How to Eat Less During a Meal
Opt for protein., Choose high fiber foods., Eat water-based foods., Measure your food., Read labels., Invest in portion control plates., Use tricks to gauge portion size.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Opt for protein.
Protein is essential to a healthy diet and leaves you feeling full faster than most foods.
A solid serving of protein at meals can help you eat less, as you'll fill up faster.
Make sure to opt for healthy sources of protein, like lean meats, fish, and poultry.Check serving sizes when fixing protein.
Some protein foods may be high calorie, so you may want to avoid large servings.
If you're ordering at a restaurant, see if you can get half of something like, say, a steak boxed up before being served.
You can take it home and eat it later.
Restaurant servings tend to be larger. -
Step 2: Choose high fiber foods.
Fiber tends to fill you up.
Stock your plate with high fiber foods at meals.
In addition to helping you feel full faster, fiber will keep you full long term.
This will prevent you from snacking after dinner.Go for low calorie sources of fiber, like beans, vegetables, and whole grains.
When eating out, swap white grains for whole grains when you can.
Ask for brown rice instead of white rice, for example. , Water will fill you up without adding calories to your meal.
Fruits and vegetables tend to have high water content, so pack your plate with plenty of produce.
Go for things like grapes, cucumbers, lettuce, and tomatoes.
Soups that have a lot of broth also have a high water content.When eating out, order a side salad or have a salad before your main meal. , Invest in measuring cups or a kitchen scale at a local department store.
These devices will help you correctly measure out portion size.
If you're just estimating, it's easy to go overboard when preparing your food.
For instance, if your can of beans says half a cup is a serving, make sure you only take half a cup of beans., Oftentimes, you accidentally consume more calories due to deceptive labeling.
This can cause you to ingest larger portions that you realize.
While a pre-made side salad may claim it's only 250 calories, this may be the "per serving" amount.
The package itself may contain two servings, giving you 500 calories for a side dish.Make a habit of checking serving size each time you're preparing a meal.
If a food contains multiple servings in a package, make sure to only eat that amount.
Avoid eating straight out of a package, as this makes it hard to measure how much you're eating.
Instead, measure out a serving and eat only that.
If you have difficulty not eating, say, an entire package of chips, look for bags with only one serving per package.
You can go for 100 calorie bags of chips as side dishes instead of larger bags that contain two or more servings. , Portion controlled plates are plates divided into sections for starch, protein, and vegetables.
You can buy portion controlled plates at some department stores or online.
You can use them to eat less by filling your plate with the correct portion sizes of food at each meal., Portion size can be confusing, especially if it's explained in terms like "ounces" and "cups." There are a number of general rules of thumb you can use to remind yourself of proper portion sizes without having to stop and measure.A serving of meat is about as big as a bar of soap.
A serving of pasta should be roughly the size of your fist.
Three ounces of fish is about the size of a checkbook.
A teaspoon of oil is about the size of your tip of your thumb.
A tablespoon is about the size of your whole thumb.
Servings of fruits and vegetables should be the size of a baseball or tennis ball. -
Step 3: Eat water-based foods.
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Step 4: Measure your food.
-
Step 5: Read labels.
-
Step 6: Invest in portion control plates.
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Step 7: Use tricks to gauge portion size.
Detailed Guide
Protein is essential to a healthy diet and leaves you feeling full faster than most foods.
A solid serving of protein at meals can help you eat less, as you'll fill up faster.
Make sure to opt for healthy sources of protein, like lean meats, fish, and poultry.Check serving sizes when fixing protein.
Some protein foods may be high calorie, so you may want to avoid large servings.
If you're ordering at a restaurant, see if you can get half of something like, say, a steak boxed up before being served.
You can take it home and eat it later.
Restaurant servings tend to be larger.
Fiber tends to fill you up.
Stock your plate with high fiber foods at meals.
In addition to helping you feel full faster, fiber will keep you full long term.
This will prevent you from snacking after dinner.Go for low calorie sources of fiber, like beans, vegetables, and whole grains.
When eating out, swap white grains for whole grains when you can.
Ask for brown rice instead of white rice, for example. , Water will fill you up without adding calories to your meal.
Fruits and vegetables tend to have high water content, so pack your plate with plenty of produce.
Go for things like grapes, cucumbers, lettuce, and tomatoes.
Soups that have a lot of broth also have a high water content.When eating out, order a side salad or have a salad before your main meal. , Invest in measuring cups or a kitchen scale at a local department store.
These devices will help you correctly measure out portion size.
If you're just estimating, it's easy to go overboard when preparing your food.
For instance, if your can of beans says half a cup is a serving, make sure you only take half a cup of beans., Oftentimes, you accidentally consume more calories due to deceptive labeling.
This can cause you to ingest larger portions that you realize.
While a pre-made side salad may claim it's only 250 calories, this may be the "per serving" amount.
The package itself may contain two servings, giving you 500 calories for a side dish.Make a habit of checking serving size each time you're preparing a meal.
If a food contains multiple servings in a package, make sure to only eat that amount.
Avoid eating straight out of a package, as this makes it hard to measure how much you're eating.
Instead, measure out a serving and eat only that.
If you have difficulty not eating, say, an entire package of chips, look for bags with only one serving per package.
You can go for 100 calorie bags of chips as side dishes instead of larger bags that contain two or more servings. , Portion controlled plates are plates divided into sections for starch, protein, and vegetables.
You can buy portion controlled plates at some department stores or online.
You can use them to eat less by filling your plate with the correct portion sizes of food at each meal., Portion size can be confusing, especially if it's explained in terms like "ounces" and "cups." There are a number of general rules of thumb you can use to remind yourself of proper portion sizes without having to stop and measure.A serving of meat is about as big as a bar of soap.
A serving of pasta should be roughly the size of your fist.
Three ounces of fish is about the size of a checkbook.
A teaspoon of oil is about the size of your tip of your thumb.
A tablespoon is about the size of your whole thumb.
Servings of fruits and vegetables should be the size of a baseball or tennis ball.
About the Author
Kevin Lopez
Enthusiastic about teaching practical skills techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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