Portion Control Diet - Why it is Still the Most Affective

Food Portion Facts
We underestimate the number of calories that we consume everyday. It is a normal fact of life that we are simply not very good at estimating how much we eat. A recent analysis paper pointed to Americans underestimating their calorie consumption by at least 20%. The worst scenario was when eating out in fast food restaurants where we can underestimate the calorie content in our food by as much as 50%.

The thing is most people don’t know this and still think that their estimation on the amount of calories that they take in is accurate and wondering why they are having a hard time losing weight. The best thing that we can recommend is to actually buy a food weighing scale and a standard portion cup so you can actually have a proper visual representation of how much a normal portion is. After a while you will understand that calories mount up quite quickly and will learn to appreciate what the normal portions really are.

Below is a list of common food items and regular serving sizes that we regularly underestimate:

- Meats including fish: 3 ounces or the size of a deck of cards, or the palm of a woman's hand;
- Pastas & Vegetables: half a cup, or the size of a tennis ball;
- Muffins or Bagels: 1 oz, or the size of a ping pong ball;
- Cheeses: 1 oz, or the size of a woman's thumb;
- Butter and Oils: 1 teaspoon, or the size of a stamp;
- Salad dressing: 2 tablespoons, or the size of a standard ice cube;
- Vegetables: 1 cup, or the size of a baseball.

Our View

To us the portion control diet is one of the straightest forward and no nonsense diets out there. There are no gimmicks or weird procedures that lend themselves to complicated the situation so it is also one of the easiest diets to follow. You are not restricted to any types of food and as such the chances of you growing weary of the diet and giving up are also greatly reduced. You are able to define what portion you are going to set aside and there is no restriction on what is the minimum amount you are going to set aside. If you find it hard there isn’t a problem with setting aside 10% - 20% just to start of your diet on the right note.

We recommend that people strongly consider using this diet as the first means to lose weight. Other diets are harder to understand and also harder to follow. With the portion control diet you are better able to understand the caloric limits of your body while still inching towards your weight loss goals with an easier heart.

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