Pursuing Portion Control

elegantportions · Post by **elegantportions** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 5:49 pm

After 18 months and a weight loss of 20 lbs., overall I am quite pleased with Vanilla NoS. None of the rules are a big effort for me; however, my biggest downfall is controlling the amount of food on that one plate.

I really like determining the "what" goes on my plate by using the popular 50% Fruits or Veggies + 25% Protein + 25% Carbs.

As an older lazy woman trying to lose weight, my calorie needs are significantly less than the "standard" American 2000 calories per day. I prefer leaving space on a normal (lunch) plate rather than eating from a full saucer. Unfortunately, my ability to estimate the proper amount of that empty space is non-existent.

Every detailed eating plan I have ever seen establishes some standard portion size and then adjusts calorie intake by varying the prescribed number of portions that fit within the plan. That always winds up being too much accounting for me to use longterm.

Currently I am counting bites (clicking a counter, not actually counting as I eat). That has been incredibly helpful in getting me to be more mindful about my eating and assessing whether I really want to clean the plate or it's okay to leave that last 2-3 bites. For now, I really need that outside number to tell me when to stop.

However, just a few days ago I had a great

moment. If my calorie needs are in the ballpark of 75% of the standard 2000, then my proper portion size should be in the ballpark of 75% of the standard portion! This should be especially helpful for "treat" items. Instead of 12 chips being a moderate, reasonable amount, one serving for me should be limited to 9-10 chips. The difference of one bite here and there really does add up to the difference between control vs. excess over a long period of time.

Now I just need lots of practice to learn my favorite foods. If the label says 1/2 cup, I only want 1/3 cup...

RAWCOOKIE · Post by **RAWCOOKIE** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:10 am

Sounds like you've come up with a good system.
I've read some people also use a smaller plate - could you find a plate that is 75% the size of your current one?

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 4:57 am

Sounds like a plan!

I have some 8" plates that are meant for salad or dessert, I think, and they do look weird with a meal on them. I sometimes use them for lunch but can't bring myself to use them for dinner. THAT makes me feel like I'm on a diet. I know people claim that was standard size, but I have china of my mother's bought in the 60's. They were no bigger than our normal plates when we got the set. They are 10.5"

I use my hand as a ballpark measure. Flat palm for protein, a fist for starch, a thumb or two for fat. A fist of beans if not eating animal protein, though I actually often use a measuring cup (.5 cup) as a scoop for beans and grains because they are often frozen and it's easy. Otherwise all estimates. Those all go on half the plate. I don't try to limit the volume of the other half, but it's definitely more veggie than fruit. I tend not to use separate salad dressing.

I would feel full to bustin' if I consistently ate 2000 calories these days.

Let us know how it goes.

elegantportions · Post by **elegantportions** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 4:21 pm

I would feel full to bustin' if I consistently ate 2000 calories these days.

Exactly! I'm trying to get my "dished up" measures down so I can clean my plate and stop "wasting" food or having to pay so much attention to whether I am full yet or not. It is just WAY too easy for me to eat whatever is there and not realize I've had more than enough until it is too late. Sigh...

Somewhere recently I read 5 S's for mindful eating that are tremendously helpful: Sit down, smell, savor, slowly chew, smile. Kinda hard to 5S and NoS at the same time, but still encouraging.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:02 pm

One step at a time.

Though interestingly, in Judith Beck's program from a few years ago, one of the first steps even before dieting was to sit down to eat (day 3) and to savor every bite of food (slow down and be mindful, day 5) . Those were skill she said a person should use from then on out. I guess we'd say they then become habits. There were 14 of these steps before a person actually started her "diet." Beck is big on planning all food to start, including calorie counting. I just never got to that part!

After the "diet" started, days 17 and 18 were Learn to Stop Overeating and Redefine Full. I guess those would correlate to aiming for 75% portions.

She listed each skill on a separate subsequent day, but stated earlier that it might take more than a day to master each skill. (no kidding!)

I was reviewing the table of contents and realize it wouldn't hurt me to review a few skill pages.

Thanks for bringing this up!