Comments on Cranky Fitness: Portion Control and Being An Idiot

O3 World has a great product out called FORM. It's...

2009-02-17T19:12:00.000-05:00

O3 World has a great product out called FORM. It's a swelling agent that you take a half hour to an hour before a meal so you're fuller faster. So instead of worrying about your portion sizes, all you have to do is listen to your body; when you're full, stop eating.

Cari
My O3 World

Plates have been getting bigger over the last twen...

2009-02-11T05:23:00.000-05:00

Plates have been getting bigger over the last twenty years, and so have portions,we were all brought up to clear our plates. I.m going to have my dinner off tea saucers from now on.

Great Post! I agree 100%. We tend to eat with our ...

2008-11-14T14:20:00.000-05:00

Great Post! I agree 100%. We tend to eat with our eyes..we will eat the portion that is set before us. It can be small or large, but the catch is that the small portion and the large portion will fill us up just the same. So why overeat?

On a related track, when you're headed for the mun...

2008-05-19T12:15:00.000-04:00

On a related track, when you're headed for the munchies bowl, remind yourself that there's something you really want to do first but you'll be back in an hour. Or stop and remember that if you wait until this afternoon or tomorrow morning it will taste so much better because you'll be hungrier. In other words, give yourself permission to have the food, but delay taking it. If your memory is like mine, you'll forget about it until you have to do it all again; in any case, you'll have delayed or eliminated one snack time.

Totally agree with you here, Crabby, I was posting...

2008-02-27T14:43:00.000-05:00

Totally agree with you here, Crabby, I was posting about portion control myself today -- http://www.theofficediet.com/2008/02/27/trim-your-portion-size-trim-your-waistline/ -- and I am SO easily fooled. Small bowls and plates are definitely the easy way forwards...

Ali

Hi Katherine,What a great idea! For some reason I...

2007-09-08T18:36:00.000-04:00

Hi Katherine,
What a great idea! For some reason I found it really disappointing that for all that money the Diet Plate didn't even have physical dividers, just painted lines. But I never thought of a child's plate--a much more reasonable alternative and kind of fun too.

My boyfriend's dinner plates are massive. They're...

2007-09-08T15:52:00.000-04:00

My boyfriend's dinner plates are massive. They're larger than the average Frisbee. Since I can't very well bring my own plates every time he cooks, I went to Target and bought a child's divided plate. It has one main section and two smaller ones. My rule is the largest section has to be full of vegetables or grains, and the smaller sections can have the protein and less healthy side dishes. I'm made fun of, of course, but it works.

Hi sharon!Gosh, this sounds harsh. Beer and pizza...

2007-05-15T20:54:00.000-04:00

Hi sharon!

Gosh, this sounds harsh. Beer and pizza go together so well! (And if Oregon is really advanced enough to serve both in their movie theaters, I may have to seriously consider relocating there.)

So what if you have no beer or pizza one day (having, say, a nice steak and some Cabernet instead), and even eat a big pile of broccoli for good measure. Could you then have beer and pizza with a movie the next night? Seems reasonable to me!

Thanks for coming by and hope to see you around again!

Well I'm on a new diet. I call it the 'Oregon Diet...

2007-05-15T15:34:00.000-04:00

Well I'm on a new diet. I call it the 'Oregon Diet'.

I can no longer have beer and pizza on the same day. Having a cold one with a movie? No pizza. Having a slice with a flick? No beer.

This is specifically pointed for us Oregonians, because we have multitudes of movie theatres that sell microbrew beer and dailymade pizza in the lobby.

Sigh. Diets are so hard.

Thanks Hawk, some great information there. Really...

2007-05-10T18:30:00.000-04:00

Thanks Hawk, some great information there. Really appreciate your visit.

I'll have to check out Mindless Eating, it sounds like a great place for me to steal tips for the blog. (With proper credit given, of course).

I think the measuring makes a lot of sense--because eyeballing almost always means cheating, at least for me. I guess it depends on how strictly you're watching portions. We've got one of those little scales at home, and its really helpful. Sounds like if you've lost 30 lbs, you're definitely doing something right! Congratulations on that.

Hide the snacks. Out of sight really is out of mi...

2007-05-10T18:08:00.000-04:00

Hide the snacks. Out of sight really is out of mind.

A lot of these tricks and subconcious biases are found in Brian Wansink's Mindless Eating. He did the unit test with bartenders estimating shots. These people pour drinks for a living, right? They ought to be pros. They were terrible (like everyone else) and filled the short squat glasses more than the tall skinny ones.

I use the smaller plate thing, too. I also measure portions out w/ actual measuring cups and spoons. My friends and coworkers think I'm a bit nuts, but I've lost 30 lbs counting calories and watching portions. It's a way of retraining your brain.

And I still eat too much if a whole bowl of popcorn is left in front of me. (sigh)

Hawk

Thanks everyone!Welcome, half man! The healthy sn...

2007-05-10T14:26:00.000-04:00

Thanks everyone!

Welcome, half man! The healthy snacking is definitely a smart idea. And thanks for stopping by!

Leah--we'll miss you while you are on your road trip. (And in fact my next post will be on Road Trips, in your honor). I'm very curious about the effectiveness of hypnosis on Potato Chip Cravings and will have to engage your expert advice at some point.

Samantha--yay, another dumb-dumb like Crabby who can fool herself by playing with containers! I like the idea of mini bowls.

And Thomma Lyn, I think you've hit on the key concept, which is avoiding feeling deprived. (Of course sometimes the only way to avoid that feeling is to totally pig out on a hot fudge sunday, but on good days, a skinny glass of juice will do it).

Oooh, Dawn, if it's a really tiny plate of cream filed apple donuts can I fill it up twice?

Have just had a programme on NZ televison about th...

2007-05-10T14:06:00.000-04:00

Have just had a programme on NZ televison about this very topic. Hubbie and I eat off smaller size plates and it does help.

Anyone for a very tiny plate of cream filled apple donuts?

Ha! What a great post. It's playing dumb in orde...

2007-05-10T00:48:00.000-04:00

Ha! What a great post. It's playing dumb in order to be, in the long run, smart!

And I agree that the key to portion control is, in large part, finding ways to avoid feeling deprived.

I am soooooo dumb. It totally works on me. My husb...

2007-05-10T00:17:00.000-04:00

I am soooooo dumb. It totally works on me. My husband is dumb too. I have even resorted to mini bowls. They are quiet small but, I fill them very full and I feel like I got enough.

Use smaller plates so less food appears to be more...

2007-05-09T21:59:00.000-04:00

Use smaller plates so less food appears to be more because it fills up said plate. Same principle as the glass.
Must confess, except for brekkie which goes on a smaller plate, I don't use any psychological tricks on myself. Unless you count hypnosis.
I had to autosuggest that I'd walk past potato chips in the store and that I didn't need them. I had the sense to give myself an "out" though. I said I could have them on special occasions. Yet another reason why I'm so excited about my road trip...

I use any psychological trick that helps me. Don't...

2007-05-09T20:46:00.000-04:00

I use any psychological trick that helps me. Don't worry about how silly it seems.

As far as portion control goes, it's not easy. For me, the thing that helps the most is planned snacking on healthy foods. This takes away the feeling of starving by the time I get to a meal. Otherwise I eat too fast and stuff myself before I realize it.