Portion Control: Hello all! I have had so... - Healthy Eating

Healthy Eating

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Portion Control

jc2jz profile image
20 Replies

Hello all!

I have had so much trouble all of my life with portion control and binge eating. I was never taught how to properly eat and just recently got much better at it!

I still struggle daily because I have a very unhealthy relationship with food, does anyone else relate ?

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jc2jz profile image
jc2jz
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20 Replies
Activity2004 profile image
Activity2004Administrator

Has your doctor suggested that you go see a Nutritionist/Dietician for planning your meals/portions?

jc2jz profile image
jc2jz in reply to Activity2004

No I have my personal trainer certification and know about nutrition. Portion control at least for me is a mental thing.

Activity2004 profile image
Activity2004Administrator in reply to jc2jz

Can you save the extra portions and freeze/put them in the refrigerator for another day/meal as leftovers?

jc2jz profile image
jc2jz in reply to Activity2004

Absolutely, meal prepping and such isn’t really an issue for me I buy things in bulk and always make healthy decisions, but I fail sometimes and binge eat terribly

Activity2004 profile image
Activity2004Administrator in reply to jc2jz

Okay. What do you usually eat for meals?

I relate and really when it come down to it it's habits, psychology, physiology etc. Where you do anything is where you do everything. Going for a walk and bringing your food with you or just drinking some water with added delights like ACV cinnamon, parsley, ginger, turmeric, and black pepper etc. I agree with activity2004's reply to you that you should have planned meals to take the stress of the brain. Our bodies are very adaptable and you can eat just a superfood and thats it and be fine the rest of your life, but the brain throws doubts at you and you must tell your stomach to stop complaining and your brain!

Firstly welcome to the forum and you are not alone in binge eating.

Smaller plates can help as you can't pile so much food on them and you want to listen to your body by eating mindfully and then when you've had enough stop eating. And you have to re-educate your body so that you eat when you are hungry.

What is very important is to eat good quality food so that you are well nourished as many over weight people are over fed and under nourished.

Good luck to you with this.

Jerry 😊

Fran182716 profile image
Fran182716Prediabetic in reply to

I agree completely with Jerry’s reply jc2jz , I can’t relate directly to binge eating as I’ve never been able to eat large volumes of food, but when stressed I used to graze all day on small volume high calorie high sugar snacks instead of proper meals so I get the bad relationship with food, and with the constantly high blood sugar never feeling normal hunger or satiation.

You obviously don’t need education on healthy food or meal prep, you have the knowledge and skills, it’s the mindset that needs help.

There is a book called “ The Binge Eating and Compulsive Overeating Workbook” by Carolyn Coker Ross, which I found very useful despite not fitting the usual profile of a binge eater, it’s about looking at the reasons why you eat in an unhealthy pattern and some practical tips on how to challenge your thoughts and attitudes around food. Also “Ditching Diets” by Gillian Riley which has some helpful suggestions for managing food cravings, which you might find useful even if you don’t need to lose any weight.

Other than this have you considered counselling? You seem to be at a point where you would be very motivated and receptive.

Good luck 🍀

Catmad10 profile image
Catmad10

Yes, I totally relate to what you are saying. When I was a kid there was little knowledge available about nutrition and the word diet meant starving yourself to lose weight. There wasn’t the availability or diversity of pre packaged or processed food so whilst our meals were generally healthier our plates were piled high and we were praised for our healthy appetite.

It has taken me decades to start thinking about healthy eating and that was only because of serious health issues. I still can’t get my head around portion control but I now try to make fresh veg the bulk of the large portions

Zest profile image
Zest

Hi jc2jz

Welcome to the Healthy eating forum.

Zest :-)

brilliantgirl profile image
brilliantgirl

I can totally relate to this jc2jz and is my main issue when it comes to my diet. My meals are always healthy, plenty of vegetables however the volume is always a challenge. It is indeed a daily struggle and I feel I have a little internal voice that takes over and makes a split second decision and in 10min I eat double or triple what I should and feel guilty that I failed my diet already. This is every day, with every meal and unfortunately I believe it comes down to discipline. I don't think I was taught to eat properly either and food is an emotional comfort for me as well. I have been to all sorts of doctors, dieticians, nutritionists since I was 13yo (I am 37 now) and have been given all sorts of diet plans known to mankind but I know deep down that discipline is what my biggest struggle.

For this reason my word of intention for the year is Discipline (in all areas of my life). I started a habit tracker to keep up with it and on my tracker I listed this things I want to become a habit like running every other day, avoid refined sugar, go to sleep at 11:30, etc.

When it comes to food it is simply sticking to the portions (trust me this is a battle of wills inside my brain even single meal) which I know is hard but its the only way. 2 year ago my husband made the decision that he wanted to loose weight...he was never a big guy but he wanted to be healthy and comfortable in his own skin. He didn't do any crazy diets. We got really into Jamie Oliver's Super Food books/ series and started eating more vegetables instead of meat but what he did was that he stuck to the right portions, started running regularly and in 3 months lost 18kg. What I can say about him is that he is very disciplined. We were eating the same thing but where he eats 1 energy ball with a cup of tea I eat 5. He didn't write anything down, counted calories, he simply though about the meals we were having and stuck to the portions. I am close to 20kg heavier than him at the moment and I am trying to change that. I know the key to loosing weight for me is having the discipline to stick to the plan and my portions so I am working every day to keep it up. Not everyday is good but I have to get myself up the next day and start again.

I don't two if my story helps you at all but I hope at least gives you a different point of view to consider.

Best of luck and let me know if you need anything. :)

Lillykims profile image
Lillykims in reply to brilliantgirl

omg that would drive me nuts.....does he not try and help you, mine does, sometimes a bit too much but luckily he always weighs about half a stone more than me and that spurs me to be disaplined and him trying to reach my weight. X

Kai-- profile image
Kai-- in reply to brilliantgirl

.

ʕ ◔ᴥ◔ ʔ ╭☞ . . . If this helps at all brilliantgirl & jc2jz:

May be a fun reinforcement of techniques (we may already be familiar with) about developing a new habit [aka: exercising (self-) discipline]:

How to Build Self-Discipline Lesson #1: How to Form a Habit [7+ minutes]:

youtube.com/watch?v=x4fsbGA...

.

.

In particular relation to "food/ eating", found work of Dr. Douglas Lisle & Dr. Alan Goldhamer invaluable/ practical:

. . 👨‍⚕️ healthunlocked.com/healthye... . . 👨‍⚕️ healthunlocked.com/healthye...

. . 👨‍⚕️ healthunlocked.com/healthye...

.

Best wishes to you both, brilliantgirl & jc2jz. 😌 🙏 🍀 🌺 🌞

.

jc2jz profile image
jc2jz in reply to brilliantgirl

Yes ! That’s why I love the gym and eating right because it teaches me discipline in all areas of life (I’m about to be 27 and still haven’t perfected this hahah)

Lillykims profile image
Lillykims

Yes me and my husband eat healthily but just too much plus the bits in between but now we are measuring, weighing and tracking EVERYTHING and omg realise we have to to be in control, although arguing as we differ on calorie totals although using same app🙄but we are losing and hopefully can carry on as much as possible for ever. 😇😍

jc2jz profile image
jc2jz in reply to Lillykims

I don’t have a husband but I do have a boyfriend who neglects to eat throughout the day and then binges at night hahahah

ChubbieChops profile image
ChubbieChops

That is the exact phrase I would use - an unhealthy relationship with food. 'See it, eat it' has always been my motto unless it's something I dislike - like fish, especially oily fish and celery. As a child, I was always told to eat everything up on my plate or there would be no pudding, so I never learnt about stopping eating when I was full. I was reading about a hormone last night called Leptin which supposedly turns off appetite when you have consumed enough for your energy requirements - I obviously never had any of that!!

But there has been a step in the right direction on a LCHF diet. I am eating more slowly and learning to 'listen' to my appetite and stop eating when I am no longer hungry (unless it is something really delicious and I can't stop shovelling it in!!). I also used to feel guilty about throwing away food that I haven't eaten. My parents would say, 'Starving children in Africa would give anything for that'. - I am talking 55/60 years ago. But now that our food waste gets burnt and creates energy in the process, I don't feel guilty about throwing leftover food away. The challenge is creating leftovers!

So onwards and upwards - no, that should be downwards!! Good luck

jc2jz profile image
jc2jz in reply to ChubbieChops

Love this ! I seriously think parents and schools should be more wary of this, my parents were wonderful but when I have kids i won’t do this to them hahaha

ChubbieChops profile image
ChubbieChops in reply to jc2jz

Absolutely. I didn't do that with my son and they listen to their 3 year old when she says she's had enough. It's scary how parents (who I loved to bits) can really screw you up!!

jc2jz profile image
jc2jz in reply to ChubbieChops

Trust me I’m right there with you hahaha

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