One of the things that I am working on with healthier eating habits is portion control. That has always been a huge thing for me. Going back for seconds and sometimes thirds has been a part of my eating routine my entire life. I am going to blame the church covered dishes for that one! I mean, how can you not go back for more? And I will rationalize multiple trips to a buffet by telling myself that I am paying for this so I might as well get my money's worth out of it. Even when I cook at home, I would normally have two plates of whatever it is that I cooked. I need to make sure that it gets eaten in a timely manner so that it does not go bad and I am not wasting food. These are all relatively true excuses, but they are just that. Excuses.
There are two ways that I am working on conquering this overeating in my daily life. The first one is healthy snacking. I have discovered that if I spread some snacks out throughout my day then when I go to have lunch or dinner, I am more likely just to have one serving per meal. I have been going through what I have in my pantry and my fridge (my new fridge YAY!!!) and finding things that not only can I snack on but that are pretty good for me. Lots of fruits and raw veggies and nuts. And just small portions throughout the day end up doing a good job at keeping me full during the day.
The other thing that I am working on with this is, once again, listening to my body. When I go to eat dinner and I am actually paying attention to what I am doing, I will stop after I finish a plate of food and ask myself if I am full. Do I really need, not want, another plate. 9 times out of 10, my body tells me that I am full and that I do not need more food. I still have plenty stored in my body that I need to burn off anyway. Also, I need to wait to eat dinner, especially, when I feel hungry. If I feel hungry and then eat, I won't eat as much. Many times, if I just eat for the sake of eating, I will eat more. It's hard to explain but believe me, that's what happens.
When I make my dinner, I make the conscious effort to not fill my plate to the brim with food. I put decent sized portions on there, not oversized ones which I can easily do. And I listen to my body while I am eating. I take my time and actually chew my food and not swallow it whole LOL It's making a difference in how I eat. And not only that, it is cutting down on my food costs because dishes that I make last longer. I am still able to eat the entire dish in a timely manner so that I do not have to throw it out without overeating. That's a good feeling.
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