It’s enough that this pandemic has so many of us staying in so much over the past year. No doubt there has been a lot of weight gain and a slowing of activity, but it has all certainly been a wake-up call after seeing what months and months of take-out food can do to you. If you take pride in trying to get or stay fit over the holidays, fear not. We have some tricks for you. The first thing you need to understand, however, is that people tend to eat almost all of what they put in front of them. The answer? Portion control.
Evidence suggests that sizes of plates, spoons and glasses can unconsciously influence how much food someone eats. Using large plates can make food appear smaller, and that can lead to overeating. Interestingly enough, in one study, people using a large bowl ate 77% more pasta than those using a medium-sized bowl. Same thing happened with ice cream. When asked if they were even conscious of the difference, most who ate more due to large dishes were completely unaware of the change in portion size. So swap your usual plate, bowl or serving spoon for smaller ones to reduce the helping of food and prevent overeating.
You can also use your (smaller) plate as a portion guide. Once you determine macronutrients (yes, they’re rations) for yourself, consider using half a plate for veggies or salad, a quarter of the place for high-quality protein, such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, etc. Another quarter can go for complex carbs (grains or starchy vegetables), and add only half a teaspoon for high fat stuff -- cheese, oils, butter. This is, of course, a rough guide. Everyone has different dietary needs depending on activity levels,whether they are on a fat loss regimen, or simply hope not to blow it over the holidays.
Filling up on vegetables and salad, which are naturally low in calories but high in fiber and other nutrients, may help you avoid overeating calorie-dense foods. If you’d rather use your hands to gauge portion control, for women figure a palm-sized for high protein food, a fist size for salads and veggies, a cupped hand portion for high carb delights, and a thumb-sized dollop of butter, oils, nuts and high fat food items.
Eating out? Don’t let restaurants place plates in front of you meant for a family of 4. Eating establishments are notorious for serving overly- large portions. Healthline says restaurant serving sizes are, on average, about 2.5 times larger than standard serving sizes — and up to a whopping eight times larger. So ask for a half portion or a children’s dish. If that is not possible, ask for a box when they serve your meal and place whatever constitutes one or two more meals inside it for leftovers. Sharing meals is a great idea too.
Another big tip? Try drinking a glass of water up to a half hour before a meal to aid in portion control. It will make you feel less hungry and will help you distinguish between hunger and thirst. Studies have shown that middle-aged and older adults who drank 17 ounces of water before each meal resulted in a 44% greater decline in weight over 12 weeks, most likely due to reduced food intake. Lastly, whatever you do, don’t eat directly from a food container. It encourages overeating and there will be less awareness of appropriate portion sizes.
We wish you the happiest of holiday seasons, and hope that despite not being able to enjoy it as fully in the traditional sense, you will someday look back on this particular one, helping you to appreciate when those family gatherings will come again. It has been our pleasure helping you get or stay fit, and if you’ve been gone for a while, we hope to see you back here soon! Let’s look forward to a much, much better 2021.