How many portion do I have in my plate?
Eating out can be very fun and yummy. The trick
is to make sure we are aware of how many portions we are actually
eating, if we finish our entire plate of food.
For that reason, I have been reading about ways to cut portion when eating out. During the course of the last 40 years, servings are in average 3 and sometimes 4 times bigger than recommended.
There is no way you can ask your child nowadays to finish their plate, and as much as you’d like to, neither should you try to finish it for them. Instead, ask for a doggie bag and enjoy
it later.
Short-term studies show that people eat more when they are confronted with larger portion sizes. The actual size of the plate you eat out of
also influences your decision of when to stop eating. One way to avoid the temptation is to eat out less often.
Some studies have shown that a number of American families eat out 4 to 5 times a week and spend about $2600.00 a year. Believe it or not, it costs between 2 and up to 10 times more to eat out than to eat a homemade meal. And an added benefit is that, while cooking at home, you are in control of how much is on your plate and what is in your food for happy family tummies!
Here are some good advices from livestrong.com
Cutting back on portion sizes is the easiest way to trim excess
calories, fat and sugar from your diet, but it can also be quite
challenging. Restaurant and fast-food portions are far larger than those
appropriate for a healthful diet. Learn to identify healthy portion
sizes, then create new eating habits by using techniques that help you
feel full while eating less. Getting used to eating smaller portion
sizes is a matter of practice and knowledgeable attention to what is on
your plate.
Step 1
Set a deck of cards, tennis
ball and four dice on your table or kitchen counter. Compare the
portion of food on your plate to the size of these items at each meal.
Any serving of meat should be no bigger than the deck of cards; no
serving of cheese should be larger than the four dice; and pasta and
vegetable portions should be about 1 cup, or the size of the tennis
ball, according to Columbia University Health Services.
Step 2
Use a smaller luncheon plate instead of a dinner plate for all of your meals. Fill the plate once and do not return for seconds.
Step 3
Place crackers, chips,
popcorn or cereal for snacking in a small cereal bowl rather than eating
out of the bag. Do not refill the bowl after you have eaten its
contents.
Step 4
Ask for a doggie bag with
your meal order at restaurants, and immediately put half of your
restaurant meal into the bag before eating. Eat the meal remaining on
your plate, and take the bag home and put it in the refrigerator for
lunch or dinner the next day.
Step 5
Increase the number of
servings of fresh fruits and vegetables in each meal. One serving of
vegetables is about 1 cup, the size of the tennis ball, according to the
American Cancer Society. The high fiber content of fresh fruits and
vegetables will help create a feeling of satiety without conveying many
calories.
Step 6
Eat slowly. It takes 20
minutes for the brain to signal satiety, according to the University of
Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County. Sit down to a meal
and eat slowly, giving the brain time to signal the body that it is
full.
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