From fast food restaurants to specialty coffees to dinners at home, Americans are serving up giant portions and the results are showing up on our scales. Just small increases in portion size can slowly pack on the pounds.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that women are eating 22 percent more calories than they were 30 years ago. That comes out to 335 calories more each day. Okay, so what can we do about it? Here are a few tips to help slim down your portions to help you slim down:
- Read package labels carefully making sure to note the number of servicing per container. For instance, a low fat blueberry muffin may only be 160 calories. However, the serving size for this muffin is 2 1/2. The result of eating the entire muffin would 400 calories.
- Use a smaller size plate for dinner.
- Prepare only portion-size meals so there are no leftovers.
- During dinner, take half the amount you normally would, then wait 10 minutes after you’ve cleared your plate to decide if you’re really still hunger. It takes about 10 minutes for the single to get to your brain that your full.
- Sometimes thirst can be feel like hunger. Try drinking a glass of water and see if that curbs your hunger.
- You don’t have to give up your specialty coffee just order the smallest size.
- Going out for dinner? Eat a healthy snack before you go such as yogurt, fruit or a bowl of soup. That way you’ll be satisfied with smaller portions.
With more people paying attention to their health and their weight, portion sizes in restaurants have become more of a concern. Make sure you are offering plenty of food for your guests. Keep in mind though it can be a turn off when they are getting too much. It can lead to customers feeling like they paid too much for a meal and that doesn’t make them happy.
More isn’t always what customers are looking for though. Many who like to eat out want to be healthy as well. They want a well balanced meal that is satisfying so the quality is the most important thing to consider. You can help keep your prices down for food items too if there isn’t a great deal of it being wasted.