Playing with Portions

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 1:35 pm

I posted an abbreviated version of this in my check-in, but thought it might be worth some discussion on the No-S side of things.

I am slowly but surely making the amount of food on my plates a bit smaller. I used to have a whole cup of oatmeal for breakfast, but that's starting to make me feel a little too full. I did an experiment of trying a half cup to see how I felt, figuring that if it was too little being a bit too hungry before lunch for ONE day was something I could tough out in the interests of science. So I'd feel hungry for a couple of hours. Big deal. I was HUNGRY for lunch, but not distressingly so, and a normal lunch satisfied. So, that's my normal serving now.

I'm playing with this a bit at meals -- cutting down a LITTLE bit on what I put on plates, with the understanding that if it's THAT bad, I can load up a plate at the next meal, which is never too far away. I am always confident I can tough it out until the next meal now, so the "cost" is low, if that makes any sense. And there's always the potential for S-day chocolate to look forward to.

I would NOT recommend playing like this until you've got a couple months of solid green on your N-Days and you're comfortable with your S-days, mind. I would not have been comfortable allowing myself to feel really hungry for a couple of hours to test anything early on. Too much "diet-head" as some people would name it. If feeling hunger is still emotionally distressing or triggering (and it was for me for a long time due to some extreme diets I used to go on) then this is not at all going to be useful. But it might be if your weight loss is slower than you want and you want to explore it. It's a little more systematic than the "gentle pressure" that Reinhard talks about, but not much.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 2:00 pm

I have one question: is that 1/2 cup cooked or dry oatmeal?

I've also been reducing my portions, but when it started it wasn't a decision as in "I think I'll try this" as much as it was a realization that I didn't need to fill my plate. If I filled my plate and finished it, I was often just short of being uncomfortably "full." I could eat less and still not be overly hungry before the next meal.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 2:24 pm

Those were dry measurements.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 2:51 pm

hehe -- I've never cooked more than 1/2 cup oatmeal for myself -- and I can barely get that down. Oatmeal is a desperation meal for me -- I only eat it when I'm desperate. Well, that's not quite true. Occasionally it sounds good -- but it always sounds better than it actually is! Just not a fan of oatmeal. Steel cut is worse than rolled oats.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 3:06 pm

wosnes wrote:hehe -- I've never cooked more than 1/2 cup oatmeal for myself -- and I can barely get that down. Oatmeal is a desperation meal for me -- I only eat it when I'm desperate. Well, that's not quite true. Occasionally it sounds good -- but it always sounds better than it actually is! Just not a fan of oatmeal. Steel cut is worse than rolled oats.

Everybody's so different in their likes and needs, aren't they?

Noel, I think your idea of "playing with portions" is a good one. I've noticed that I as sometimes full before my plate is done... but I have such a strong "clean your plate" habit that I sometimes override that. Not a good thing. And you're right that, at this point, I'm not afraid of a little hunger. I've managed when dinner is late, etc., just fine.

I agree that this strategy is not for the novice, but it is something for those with solid habits to consider.

Thanks!!

Over43 · Post by **Over43** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 5:21 pm

I tink my problem with the last few weeks has been not having enough, particularly for breakfast. In the Fall, before Christmas I was eating bigger "heavier" breakfasts. I noticed yesterday I was eating two eggs instead of 4-5, and by 10-10:30 AM I was snacking. (And not realizing it, how does that happen?)

So starting Monday I'll go back to the bigger breakfast and lunch.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 5:41 pm

Over43 wrote:I was eating two eggs instead of 4-5.

Wow, I eat one. I don't think I've ever eaten more than two!

DaveMc · Post by **DaveMc** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 6:08 pm

This is exactly what I did, during that first year when I lost 20 pounds on NoS: when I wanted to speed things up in terms of weight loss, I played with eating just a touch less per meal. (I always say that I lost 20 pounds in a year, but a suspect that I really lost most of them in the second six-month period, once I'd got the habits firmly down.)

I really think one of the biggest benefits of NoS is that it makes you *very* familiar with how much food you actually need to eat, to carry you through to the next meal. That's useful information in all kinds of ways, including for weight loss purposes: you know how much you normally eat, and you also have confidence that eating just a tetch less than that is not going to be fatal.

Blithe Morning · Post by **Blithe Morning** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 6:37 pm

I've been eating legal portions lately and feel full, not just afterwards but all day long. A lot of this eating has occurred while eating out, most of which centered around my son getting ready to go back to Camp Pendelton after being home on post-deployment leave.

I miss my son but it's a relief to have things back to normal, food wise.