How to Feel Confident About Your Portion Size at Each Meal
Have you ever felt a little lost when filling up your plate? Maybe you hear questions like, "Ok mashed potatoes...wait, that's too much (take a spoonful off), wait, now that's not enough. Now for some salad...I feel like I should eat some, but I don't know, it doesn't look too good. I'll put some on my plate just 'cause I guess I should." If you feel lost about portion sizes with food and are looking for some insight into how to fill your plate with healthy portions in an intuitive way, look no further! Today I'm sharing with you how you can feel confident about your portion sizes at each meal!
So the above dialogue was definitely what my thoughts used to look like when it came to portioning out my meals (also the scatter-brainedness of how I think). I felt that by portioning out everything perfect, I'd be satisfied and eat less or whatever. I was focusing on giving myself, yet again, rules and parameters around eating which, what I now know and have discovered, does not work. You're still going to be hungry if you only eat "x" amount of food (if "x" isn't enough for your body at that time), even if you portioned out your meal. And, if you portion out more than you really want, chances are you're still going to eat it because it's on your plate if you're only focused on portion sizes. Basically, portioning out your meals and snacks keeps you in "diet mentality" land -->i.e. the place where how you eat is dictated by boundaries and rules that you have in place around food.
No more portion controlling!
If you've followed a diet before, chances are they had you following strict portion sizes. "Portion control" they refer to it as. And, even if you aren't a chronic "dieter", you still may have these portion sizes in your mind simply by doing a quick google search with the intent on being "healthier". That's where I was a couple years ago. I thought that in order to be healthy I had to have strict boundaries up around eating. More on that here. But, with now being more intuitive about eating, the cool thing is that, no matter how I portion my food, I have the freedom to #1, go back for more of any certain food if I want to or #2, not eat all of the food I portioned out already! That's the beauty of eating intuitively...there's no wrong answer to how you eat, or portion your meals for that matter!
What you can portion out a lot of...grace and freedom!
There is grace and freedom to play with how you eat and portion in a kind of "trial and error" sort of way with intuitive eating. For me, I feel most satisfied when I eat the main food groups at each meal. I usually will include some sort of carbohydrate, protein, fat, and then fruit or veggie. I use this as my guide with how I prepare my meals. Then, with portioning out how much of each group, this is up to you. There are definitely people out there who will tell you certain sizes of each part of your meal you should stick to, but I'm a firm believer that you're a pretty darn good judge of how to "dress your plate". And like I said before, this is a learning process and one that may take some time to figure out. I would suggest to start by including those food groups above in your meals as a start and then seeing the exact proportion that makes you feel your best.
Dressing your plate with portions unique to YOU!
A couple things to think about though. First, make sure that you address any "food group fears" that you have because if you still have fears around certain food groups you won't be able to make an accurate observation of how food makes you feel. Second, if you already feel at peace with all food groups, you may notice that carbohydrates are going to give you a quick burst of energy and satisfaction and protein as well as fat in your meals will provide more lasting satiation. Veggies and fruits are add ons that are great for their vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber, and in my opinion just make eating so much more appealing with their color and texture!
Again, I can't stress this enough that it's so important to be non judgemental with yourself and open to giving yourself grace as you figure out what portions feel best with your body. You can always start small, but then go back for seconds if what you'd originally dished out wasn't enough. But remember, if you do eat "too much", it's ok! Your body knows what to do with it and the experience was simply part of you learning to be more of an intuitive eater.
Ok, question time...
How do you feel about trying out this more freeing portion-sizing with eating? Have you relied on portioning out food in the past?
Comment below!
Interested in having someone walk alongside you in this process of figuring out how to feel your best around food and eating? I coach women just like you in my 1:1 program, helping them find food freedom and start eating intuitively! If this is you, I invite you to hop on a free 60 minute discovery call with me and I'll help you see what this freedom could look like for you! You can schedule a call HERE!