What is Portion Control?
Mar 24th, 2008 by Marie
There are two words not used in my current vocabulary: Portion Control. I have none of it. Especially now as I am pregnant, I eat a lot. Every pregnancy I have been able shovel, I mean shovel, food into my mouth. It is a sight to see. Once my “morning sickness” goes away, I am able to wolf down tons of food until about my last month, when space is limited in the tummy area. So by my calculations, that is a good 4 months of solid eating. My sweet hubby has described my eating ability as though I were a Large Sumo Wrestler (not that I look like him, just eat as much as him!)
I like to buy Nilla Wafers and keep them in my car, you know, when Mama needs a little snack. But then in minutes, my fingers hit the bottom of the box with nothing else to grab when I realize my “little snack” is gone. My Mom watched me eating some mint chocolate squares and I was oblivious to how many I was putting in my mouth. She said, “now tell yourself how many you want to eat here.” Oops…
I am determined to have some Portion Control, as I don’t want to have that much work to do getting this thick skin off when baby is out. So I have now bought 100 Calorie Pack snacks. I actually like these and the portions are forced, just what I need. I also decided to make my own Calorie Packs. I bought little snack size plastic baggies and put snacks in them of what could fit, close to the 100 calorie limit, okay maybe a little over. This way, when I need a little snack to suffice the stomach, then I can grab one of these. I have found that I just need a little, even though I could fit a lot, and I am satisfied when I am done.
As I still have 2 more months of “Sumo” eating, what advice can you give for keeping control of my portions?
Hmm…since I’m doing the same thing right now, make sure you have some fresh (appetizing-looking) fruit on hand, and nurse for a long time!! :o)
My baby is 9 months - he’s the last of 4. Portion control is hard! Constantly in the kitchen preparing food for everyone else it is so easy just to snack on anything in reach! Keep going with those snack bags and try to heighten your awareness. Or get a lock on the fridge - you pick! I am at the point where I am finally losing all my baby weight - slow but sure. My last three were all within 4 years - and I don’t lose weight while nursing. Congratulations on your pregnancy!
Marie!
First of all I feel like I haven’t seen you in such a long time! But, about the portion control, I am reading THE GREATEST book. Its called Intuitive Eating. I’ve never been pregnant before so I don’t know how it feels, but I have struggled with portion control ever since I moved out. THe book just talks all about eating whatever you want, whenever you want but just stopping when you are full. I thought it would be hard, but when you give yourself permission to eat whatever you want, its easier to stop because you know that you can eat whatever you want to when you are hungry! I don’t know if that is good advice for pregnancy or not (I’m totally not the expert) but I’ve really enjoyed experimenting with it. Also, I watched a great show last night called I Can Make You Thin on TLC. They had a good episode last night about emotional eating and about eating when you are bored. It was pretty good :) Anyway, sorry for the super long comment! Luv Ya!
…or just be happy that you have an excuse to over-eat. Not all of us are that lucky. Some of us ALWAYS love food! :)
I love eating when I’m pregnant. Everything tastes better, richer…. yummier.
Your baggie idea is great! When I was working as a Weight Watchers Leader we use to suggest that to people. Good luck!
ALSO, I have had a bad 2 days. I could not CONTROL myself with the Girl Scout Cookies that were outside Walmart yesterday. Yeah, like 3 of the 4 boxes are gone already and the kids only had about 3 of the cookies. I know!! Bad eater, bad!
I can’t keep myself away from the girl scout cookies……they just call out to me……
I like the idea of making your own 100 cal packs. They have always seemed really wasteful to me because of the excessive packaging. Could you get a pack of little tupperwares? Then you could stock ‘em up and then refill ‘em!
I am 6 weeks away from my due date and getting a hold on my weight has always been a challenge. I have to drink TONS of water and eats loads of fresh fruits and veggies. That’s what helping me so far. Good Luck! I love the idea of making your own 100 Cal packs. I would do that also.
[...] I did it a little different this time. I used the same recipe for Chewy Granola Bars, but I put half the mix in one glass dish and half in another glass dish . This way the bars are a little thinner and I think they came together and crusted up better. Plus you end up with more of them. I have been eating both the chocolate and peanut butter bars all day. The pan is almost gone. So much for Portion Control! [...]
OOh, I saw someone mention Intuitive Eating up there! I had some unhealthy eating habits and then I took this class called “Body Image and Self Esteem” one semester at BYU. We learned all about intuitive eating and it has 100% changed my life. I would really recommend reading that book - it’s hard to get the hang of at first because you have to throw out some long and firmly held beliefs, but it works. I am a new woman - I don’t think about food unless I’m hungry (most of the time) and there is no more guilt associated with food. I’ve learned that food is fuel, nothing more, and it’s wonderful!!! It’s all about listening to what your body is telling you it wants and then giving it that. Really, it’s amazing. I’ve tried to tell others about it, but they don’t believe it will work because it is totally anti-diet and at first you think you’ll just eat yourself to oblivion if you stop dieting, but you won’t!!! You’ll just eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full, and you will eventually hit your natural ideal body weight. Read the book!!!
Bento boxes. They are cute, and help with portion control.