Portion Size Advice

Hi everyone,

Looking for a little advice on portion sizes, as my weight loss is slowing down and I'm looking for tips and advice on speeding it back up again (2 weeks until my holiday and 8lbs to lose!)

Technically, free foods are free, but surely there is a limit to them? Surely on a red day, I can't just eat mountains and mountains of chicken for instance? Similarly on a green day, should I be eating a normal portion of pasta, or can I have a larger portion each time, to fill me up?

Also, things like fruit and fat free natural yoghurt. Technically both are free, but sometimes I can eat a whole bag of grapes and a whole tub of yoghurt in one sitting. If I did that every day, it would hinder my loss surely? Even though those foods are free?

Subbing because I'm interested in the answers you'll get

The amount of free food you eat is limited by a few things. Firstly the 1/3 superfree rule. If you adhere to this in your plate then that limits your free food intake. Secondly your appetite, the lean proteins and slow release carbs in many free foods will fill you up more and for longer for less kcal than high fat and high sugar foods.

The literature say to eat until satisfied. So do that. No where does it say eat silly amounts of free food until you burst. That's just common sense. You work to your natural full limits and will also find that over time it takes less to satisfy you to the same degree

Thirdly, if you are really sticking to plan you should snack on superfree as your first choice and only snack on free if the superfree isn't cutting it. At the end of the day its common sense again that if we all snacked on mullers and mug shots all day we wouldn't lose weight.

So fill your plate with superfree, have as much free as you need to feel satisfied and stop when you are full.

Oh and on the fruit issue, grapes are made up of mostly water. So if you eat a whole punnet, sure there are fruit sugars but its unlikely to hinder your losses. All fruit has sugar, sure, but its natural fructose and isn't the same as refined sugar.

Thanks lickthelid. I was aware there would be limits, but wasn't sure if they were stricter than just using my common sense!

Some me days I could just eat and eat and eat, no matter how many super free and free foods I shovel down me!

We all have days like that

I just struggle as I work long hrs and hubby works even longer, so I snack on free or super free when I get home whilst waiting for him and then eat together and then if he has a desert etc then I snack on free again. Hmmmmph.

in fact, I just find dieting and cooking for someone not on the diet incredibly hard (I know there are thousands that do it though). OH used to do it with me but is such a fussy eater he couldn't keep it up. I try to cook us the same meal but I will remove the meat or carbs as appropriate to whether I'm on a red/green day, but this means I'm not always full. He doesn't eat soup or pasta so their already off my menus. Hmmmmph.

It can be a pain. I'm kind of used to it now. I make the basics the same so we all have SW chips done in the Actify etc and then husband has meat and I substitute for something veggie that fits with the plan. Eventually you will find a balance.

When I sit down for my meals, I usually eat the superfree foods first (if possible), that takes the edge of my hunger. In addition, I bought smaller plates and never overfill a plate. For me to stop eating when feeling satisfied was a tricky one at first, as I had to learn to "listen" to me body again.

MagicBeans23 said:

I just struggle as I work long hrs and hubby works even longer, so I snack on free or super free when I get home whilst waiting for him and then eat together and then if he has a desert etc then I snack on free again. Hmmmmph.

in fact, I just find dieting and cooking for someone not on the diet incredibly hard (I know there are thousands that do it though). OH used to do it with me but is such a fussy eater he couldn't keep it up. I try to cook us the same meal but I will remove the meat or carbs as appropriate to whether I'm on a red/green day, but this means I'm not always full. He doesn't eat soup or pasta so their already off my menus. Hmmmmph.

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Your hubby is a lucky man. My hubby has got no choice but to eat it, as the dinner choices here usually come as "Take it - or leave it xx

This is also something I am struggling with at the moment. Although I have lost almost 4st, my portion sizes have never changed in that time, and at the last two weigh in's I have seen a maintain and a gain, despite sticking rigidly to plan.

I too decided to try and do some portion control. I know myself that if my plate is full, I will eat the lot. Just because it's there. Slimming World tell us to eat until we are satisfied, but that is one thing that I can't seem to do. Even if I am feeling full up, if there is still food on my plate, my brain doesn't seem to register that and I keep on eating until my plate is cleared. Usually resulting in me being hugely bloated and feeling quite sick.

Now, I know this is quite controversial, but one thing I have done this week to help me with my portion control is to track my calorie intake using My Fitness Pal. I know that Slimming World doesn't work by counting calories, but essentially the fact is that if I eat too many calories then I am going to put on weight. Regardless of which plan I'm following.

Anyway, I put in my details and it gave me a number of calories I should be eating each day to lose 1lb a week, which is my aim. I've been inputting my food intake into MFP each day, making sure not to go over my calorie allowance. Obviously straight away that restricts the free food (in fact, any food!) I am eating. I have started roughly weighing out my food and making my meals smaller. It's also helped because I'll put more SuperFree on my plate, and less potato / pasta / etc. which is higher in calories. Surprisingly I've found it really insightful. I've never gone hungry once this week, and have never had that "stuffed-and-can't-move-off-the-couch" feeling either.

I really seem to have enjoyed my food a lot more this week, too. Having smaller portions made me appreciate the food a lot more, and I would savour it more, eating slower rather than wolfing down a huge great plate.

I'm not saying that everyone should track calories alongside Slimming World, absolutely not. But when you hit these "plateus" you kind of have to play around a bit and see what works best for you. I've got weigh in tomorrow night, and I'm really hoping for a decent loss, but we shall see! I will definitely keep tracking as I have this week though, I like the element of being in control.

I've got a diet plate I don't use it at the moment but I'm sure it will put in an appearance once I plateau!!! I too eat mahoosive portions. It can't last forever.

lickthelid said:

I've got a diet plate I don't use it at the moment but I'm sure it will put in an appearance once I plateau!!! I too eat mahoosive portions. It can't last forever.

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Not sure what your diet plate is like Sam, but I've got a childs plate I'll start using when I come to a halt, it's split up into all the different sections of food you should be having, topped with colorful little pictures of smiley food groups! I imagine the pictures will make dinner time much more fun!

Portion wise I'm terrible, I'm definitely a plate cleaner even if I'm full, I make the same amount now but split it into more portions, then if I'm still hungry there's some left, if not it serves as the OH's lunch the next day!
X

The childrens place is a good idea. My little girl has a cath kidston one like that. I could steal it!

this is my diet plate. I bought it years ago and its never really been used. The portion behind the wavy tape measure is roughly 1/3 and its deeper so you don't build up your food right to the edge of the plate. I'm going to use it tonight now. I've decided!

Princess
I used to calories count on MFP before trying SW again....combining the two could be an option for the future (I already keep a food diary, so if I transfer it to FP it wouldn't be much hassle.)


Lickthelid
I love that diet plate! Have seen them online when I've been looking at SW books. I def need to invest in something similar, or like others have mentioned, just a smaller plate!

You can get hand painted ones on eBay for around £8. People make them. You can get extra easy or success express ones. Not sure how dish-washable they are though. Mine is an "official" diet plate one (they do bowls too) and in hindsight I can't believe I spent £20 on it!!! I've used it for two nights now and it does seem to keeps the volume down but I'm still full so I must have been overeating before.

Can you get the plates for original/green plans though? I've only ever seen them for EE where they are split into thirds. Someone has suggested I could use the SE approach and have 1/3 meat/carbs as appropriate to plan that day and then 1/3 free and 1/3 super free.

MagicBeans23 said:

Can you get the plates for original/green plans though? I've only ever seen them for EE where they are split into thirds. Someone has suggested I could use the SE approach and have 1/3 meat/carbs as appropriate to plan that day and then 1/3 free and 1/3 super free.

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i have to admit I haven't looked BUT the 1/3 is relevant either way. It's just the decoration wouldn't be appropriate. I've thought a few times about going to a pottery painting place and doing my own!!