I personally found portion control to be one of the more difficult components to get under control (I can binge-eat with the best of them!) but also found it to be one of the most important with regard to realizing meaningful results. There are many benefits to controlling portion sizes which we'll examine more closely including:
- Rapid near term weight loss
- Ability to eat more frequently
- Less time feeling hungry
- More and better modulated energy
- Less gastrointestinal bulk
- More efficient digestion
- Better insulin regulation
How much food do we need?
You would be amazed at, 1) how little food you actually need to get through the day, and 2) how your food choices determine the sheer volume you consume.
To get a general, baseline idea of what your body needs to function on a daily basis, check out this BMR CALCULATOR (Basal Metabolic Rate = the amount of calories/energy your body needs on a daily basis to maintain your current weight and physical proportions. This is rather subjective due to so much being reliant upon your body fat percentage.)
For example, when I run my current body statistics through this calculator, it's telling me that I need 1,770 calories per day just to function. Again, this is assuming no activity.
To take things a step further, we can drill down to see what our caloric needs are based on our activity levels with this HARRIS BENEDICT EQUATION calculator. Continuing my example, I would select the 'Moderately Active' multiplier of 1.55 to yield a daily caloric need of 2,744. This is all well and good, but let's put some perspective on these figures.
I know that I have personally consumed less than 1,770 calories per day while being very active and adhering strictly to a specific diet regime (weighing and portioning out everything while eating specific quality macronutrients). I also know that for me to eat over 2,700 calories per day, it usually means that I'm slipping in a Value Meal or some other fast food/buffet style meal (or two!) to get there. Basically, while being very strict and focused on everything I ate I found it extremely difficult to come close to 2,700 calories per day. I found that 2,200 - 2,400 was the high end and 1,600 - 1,800 to be the low end.
*** As a quick sidenote, let's assume that we're someone who's 20 pounds overweight or above an ideal bodyweight they'd like to be at. Our calculator figures are going to be skewed upward and essentially make it more difficult to trim down to the level we're striving for. Conversely, if we're somebody who's very athletic and muscular and we're 20 pounds over a 'normal' weight due to additional muscle mass, the figure will most likely be too low as it takes more quality calories to fuel muscle than it does fat. ***
Coming full circle, we need to look at the correlation between the number of calories your body actually needs to get through the day and portion sizing. Ideally we want to control our portion sizes to small, easily manageable amounts and have more of them throughout the day. There's no secret there, but the key ingredient will ultimately be the quality and type of food that make up those portions. Today we'll continue looking at the benefits of reducing the portion sizes and in a future post, we'll begin examining the types of foods we should be substituting in.
Rapid Weight Loss
Who doesn't want that when dieting? This happens when you begin making your adjustment to smaller portion sizes. Like anything else, your body adapts and gets used to consistent behaviors/activities with eating being one of them. You can probably think back to a time when a single sandwich or 6" sub filled you up. Then one day you decided 'Wow - I'm hungry! I think I'll have a 12" sandwich today...' The next day, you subtly notice that you're 'pretty hungry' again and feel like you could eat another larger meal. When you do, your body begins to adapt to the larger meal size and it begins to be the new norm. It's hard to break away from that. Just like the habits of having dessert after a meal or snacking while watching TV. As soon as you begin to break that cycle, the easier it gets, the more results you see and the better you feel.
When you do begin to reduce your portions, you will notice that you begin to feel quite hungry. Especially right after your meal and prior to your next meal. This is where you have to dig deep and have a mental battle over whether you actually need that meal/snack/extra bite/etc. It is important that you think 'Will this help me reach my goal?' If you can't truthfully answer 'Yes', then be strong and don't do it!
You'll begin to notice the rapid weight loss benefits within 48 to 72 hours of reducing your portions. This delay happens because your body is literally processing and removing the bulk waste and excess water left over from the larger meals. These biological processes take time, but before you know it your body will begin adapting to your new normal of smaller portions. It is quite normal to see weight losses in the 4 - 7 pound range depending on the individual. Again, this is realized in the first 2 to 3 days of making this change. As you body stabilizes and adapts to the smaller portions, you'll now have a much better idea of what your true baseline bodyweight is.
Eat More Often and Be Less Hungry
Due to the smaller, more frequent meals you can eat more often and have fewer stretches where you're feeling 'starved'. Everybody's schedule is different, but five meals per day should be considered the minimum when adjusting your portion sizes based on your calorie needs. It's important to make the time to fit these into your busy schedule (we'll look into tips on doing this in the weeks ahead). Looking at a daily caloric intake of 2,200, this would equate to five meals at 440 calories per meal. To give you an idea of what that looks like, a 6" Subway Oven Roasted Chicken Breast sub with veggies and no mayonaise/dressing (with a diet soda) clocks in at ~430 calories (the Subway menu actually says less but I'm figuring on ample veggies and variances in bread options). How long would that keep you full for?
If you start your day at 7am and wrap up the last of your five meals at 7pm, you'd be eating every 2.5 hours or so to reach 2,200 calories. That's quite a bit of eating throughout the day for not a whole lot of calories!
Have More Energy Throughout The Day
Eating more frequently and in smaller proportions throughout the day will allow your body to digest more effeciently, utilize the nutrients better and prevent the ups and downs that often come with eating larger meals (again, this is dependent on the type of food - smaller, sugar laden ice cream sundaes won't really help in this area!) What happens is, your body begins adapting to the fact that it's receiving nutrients more frequently and basically switches into a mode where it digests and allocates those nutrients quickly so it can be ready for the next meal. Since you'll be using more energy by being more active, your body will be working hard to ensure those nutrients are used in the best possible manner to repair, adapt and prepare you for next time. In doing all of these amazing things (without you even needing to think about it!) your body is allocating nutrient resources (carbohydrates) for consistent energy throughout the day. It feels great when you get into the habit of eating this way and realize that it's easier to get up in the morning, you don't get tired during the middle of the day and you aren't exhausted when you go to bed!
How To Start Reducing Portions
The best way to start reducing portions is to just start small. For example, going back to our Subway example, go ahead and still order that footlong sub but just eat half - bring the other half with you to eat two or three hours later. A trick I like to use at home is to use a small plate and salad fork. It's mostly psychological, but if I have less room for food on my plate and am using smaller utensils, it's easier to eat less! You've probably heard the suggestion of drinking a lot of water before a meal too. I've personally had limited success with this but will give it a shot when I'm absolutely ravenous. Try it out for yourself and see if it works for you. Another classic suggestion is to eat slower - this one's tough for me. The only way I can usually accomplish this is when I have company during a meal and we're engaged in a solid conversation.
Reducing portion sizes can be mentally tough, but keep thinking: "Will this help me get closer to my goal?"
Get started on reducing your portion sizes today - you'll love the immediate results while setting the stage for meaningful, long lasting changes in the near future! Sphere: Related Content
