“Easy ways to cut portions, trim calories, and lose fat without counting the minutes until your next meal!”
To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume, which inevitably means one thing: portion control. But you’re not necessarily doomed to a growling stomach until you reach your goal. “Portion control” doesn’t mean you have to eat tiny portions of everything, or you feel like you’re on a diet because you need to eat fewer calories. There are different ways to cut portions without feeling hungry!
Here are 10 easy tweaks to cut portions, trim calories, and lose fat without counting the minutes until your next meal:
1. Start with a glass of H2O
Drink 16 ounces (a big glass) of water before you eat. Filling your belly with water will naturally make you less likely to overeat, plus, some symptoms of dehydration may actually be what’s causing your rumbling belly, so sipping some water before you eat may eliminate your “hunger” altogether.
2. Add veggie fillers
Bulking up your meals with veggies is one easy way to cut calories while filling you up fast. Spinach, for example, can be used as a sandwich-topper or can add fiber and nutrients to pasta and stir-fries. Other ideas to eat more veggies: swap in mushrooms for half the ground meat in most recipes, make oatmeal more filling with diced apples, and use a whole-wheat pita in place of bread so you can stuff it with more veggies.
3. Dine on dinnerware that helps you lose
The color of your plate may influence how much you eat, according to a 2012 Cornell University study. The researchers discovered that when a plate and the food on it had a low color-contrast (like pasta with Alfredo sauce on a white plate), people at a buffet served themselves 22% more than when there was a higher color-contrast (like pasta with red sauce on a white plate or pasta with Alfredo sauce on a red plate). The study conclusions suggest that if you want to eat less, select plates that have a color-contrast to the food you’re eating for dinner. Or if you want to eat more healthy foods, like a bigger salad, eat greens from a large green plate or bowl.
4. Make carbs the topper instead of the base
Rethink the way you use grains and starches. Take a breakfast parfait, for instance: instead of starting with a granola base, fill your cup with yogurt and then sprinkle just a tiny amount of granola on top for the crunch you crave. Making a stir-fry? Load up your plate with veggies and a serving of lean protein, then add a quarter cup of brown rice.
5. Work for your food
Here’s another way to slow down your eating: munch on foods that require shelling, peeling, or individual unwrapping. Oranges, edamame, and pistachios in their shells are healthy options.
6. Don’t eat from the bag or box
When you sit down with a bag of chips, do you really know how many you’re eating? Researchers from Cornell University searched to answer this question in a study and found that people ate 50% more chips when they were given no visual cues as to how large a portion should be. So if you buy a bag of pretzels or tin of nuts that contains 10 servings, divide the contents of the container into 10 smaller baggies ahead of time.
7. Slurp your appetizer
Before you dive into your entrée, have some soup. Research has shown that starting a meal with soup may help you reduce your overall calorie intake. In a 2007 study, people who ate soup before their lunch entrée reduced their total calorie intake by 20%. Your best bet: a broth-based soup, preferably with veggies to help you feel full from the natural fiber.
8. Use smaller serve ware and dishes
In a Cornell University study, 85 students gathered for an ice cream social to celebrate the success of their finals. They were randomly given either a small or large bowl, or a small serving scoop or large serving scoop. Then, the students were asked to complete a brief survey while the study researchers secretly weighed their bowls. Those given the larger bowls served themselves 31% more without realizing it, while those who used the larger scoop unknowingly served themselves 14.5% more. Moral of the story? Dish up your own food with a small utensil onto a small bowl or plate, and chances are you’ll eat less.
9. End your meal with a new kind of sweet treat
Many people have trained themselves to expect a sweet treat at the end of a meal. Swap into a new, healthier ritual after meals to signal that you’re done eating. My recommendation is to brew a flavorful decaf tea like peppermint, cinnamon, chocolate, or one of your favorite fruity varieties for low-or-no-calorie sweet-tooth satisfier.
10. Tweak your lifestyle
It’s a familiar story: You pledge to honor a daily routine and count every last calorie. But soon, you’re eating cupcakes at the office and grabbing happy hour mojitos, thinking, Oops, diet over.
There is a better way: Swap the all-or-nothing approach for one or two healthy switch-ups in your daily routine. “Doing this can lead to more weight loss than you ever imagined!”
In fact I knocked off 10 pounds with some of my easy tweaks. 🙂