Overeating is one of the most common reasons why people can’t lose weight. Sure, you’re exercising, trying to eat healthy, but you can’t be expected to carry a measuring cup everywhere you go, or pull out a calculator and start adding all the numbers on your plate. There are various tools out there that help you count calories and food packages usually have nutritional information listed on them, however, it can still be tricky to avoid overeating. There are a few simple and easy tricks to keep in mind when you don’t want to overeat.
Using a small plate
Most people tend to underestimate the amount of food they put on their plate when using a larger plate and overestimate when using a smaller plate. That’s because the bigger the plate is, the more food it requires to get filled up, whereas a small plate fills up quickly and gives you the illusion of having a large, satisfying portion. Always keep smaller plates at handy in your dish cabinet as well as a stack of ramekins to use for snacks. This way you’ll avoid starting with an over-sized portion to begin with.
Put down that bag of snacks
Whether it’s chips, popcorn, nuts, peanuts or dry fruits, eating straight from the bag isn’t a good idea at all. Lack of control over your portion is at its highest in this case, as you aimlessly keep on nibbling on those chips from a bag that usually contains six to eight servings. The solution? Count how much you are allowed to eat, place your serving in a separate bowl and then close the bag and put it away.
Your plate divided
This is a very simple and easy trick to keep in mind when you are preparing your meal, yet very efficient. What you need to do is fill up 1/2 of your plate with low-starch vegetables such as broccoli, a quarter of the plate with a high-fiber starch like whole-wheat bread and the other quarter with lean protein (for instance grilled chicken breast).
Prepare your portions ahead
It’s a lot easier to avoid overeating if you prepare all your portions ahead of time. Use small baggies and fill them up with perfect sized portions as soon as you get home from the grocery store. When you get hungry, it’s really convenient to just pick up a bag and have the work already done for you.
