Portion Distortion

How many of you have looked at the number of servings on food packages and thought - yeah right!

Ok if you've got growing teens, super active athletes or giant sized frames those portion sizes may not be enough - but for most of us they really are.  Often we eat more just because it's there, it tastes good and we're used to that size meal.

Here are some ideas for reducing your portion sizes:

• Try following the serving sizes on food packs for at least a week and up-size the meal with your favourite non-starchy vegetables.
  
• Use smaller crockery to reduce how much you serve. It's just a visual trick but can work if you're used to cleaning your plate. Invest in salad plates (sized between a bread & butter plate and a dinner plate) and use a modest sized dessert bowl for pasta or curries.
• Slow down & Avoid Seconds. Your body will signal that it's had enough but it needs a little time to digest and send you the signal.
  
• Slow down & Savour every mouthful. Yes it tastes good - no excuse for eating more than you should.
  
• Measure. Keep a good set of measuring cups/spoons handy and a digital kitchen scale. Use them to cook to the correct measure and to measure out your servings.
  
• Don't let your lunch grow to the size of a dinner - or if it is, scale your "dinner" back to what you'd call a supper.
• Don't eat snacks or treats from the pack. Serve a small bowl of chips or a tiny dish of sweets to share rather than opening a large pack - they are moreish and packs tend to end up empty.
  
• Small multi-packs save money. Per gram they may cost more but you don't save money if you eat more than you should. Alternatively buy large packs and snack bags or containers and make small portion sized servings.

Any other ideas that you use to reduce your portion sizes? Share your suggestions in the comments section below.