignoring basic bodily needs will only backfire on your health. But cravings are easy to ignore as they usually don’t even last as long as genuine hunger. Try not to fall for your emotional cravings, it’ll affect your overall portion control efforts.
Strategies to Eat Less and Feel Full
But how to reduce appetite in the face of cravings or real hunger? How to make our food portion sizes smaller while still giving our body everything it needs? Here’s a few tips that will help you practice portion control for weight loss or just to accomplish healthier eating:
1. Portion Control Plates: Design your plate as a visual representation of a healthy balanced meal – with appropriate amounts of food groups. Think of it as a diet pie chart, and place your foods accordingly in the recommended portions. One study divided meal plates in a way that one half of the plate consisted of vegetables, while the other half was equally divided between protein and carbs. This method not only promotes healthy eating habits but also increases our nutritional knowledge.
2. Pre-portioned Foods (PPF): Snack foods, liquid meals, or even meal prepping are kinds of PPFs that provide appropriate portions of food or nutrients. Meal prepping is when we prepare amounts of food, or whole plates of food, in advance. PPFs not only minimize our decision time but also support weight loss. (2)
3. Use Smaller Plates: As silly as it might sound, even switching out the big plates or bowls for smaller ones will help you control your food portion sizes. With a smaller utensil, you’ll automatically take lesser food at a time, which will lower our energy and food intake.
Rather than eating less, learning how to reduce appetite altogether is key. These simple strategies help you eat smaller portions while still feeling full and energized throughout the day.
Color Psychology for Controlling Portions
Did you know that colors can affect us to the point of even stimulating or discouraging our appetites? A study showed that red and blue color bowls or plates can make food taste saltier than it actually might be, while serving the same food in white plates didn’t feel as salty. More so, serving food or snacks in red colored dishes made them undesirable! So maybe even try changing the color of your serving dish next time to try to keep your food portion sizes in check. (3)
Foods as Appetite Suppressants
Apart from making our portions smaller for each meal, there are some foods that reduce appetite that we can add to our daily diet. These foods satiate our hunger long-term, making sure we don’t start feeling hungry for a good amount of time after eating them.
1. Proteins: These are the most satiating nutrients, which means proteins make us feel more full and for a longer time. Beans, peas, lean meats, eggs, etc. are some foods that can help suppress our hunger, thereby reducing appetite. Starting your day with eggs specifically helps you feel full throughout the day and preserves your energy.
2. High Fiber Foods: Our body takes longer to digest fiber, so this gives the body the illusion that it’s full and doesn’t need more food. Whole grains, fruits like apples and avocado, almonds, vegetables are some fiber-rich foods.
3. Green Tea Extract: Many of us had been recommended green tea as a weight loss solution. But do we know how this works? Studies have shown that green tea boosts metabolism and also reduces our hunger. After having green tea, you tend to eat lesser at the next meal.
4. Dark Chocolate: Funnily enough, dark chocolate is actually better for satisfying our “sweet tooth” than milk chocolate. It also reduces our cravings for something sweet. So try ending your meal with dark chocolate as dessert to make sure you don’t feel like eating much later. (4)
5. Gymnema Sylvestre (Gurmar): This is an Indian medicinal plant that has long been used as an anti-diabetes remedy. It’s another solution for sugar cravings; it reduces our ability to taste sweetness. So because we can’t taste sweet stuff, we stop craving it.
Eating such foods that reduce appetite and suppress cravings is another strategy of portion control for weight loss. Building eating habits to decrease our appetite over a period of time will slowly make our diet healthier and help us maintain appropriate energy intake and food portions.
Final Thoughts
Monitoring and controlling our food portions is an important component of healthy eating, which is often ignored. It’s effective for managing or losing weight, maintaining our health, and making sure we get appropriate quantities of essential foods without the feeling of being too full. Learning how to eat less and feel fuller is not complicated, just requires a handy guide. So try our tips to master portion control and eating lesser, but better.
FAQs
Q1. How does portion control work?
Portion control means being mindful of not just what but also how much we’re eating. This helps us avoid overeating, manage our weight and health, and slowly incorporate a healthier eating routine into our lives.
Q2. How to portion control for weight loss?
By controlling the size of food portions, we can reduce our overall calorie intake. Portion control also helps us manage overeating and encourages a healthy diet. This way, it contributes to weight loss efforts.
Q3. Why is portion control important?
Portion control is important as it helps us maintain our weight, prevent overeating, and manage our calorie intake. This way, it can lower the risk of obesity and other health issues.
Q4. How can I naturally reduce my appetite?
Foods rich in proteins and fiber are good appetite-suppressants. Green tea also helps us reduce appetite by controlling feelings of hunger.
Q5. How to control food cravings?
To control or suppress food cravings, maintain a routine of having balanced meals and be mindful about eating habits. If cravings persist, try to keep yourself distracted from them by engaging yourself in activities and avoiding things that will trigger the cravings.