{"id":3990,"date":"2012-02-29T12:06:48","date_gmt":"2012-02-29T16:06:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slimmingeats.com\/blog\/?p=3990"},"modified":"2023-05-29T16:36:32","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T21:36:32","slug":"healthy-eating-portion-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slimmingeats.com\/blog\/healthy-eating-portion-control","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Healthy Eating and Portion Control"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Tips for Healthy Eating and Portion Control - if you are looking for a simple effective way to manage portion sizes this is the post for you. With tips for how to naturally control your portions using healthy vegetables you will discover this is a delicious and nutritious way to stay on track. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Do I have to add vegetables to my plate to control portions?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That is a question asked by many especially if you are not a huge lover of vegetables, but when it comes to healthy eating they can play an important role, so it's a good idea to get used to eating them in some form or another on your plate. .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am therefore, hoping this post will help you understand the benefits of adding vegetables to your plate and the role they play in controlling portions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look at this plate for instance, a bowl of ground beef tomato pasta. It's all homemade, relatively low in calories so you could just eat this meal and still be in a calorie deficit. However it might not be enough to fully satiate you and when that happens it can lead to us overeating by filling our plate with more or grabbing stuff in between meals and if you continue with this cycle it's not going to help on your healthy eating plan. So what can we do to improve? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Well firstly, there are vegetables in the homemade tomato sauce to help bulk it out (such as onions, garlic and tomatoes), but it is nowhere near enough, so let's remove some of the pasta from the bowl and instead add some salad to bulk out the bowl. Obviously it doesn't have to be a salad, it can be any kind of vegetables of your choosing. So opt for what ones you enjoy the most. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Balanced Plate Equals Healthy Portions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now doesn't that look better? I nice healthy balanced plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why adding vegetables to your plate to bulk it out is such a clever concept, you have naturally reduced the portion of the other foods on your plate without the need to weigh foods or count calories in any of your meals. So naturally you will be eating better, your portion controls are managed and therefore you will naturally lose weight. This is much more maintainable long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reasons diets don't work is because they are too restrictive and for some the constant counting of calories and weighing foods becomes a chore and they then give up a resort to previous eating habits. To lose weight however you need to be in a calorie deficit, so if you are not going to stick to the rigid counting of calories, you need to have another method to reduce your portions while also keeping you satiated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a handy visual image for giving you an idea of how much of your plate should be vegetables. Remember though this is just a guideline, there will be the odd time when you just don't fancy vegetables or the meal doesn't really fit them, that is perfectly okay, but if you can stick to this template as much as possible you will naturally reduce your calories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I don't like most vegetables, so what can I do?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That is a response I see very often, and it is fact that there are many people who do not like vegetables and who struggle to add these to their plate. So how can you get these foods into your meal and naturally limit your portion of the other foods? Well if you do really struggle to add it to your plate. Try making yourself a homemade soup with lots of vegetable added and serve it in a small bowl as part of your plate for the \u00bd vegetables or maybe make yourself a veggie packed smoothie, you can add a little fruit to make it more enjoyable if you need to, but limit how much you add due to the high sugar content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get into the habit of trying vegetables in different and new ways too, this will make them more interesting and you may surprise yourself by discovering vegetables you though you disliked before. For example I hate brussel sprouts when I was younger, that horrid bitter taste stayed with me for years, but that is because I was only ever served them over boiled. Now I absolutely loved them raw and shredded in a salad or sauteed or roasted. Yum!!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Tips for adding vegetables to your meals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are many ways you can add them to your meals. As I mentioned before, if you struggle adding it to your plate, you can always start your meal with a bowl of soup made with lots of healthy vegetables or in a small bowl as part of your plate so you can visually see the portion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another way to increase vegetables is by bulking out things like spaghetti bolognese, chilli, shepherds pie etc with lots of veggies. I know this will not be exactly to the template but so long as vegetables equate to \u00bd of your whole plate that is fine also. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make veggies more interesting through the way you choose to cook them. There are Vegetable spiralizers that are now available where you can literally spiral any vegetable and turn it into something delicious. Cauliflower rice and mash is another good one to choose . <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Examples of how to include Vegetable in Meals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Below I will do some examples at each meals times of how you can add speed foods to your meals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breakfasts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n