Portion control...seven simple tricks to get into the habit

How can I eat less? I’ve probably been asked this question more than any other in my twenty years in the fitness industry. In times gone by I’d have probably talked about the importance of counting calories, weighing food, measuring out portions etc, and whilst they’ll certainly work, there are other, quicker, niftier little tricks you can use to ensure you don’t over-indulge. Here are a few of my favourites, taken from a mixture of scientific studies, my own thoughts and tricks my clients have taught me over the years.

Share and share alike

When it comes to takeaways and eating out, you’ll often find yourself with a massive portion that you just can’t eat. Fish and chips is a prime example, you’re sure that they’ve illegally battered a whale and wrapped it in paper for you. Why not just order one portion between two? You can also use this technique in pubs and restaurants; have a main meal each but share starters or desserts. It sounds simple but it literally halves the calories you could have consumed if you’d gone it alone.

The only issue you may have is if you’re like this guy!

The Rule of 3

Here’s one for buffets and takeaways - real danger spots when it comes to portion control; choice means calories. There’s a large element of FOMO at work here, you really must try a bit of everything just in case it’s amazing. Chinese and Indian takeaways are also notorious - you always order too much and even if you can’t eat it all, you don’t want it to go to waste so you stuff in as much as possible before you’re literally ready to burst.

With the Rule of 3 this won’t happen - you simply limit yourself to just three choices. Your absolute favourite things maybe, or possibly three different options every time if you’re an adventurous soul.

Halve it

Do you always have two slices of toast? Do you butter both of sides of the bread when making a sandwich? For that matter, do you use two slices of bread to make the sandwich? If so, try going halves. One slice of toast, butter only one side of your sarnie, or even take on slice of bread, cut it in half and cut your portions and calories in the process. Equally, if you know you normally spoon yourself two portions of roasties with Sunday lunch or two scoops of ice cream with dessert, you can cut one of these in half instead.

This doesn’t need to be an extreme measure; it’s certainly not something to do at every meal but done at times when you know you normally over-indulge or for just one meal each day, it can gradually add up to an effective change.

Get stuffed

In a nice way I mean; healthier food choices are generally higher in fibre and therefore more filling. Snacking on carrot sticks before a carb-heavy dinner can help you feel fuller quicker and control your eating. Celery or pre-dinner salads have the same effect.

All of the suggestions so far work, but they require willpower. If you want to make it easier to eat less, you can physically alter your eating environment using the following tips.

Is it small, or just far, far away?

Those of you’ve followed balance for a while know I’m a big fan of this one - it’s known as the Delboeuf Illusion. It’s all about perception; in much the same way that Dougall is confused about the proximity of the livestock in Father Ted.

Take a look at the image below from my book The Complete Guide to Weight Loss - which of the inner circles is the biggest?

If you’ve seen it before, you’ll know they’re the same size; if not that may come as something of a surprise. Even when you do know, it takes effort for your brain to overrule your eyes - the one on the left clearly looks bigger. The (apparent) size of the inner circle is directly related to the size of the larger outer one; the smaller the outer circle the bigger the one in the centre appears.

When it comes to plate and bowl size, this works wonders for making you feel full. Food tends to pile up when you use smaller china, also giving the appearance that there is more. And when you think there’s more, you feel full more quickly - downsize your plates and downsize your appetite.

Split it up

How often do you open a large bag of crisps, have a few, feel satisfied and put the rest away for another day? What about sweets? Biscuits? Or anything that comes in large portions for that matter. The human brain is incredibly poor at judging how many calories you have actually eaten - we all like to believe that we can total up how much we’ve had as we go along, stopping when we’re full. The reality is that we eat what’s there; maybe it’s still harking back to a time when if we had an opportunity to gorge, we took it, unsure when we might have that possibility again.

So what’s the solution? We have to prepare our food in such a way that it is much harder to eat more - portion things out into tupperware tubs or bags, buy smaller packets or multi-packs where at least the items are separately wrapped. You’re less likely to eat six small packets of crisps in one sitting than you are to much down a giant sharer bag. Having to stop and open a new packet acts as a natural pause; time to consider your choices. We also tend to naturally assume that if something is wrapped in its own packet then by default that is a sensible portion to consume.

Make it inconvenient

Want to eat less of something? Place it on a higher shelf, put it at the back of the cupboard or fridge, pop it in a drawer at work, better still, a lockable one and then place the key on the other side of the room. Use the method I mentioned above of individually wrapping foods so that it requires more effort on your part to get at it.

Studies have shown that people will eat considerably less peanuts when they come in their natural ‘monkey nut’ form with shells still on, compared to when they’re covered in shelled, covered in salt and conveniently placed in a giant bag for you. Usually laziness is a problem when it comes to weight control but here you can use it to your advantage to reduce your portion sizes.

You’ll have your own tools and techniques for controlling how much you eat; please do share them in the comments below to help others find their balance.

Developing better relationships with food

If I could achieve just one thing for my clients, it would be to help them to enjoy a better relationship with food. It can be such a wonderful thing, so good for us and with so many tastes and textures to enjoy. It’s difficult though as there’s so much media coverage around food these days, what’s ‘good’ and ‘bad’ for us, what we ‘should’ and ‘must not’ eat. Then there’s the pressures of society to look a certain way, the quest for the body beautiful and the insecurities brought about by seeing other’s ‘wonderfully perfect’ lives through the filter of social media.

What follows are some things to consider when looking to improve your relationship with food. This is not designed to help if you feel or know that you have an eating disorder. In this instance, you should seek medical help as your health is at risk in the long term. Instead, it’s targeted at the largely unrecognised group in the community who have ‘disordered eating’; you have a poor, negative relationship with food which can strongly impact your mood, making you stressed about food choices and often guilty afterwards and lead to an unbalanced approach to what you eat and drink.

1)        Recognise that you must eat and drink

We must have food and water. Without them, we cannot survive. This means that far from being bad for us, they’re the stuff of life. This makes them very different from things like alcohol or cigarettes, where we may look to quit completely. Accept food and drink as an essential and inevitable part of your life and work to better your relationship with it from there.

2)        Understand that no single food is ‘good’ or ‘bad’

So often you’ll hear that this is bad for you and this is good for you, but the reality is that no food or drink is either when consumed as a one-off, then it’s just food. Things become good or bad over time when we have too much of certain things or too little of others. With that in mind, you can worry much less about what you have today.

3)        Opt for a balanced approach instead of abstinence

Did you ever see the episode of Derren Brown’s show where he placed the animal-loving lady in a room with a kitten inside a glass box? As he closed the door, he gave her specific instructions not to touch the button in the room or the cat would come to harm. There was even a big sign…’Whatever you do, don’t push the button.’ What do you think she did? Of course, the cat wasn’t harmed, but it went to show that human beings in their nature are rebellious. If we say ‘I won’t’ or are told, ‘you can’t’, then it’s probably more likely that we will. And after a period of resistance, we often end up overdoing it in response.

If you know this to be true for you, tell yourself that you absolutely can have the less healthy foods, just recognise the consequences of having too much too often.

There are a small number of people for who going cold turkey and removing a certain food from their diet works. This is usually because they have a very powerful motivation for it, so if you know that’s you then that is of course absolutely fine, you’re always free to do what’s best for you.

4)        Eat consciously, because you’re hungry and stop when you’re full

This is a big part of this step and the portion control step. Tuning in to your body helps you to understand if you’re eating because of hunger or emotion. Slow yourself down around food, become conscious of what you’re doing and you may find you eat less or even change your mind before you reach for the less healthy options.

5)        Accept that you will slip up, and at this point you only have two choices

As we said in point 1, you are going to eat on all, or at least most of the rest of the days of your life. That means it’s almost impossible to eat and drink well every day, nor do you need to. There are lots of studies to show that taking healthy eating to the extreme is unhealthy, it’s known as orthorexia and it can be harmful to your physical and mental health. Raw food diets and restrictive eating affect the digestive system and are linked with anxiety and depression.

The key with food is that once you’ve eaten something less healthy, you only have two choices:

1)   Get back to eating healthily most of the time and then it won’t have made any difference

2)   Continue to eat poorer choices and then you know you’ll feel bad about it, your health will worse and you’ll likely gain weight

Which choice would you prefer?

6)        Work to remove the connection in your brain between food as a treat or reward

This is ingrained in our culture and society so it won’t happen overnight. It is worth working on though. We often call less healthy foods ‘treats’ or label them as ‘naughty’ which in itself makes eating them an act of rebellion like we discussed in point 3. There are some simple things you can do though:

   Regard all foods and drinks as simply food and drinks. They’re not good, bad, treats or anything else. Each is simply a mix of the different nutrients – carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water

   When you set yourself tasks and goals and achieve them, reward yourself with things other than food and drink. Clothes can be a good choice as they reinforce the benefits of the new healthier you, as can experiences like days out, things that make you feel good without guilt.

7)        Enjoy the less healthy options when you have them

The worst thing of all is to eat something and feel bad about it. Make a conscious decision to have something, and if you’re going to have a less healthy option, choose one that you particularly enjoy, that you love the taste of and when you have it, savour it. Take your time with it, savour every last mouthful and then move forwards without regrets.

Above all else, work on finding a balance that works for you.

A balanced guide to snacking

A major cause of weight gain or the solution to creating and maintaining the lean physique and healthy body you desire?

This is a question I often get asked by my clients when I'm working with them to help shift some excess body fat and look a little more toned. Is snacking good for me? Or is the reason I'm gaining weight? Well the answer is, as many of those who've been on one of the course I've taught will tell you..........it depends.

It depends on a whole host of factors. What was it that you snacked on? How many snacks did you have? Were you eating because you were hungry? Or were you tired, angry, upset, bored or just doing it because it's part of a routine? How much did you eat across the rest of the day? How much exercise are you doing at the moment and how active are you in your everyday life?

This is why the science on the subject shows such varied results. Some studies suggest that snacking regularly helps people to lose weight. Other studies show that those who eat more often gain more weight. Some research has shown no difference between three square meals a day or grazing regularly on smaller meals, as long as the calorie intake is equal. Some studies suggest that eating small and often can have a beneficial effect on health measures like choleste4rol and blood sugar levels. But guess what? Others have not.

Finding your balance

When I work with my clients we look at three key areas:

1)    What are you eating? In the balance approach, there’s no such thing as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods, just better or worse ones depending on the personal, the situation and the goals. Ask yourself ‘is there something better I could choose most of the time that would help me achieve what I want?’ There often is.

2)    How much are you eating? Alongside food quality, we also consider food quantity. It may simply be that we don’t need that much energy given how active we are across the week. In which case we can look at lower calorie foods that are still filling (we’ll come to that later).

3)    Why are you eating? Was it because of hunger, is there an emotional trigger or is it a habit/routine that has been developed over time and is just ‘the way it is’ at the moment. This helps us to develop solutions; these may be other things that can be done to cope with emotions, changes to the daily routine, or better snack options to choose, so let’s have a look at that now.

Better balance

This next section is based on options that are often better for most people with goals of improving their weight, reducing their body fat and generally improving their physical and mental health. That doesn’t mean that they’re right for everyone. You may have an allergy, the food may not easily be accessible to you or you may simply not like it. That’s ok; the key thing is just to get you thinking ‘what could I change?’ If you’re stuck answering this question, get in touch and I’ll happily offer some support and advice.

Here’s some snack ideas my clients have found useful over the years:

·      Portion things out - let’s start realistically. If you are going to have some chocolate, crisps or cake, can you take the one portion you have and break it into smaller bits so that you have it over time rather than in one go? Tupperware can be a great solution to this, or feel free to share it with others, as less is in this case, less. If you can’t bear to give it away, go back to the portioning idea.

·      Fruit and vegetables – most of us need more and this is a great time to get them. They’re packed full of good stuff to keep us healthy but also have a high fibre and water content that can help increase feelings of fullness too.

·      Carrot or celery sticks and houmous - staying with the veg theme, why chop them into little sticks and dip them in some houmous. This adds some healthy fats and more importantly, some protein, which is known to keep hunger locked up for longer.

·      Natural yoghurt – less calories than the flavoured sugary counterparts, a good source of calcium and vitamin D and some research to show it may help aid effective fat burning. Yoghurt is again a decent source of protein and you can keep it varied by adding different things to it; nuts and seeds, dried or fresh fruit, a little honey, grated dark chocolate or oats.

·      Boiled eggs – easy to prepare to take with you, boil them up the night before and then pop them in some Tupperware. They’re a complete protein, which means they contain all the amino acids your body needs and again they’re great at keeping hunger controlled for longer.

·      Dark chocolate (70% +) - Still high in calories so don’t go mad here, although you’ll find it hard to eat too much as it’s quite rich. This is a good choice for those who have a sweet tooth as it can curb the craving and it’s pretty rich in antioxidants that act to keep you healthy.

·      Unprocessed nuts or seeds – often avoided because of their high fat content, these should form part of a truly balanced diet. The fats are the healthier type and there’s protein too, as well as numerous vitamins and minerals. Portion control is important again though, as too many calories are too many calories. Portion big bags out into small Tupperware containers for each day.

·      Oatcakes, rye crackers or rice cakes – there’s a few reasons why these are helpful additions to your day. They’re fairly low calorie compared to less healthy choices and they’re a good source of fibre, strongly linked to increased feelings of fullness. Of course adding toppings is fine like oatcakes with a little peanut butter on top, but find a balance that works for you. If you’re not losing body fat and you know it’s definitely not because you’re under-eating, where can you make small and gradual reductions to your food intake?

·      Unprocessed meats – another food source rich in protein to help leave you feeling full and less likely to reach for the biscuit barrel. Only small quantities of meats are needed as they’re often high in fat and calories too and it’s easy to over-consume protein.

·      Protein shakes – whilst many don’t need to turn to supplements, for some life is busy and using a protein shake mixed with water or milk is an easier solution than preparing other foods. If it’s used instead of a Chunky KitKat there’s no arguing that it’s a better choice and those of you who exercise regularly may find it a great snack choice post-training to help your recovery in a quick, simple, easily digested way. You can of course, get a good quantity of protein from just drinking milk; so if sports shakes aren’t your thing and you’re not lactose intolerant, give it a try.

A bite-size summary

I hope you’ve found this little blog useful and if nothing else, it’s given you some ideas. I’ve been regularly snacking for years on some of the above foods and I find it works for me because I lead an active lifestyle and I know that if I let myself get hungry, that’s when I reach for worse choices. If you know this is the same for you or you’re just stuck in a rut of unhealthy snacks, try making one or two simple changes to help you find your way to balance.