5 Tips On Eating Smaller Portions

I love food, to a ridiculous extent. If I had to follow a long term diet where I had to cut out a certain food or entire food group, it would really bother me. So pretty much, my diet strategy focuses on eating whatever I feel like, just in reasonable portions. Which sounds so much easier than it really is, as I am sure you know. I have assembled a list of things that sometimes help me eat smaller portions. Sometimes I give into a binge (I have a binge eating problem) and wolf down half a pizza or easily more, but most of the time a combination of one or two of these tricks at a time keeps my portions under control.

1. Only take a little bit on your plate at a time
This tip, of course, assumes you are actually using a plate. Most of the time when I binge, the food goes from container to mouth to stomach in just a few quick seconds. I find that when I take the time to put food on a plate, it slows me down enough to realize what I am doing, at least a little bit. For example, instead of taking the bag of chips to the couch so I can eat while I watch TV, I put a few of them in a bowl and take that instead. It doesn’t stop me from eating the chips in the first place, but it does make sure that I will not get zombied out and end up eating the entire bag before I realize I am doing it.

This also means that you have to commit to eating just that one plate, no seconds. Or, if you really can’t give up the seconds, section out how much you think it is reasonable to eat at one sitting and then divide it in half. When you eat that, you can then go back for the other half without any guilt. It seems silly now, but when your body automatically returns to the kitchen for more food, it isn’t really thinking about how much you have already eaten or even if you are still hungry, it is just conditioned to seek out more tasty goodness. If you can satisfy it with two halves of a reasonable portion size, then go for it.

Some people find it can be helpful to put the food on a smaller plate so it looks like you are eating more food at once. If you are the type that can fool yourself like that, good for you. When I try to do this, it usually just reminds me that the portions are smaller in the first place.

2. Drink a bunch of water
I try to drink several sips of water before a meal, a sip between every two bites of food, and several sips more after I finish the meal. The end result is a bloated, sloshy feeling which is still one hundred times better than the feeling I get when I give in and eat too much food in one sitting. After about twenty minutes, the sloshing goes away and I am left feeling pleasantly full, because the food I have eaten has had time to signal my brain that I actually am not hungry anymore – something that can take me at least three plates of food before kicking in if I do not employ the water drinking technique.

Note that this step directly states “drink water.” It would work the same with other beverages, yes, but you would just be replacing the calories you saved from eating a whole bunch with the calories from your soda / juice / whatever. And I have a feeling if you tried drinking that much milk all at once the results would be pretty icky.

Second note: It’s probably a good idea not to try this before seeing a movie or taking a road trip, unless your friends and family find your frequent bathroom trips endearing for some reason.

3. Take smaller bites
This is one of the best things I can do when I am eating to help me eat smaller portions. Most of the time, when I sit down to a meal, I look at my plate with my itty bitty portion on it and think that it looks so pathetic I will surely still be hungry by the time I am finished with it. It doesn’t help matters when I could easily inhale the entire plate of food in a small number of bites.

But when I force myself to slow down and not stuff everything into my face all at once, I can look down at my plate and realize, “Wow, I still have half of this left to eat. It is a pretty good lunch after all.” Plus, taking smaller bites while utilizing the water drinking tip means you will have more in your stomach at the end of the meal and will be much less likely to still be hungry.

4. Chew each bite more times
I am personally not a huge fan of this step, but I am including it because it is something my grandmother and mother always bug me to do, insisting that it will force me to eat slower, become fuller faster, help me to eat smaller portions, and maybe even do my taxes all at once. I find that, since I am already taking smaller bites, trying to hold the food in my mouth long enough to chew 30 times or so just tends to turn the food to gross mushy slop, which is not remotely enjoyable, and usually leads me to want to eat some more enjoyable food later when normally I would have been satisfied with my one, enjoyable meal.

However, I do think this works for some people. If you tend to eat too fast, give it a shot. It does make the eating go slower, I just don’t really like it myself. Who knows, maybe my saliva is super acidic and everyone else will not have the same problem I do.

5. Put the fork down between each bite
I find this tip works really well with the small bites tip. If you can put a small bite in your mouth and then set the fork down while you chew it, it guarantees that you will not already have the next bite on the fork, waiting to be shoveled in the second you swallow (my usual style of eating when I don’t think about it consciously). This gives you plenty of time to chew thoroughly, enjoy your food in a relaxing amount of time, and take sips of water every couple of bites.

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