Are you ready for your next 12 Months of Fitness (#12MoF) challenge? Check out the introduction to 12 Months of Fitness here. My testers have been tackling this challenge since mid-September and are sharing how they handled practicing portion control.
Are you ready for your next 12 Months of Fitness (#12MoF) challenge? Check out the introduction to 12 Months of Fitness here. My testers have been tackling this challenge since mid-September and are sharing how they handled practicing portion control.
12 Months of Fitness: Challenge #10 – Portion Control
For the next month, your goal is to think about portion sizes. One of the easiest ways to control your caloric intake is to pay careful attention to the size of the portions you are eating. So many times, we think that we’re eating X number of calories in X size portion but then it turns out that you’re eating TWICE the number of calories… and now you’re gaining weight. Let’s really think about portion control.
Suggestions for accomplishing this are:
- Read the serving sizes on everything you eat. Knowing how much you can eat for X number of calories can help you start to visual portions.
- Get out your measuring cups and spoons. Sit down and actually measure out each serving size to stay on track.
- Use this chart to help you track your servings sizes when you can’t measure them.
- Use this handy tool as a way to control your portion sizes in a hurry.
- Help pay closer attention to your portion sizes while cooking with this kitchen tool set.
- Remove food from its container to eat and put it on a plate. You will be tempted to eat less since you’ll only be seeing exactly what your portion sizes are.
- Go ahead and eat that candy or junk food – just know what the portion size is and STICK TO IT.
And to help you stay motivated, here's how it's working out for our #12MoF testers (you can meet them over on our Facebook page!):
"In regards to watching portion size, the strategy that I find to be the most helpful is Cris's tip to remove food from its container to eat and put it on a plate/in a bowl. For example, putting a handful of tortilla chips in a bowl instead of taking the whole bag with me to the couch. The thing is, a normal portion size is usually plenty to satisfy my appetite, but when I have the whole container with me, I overeat, well … just because it's there! Having only a portion size right at hand helps me to stop a sec and reevaluate my hunger before I go back for seconds." {Elizabeth}
"I practiced using measuring cups and spoons for (almost) everything I ate and realized that my portion sizes were out of control–especially when it came to a bowl of cereal or peanut butter on wheat toast or in a smoothie. Yikes! This was a huge wakeup call. I also started using small plates for meals instead of large ones, which made me kind of feel like I had more food than I really did." {Kaleena}
"Portion control is the biggest obstacle between me and eating healthy. I was looking forward to this challenge, because I needed a real incentive to try. Unfortunately, I was also sick the past two weeks. Being sick threw my meals out of whack and I was either eating too much or too little. I've been trying to be conscious of when I'm full and to be OK leaving stuff on my plate. Now that I'm starting to feel human again I'm looking forward to taking another stab at it." {Ariella}
See? You CAN do it! Share your #12MoF struggles/triumphs with Tulle Nation on Twitter, our Facebook page, or take photos on Instagram. Be sure to use the hastag #12MoF so we can all support you!
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