New dinner plates: Yesterday I bought a... - Weight Loss Support

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New dinner plates

17 Replies

Yesterday I bought a set of plates. Now we are all learning about portion control right? But my husband often cooks and thinks it unfair if he has more on his plate than I do.

The new plates are the same diameter but have more of a well in the middle with a border around rather than a raised lip at the very edge, like my old set,

The new set cry out for food to be dished up just in the inner well. I am hoping that this will help my hubby not to give me too much ( he looks hurt if I leave food he has cooked '"you didn't like it?")

Interested to see how this works. I am hoping it will help both of us control our portions a bit more automatically.....

17 Replies
alex7ra profile image
alex7ra

You ought to tell him that men need more calories than women so if you get the same amount of dinner as him then it's unfair to him!

Perhaps you need to sit down with him and explain that you are trying to lose weight and you need him to be more supportive, for example by feeding you smaller portions and by being encouraging if you don't eat it all.

I am sure he thinks he is being helpful and would be sad to think he was making it more difficult for you.

Hope the dinner plates work for you.

in reply to alex7ra

We have had those discussions and he does know it but forgets!

Hoping the visual change with the plates being different will help. ( may even reduce his portions too which would be no bad thing!)

alex7ra profile image
alex7ra in reply to

Oh that is difficult! I would probably just put the extra food from my plate straight off even if he did look hurt given that you have already explained. You are too nice!!

I love that he cooks for me and I love his food. He tries, bless him, and I have got him to grill rather than fry etc....

alex7ra profile image
alex7ra in reply to

My OH rarely cooks for me but I had a massive break through last night when he was working from home all day and I actually had dinner waiting for me when I got in and from a slimming world recipe book! It was wonderful. Lucky you to have someone who cooks for you regularly!!

andrewleeone profile image
andrewleeone in reply to

Men eh? Who'd have one?

in reply to andrewleeone

Wouldn't be without him 😉

Tricky one, YoyoNM. I find Japanese bowls useful for portion control; and chopsticks slow you down no end. So; why not introduce him to Japanese cuisine?... ;) #justathort

in reply to

He would love it. Me, not so much ( not really into Japanese food) but we do chopsticks sometimes and as he comes from Mauritius he does lots of yummy fusion food.

Fran182716 profile image
Fran182716

It can be difficult for family when we change our diet and our goals, I've been unattached by choice for some time now, but I can remember a previous partner being unsupportive of my trying to be healthier, and even being quite manipulative in sabotaging my efforts. With the benefit of a few years hindsight I can see that this was due to fear of change. Happily my sons are all very encouraging. If your husband is generally a supportive person could you find something new for you to share and do together so he's reassured that changing the way you eat isn't going to be the end of you sharing something you both enjoy?

in reply to Fran182716

He paid for the plates😉he is on board with the idea just forgets in practice. He has even suggested I cook a bit more to help bring in healthier meals as he is beginning to realise he would benefit from getting healthier too.... I just think the plates are a gentle reminder and if he cooks too much it can go in fridge or freezer for another time... may save us some money in the long run. Also as my problem is really maintaining at a healthy weight, reducing the plate size is a simple long term change towards a healthier lifestyle. Here's to hoping it works. My best dinner service has huge plates which are great at Christmas but it doesn't often get used as I realised a long time ago that they didn't help at all with portion control!

How about investing in a good range of tupperware (if you haven't already). I have a few different sizes and importantly lots of very small containers (about the same size as a hummous pot that you get in the supermarket). These can be really cheap if you go to the pound shop or a cash and carry that supplies restaurants/takeaway places, i.e. packs of 10 for 3.99 or similar.The small ones are really good, as a small amount of leftovers looks too puny to save in a big pot, so you end up eating it, but in a small pot it looks more useful. For example, if I cook a few too many baby potatoes, some go in a small pot and get added to an omelette another day. Most leftovers can be frozen and recycled into new meals in some form or other. Salad (esp rocket/spinach/watercress) that's nearly going out of date can be blitzed and frozen to stretch a future pesto-based meal into a healthier version. It's quite creative thinking about leftovers like this, and I find myself making extra of certain things deliberately for something I will plan to do at a later date. E.g. extra lentils or roast veg can be frozen and added to future cold lunches, etc etc. Your OH may enjoy this approach, as it still means he can do the same amount of cooking, and can maybe approach the new portion control regime in a more creative way :)

in reply to

This sort of thing ebay.co.uk/itm/PLASTIC-ROUN...

Thanks Ruth . I do have a few that size and one of my former lodgers donated me loads of even smaller ones when she left. I find the little ones great to apportion treats. I freeze grapes 6 to 8 to a box . I haven't had any yet since I started on here but savory snacks can also be split into the little boxes so as to not be tempted to have ' just a few more " from an open packet etc.

I like your idea of blitzing nearly out of date salad. That is something that I have a habit of throwing away.

in reply to

Have to admit that one's not actually my idea - I learned it from here agirlcalledjack.com/ but I've always been a kind of frugal cook, always on a low budget, but still wanting to make the best food that I can afford. This blog is full of all those kinds of tips - a kind of super-low-budget approach to food-loving cooking.

Thanks for that Ruth

Nsky24 profile image
Nsky24

Get him some healthy recipes, slimming world or whatever, I have some recipes, low cal ones that actually produce a big portion ( well to me!).

Which is fab

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