Mastering Portion Control: Tips for Measuring Food

One of the biggest reasons for obesity and weight gain is overeating. You’d be surprised how many people are overweight solely due to their inability to control their food portions.

Overeating and binge eating are becoming more common today because we have a lot of influence and distractions at our disposal. Millions of us consume our meals plonked in front of the TV while we watch our favourite shows. And millions of others use food as a coping mechanism to battle life in general, as food also impacts mood in many ways. This sort of distracted eating pattern can prevent us from understanding how much food we are putting in our bodies until it leads to excessive weight gain.

This page aims to help you with some tips to control your meal portions smartly. This will allow you to be consistent with the amount of nutrition your body gets and kickstart your weight-loss journey.

Use TDEE Calculator for Meal Planning

The FITPASS TDEE calculator estimates the total number of calories your body burns in a 24-hour period. This accounts for your resting metabolism, which is the sheer burn your body does just to exist. TDEE also includes your daily movement, workout activity, and workout session duration. This is a smart way to spread out calories throughout the day to avoid energy dips. Besides, it is a good way to reduce fatigue and energy crashes.

• Maintenance: Eating right at your TDEE keeps your weight stable.

• Weight Loss: Eating 15% to 25% below your TDEE creates a safe calorie deficit.

• Weight Gain: Eating 10% to 20% above your TDEE creates a surplus for muscle building

Here's why the TDEE calculator comes in handy to prevent crash diets and overeating.

Check out our blog on TDEE calculators for safe weight loss.

How to Measure Food Portions

1. Use Smaller Plates

This may seem like a bit of a reach, but it works. The perception of a small portion on a large plate tricks your brain into thinking that you’re eating less. So, if you use a smaller plate for your smaller serving, everything will seem proportionate, and you’ll not feel like you’ve had less food. Give it a try.

2. Measure Your Serving Size

This tip is a no-brainer, since what better way to control your portions than to literally measure them? A food scale works great, but you can also use measuring cups instead. If you just want to use whatever’s in your kitchen, take a mug or teacup as your food measuring tool and use the same tool every meal to measure your food portion sizes.

3. Have a Glass of Water Before Meals

Having a glass of water 30 minutes before a meal has been known to help portion control. Drinking water will fill your stomach, making you feel less hungry. This can adequately stop you from eating more than required.

4. Use Visual Cues to Measure Portions

If you’re on a portion control diet but are wary of using special measuring spoons, you can simply compare your serving size with your own hands or other objects. For example, a portion of rice can be compared to the size of your fist or a deck of cards.

5. Delay Second Helpings by 20 minutes

Remember when you had that second helping of your favourite dish but later felt overstuffed and literally unable to move? I think we’ve all been there. This happens because it takes a while for our body to register how much we’ve eaten. If you just had your meal and feel unsatiated, delay that second helping by about 20 minutes. Chances are high that you won’t feel hungry anymore and won’t need that second helping after all.

6. Avoid Doubling Your Carbs

Pasta and garlic bread, a deliciously lovely combo if there ever was one. What we don’t realise, though, is that both of those dishes are carbs. We have this habit of having extra carbs even if we have a high-carb or starchy dish on the plate. All those extra carbs are stored as fats in the body, leading to weight gain. To stop doubling up on carbs, avoid chapati if you’re having rice, say no to the bread if you’re having pasta, and skip the starchy fries if you’re having a burger.

What Should Be Your Portion Size?

We just told you how you can measure and be consistent with your food portions. But what must your portion size be, based on your weight, metabolism, and fitness goals? It can be tricky to manage portion control for weight loss, building muscle, increasing stamina, etc.

A professional nutritionist or dietician is the best person to help you in this regard. Get yourself a dedicated nutritionist who can guide you with a balanced diet and appropriate portion sizes so that you can take the first steps toward your weight loss goal. With FITFEAST, an experienced dietician is at your fingertips

Access personalised nutrition consultation, meal plans, and meal logs with FITFEAST dietitians.

Download the FITPASS app today.