How To Stick with Your Healthy Lifestyle Goals Even at Social Gatherings
Honestly, social gatherings and parties are the hardest places for me to eat mindfully and sensibly. In fact, my overeating mostly happens at parties; however, these tips and trick have helped me and my clients eat more sensibly at parties. I hope you find some tricks that may help you too.
Instead of stressing about calories, focus on slowing down and enjoying your food. Make sure you put your fork down, slowly chew your food, and finally take a sip of your drink before picking up your fork to prepare your next bite.
Eat a healthy snack before you go to a party so that you are not starving when you get to there.
Don’t try everything at the party. Select small samples of the best at the table. Look at everything and rate the food before deciding what to get. If food isn’t a 10 then pass.
When people are bringing food, bring your own healthy food option for everyone to enjoy, and eat only your healthy food.
If the party is at your house, prepare only delicious healthy foods by using lower calorie versions of food and whole grains for your ingredients or using a healthy cookbook.
Volunteer to help so that you can do something else besides eating (Ex: blow up balloons)
Practice saying, “No thank you.” before hand.
Don’t stand near the food.
Pay attention to other joys around you, such as family and friends and the decor or environment.
Keep your hands busy by holding and sipping on a glass of water; sometimes we eat at parties just to be doing something or we feel like we want something in our hands.
Limit the alcohol; again hold a glass of water, diet soda, or diet lemonade.
Eat slowly from a plate. That way you won’t run out of food on your plate and go back for seconds. Just very slowly nibble food from your plate while you enjoy the party.
Sometimes you will eat more at a social gathering. Often times the problem is not how much we ate at the party, but more that we give up and overindulge as soon as we have eaten just a little bit more than usual. Sometimes we have an all or nothing approach. If a social gathering throws a kink into your routine, don’t just throw in the towel. Instead, focus on mindfully eating and enjoying your food slowly. You can be proud that you ate healthier than usual at a party even if you eat more than you usually do on a daily basis. For more information about mindful eating click here.
If you are looking for make ahead freezer meals that you can take to parties or eat at home, then you can find them in the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook.
The “What is Preventing You From Living a Healthier Life?” interactive quiz
Mindful eating techniques and guide
A Complete Healthy Freezer Meal Plan: You will learn how to cook all of your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for a whole month in ONE day. Don’t worry, I don’t just give you a bunch of recipes adn tell you to cook them in one day. The ebook includes strategies and “Pro Tips” on HOW to efficiently cook your meals in one day.
The goals of cooking all of your meals in ONE Day are:
More daily free time,
A decreased grocery bill,
Healthier meals for the whole family,
Less daily stress, and
Weight Loss/Weight Maintenance
Learn more about the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” eBook here.
Here are a Few Reviews for “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals”
“I have lost 17 pounds since I started eating these freezer meals. They are healthy AND taste great!!! We are now eating at home more, which has made a huge difference!” -Chad
“As I read this book, I kept thinking, ‘this is so much more than a freezer meal cookbook! Lacy needs to be a life coach! She has such a positive outlook on life!’ “The Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook is so uplifting and encouraging!”
“I can actually see a decrease in my grocery bill since I started eating these freezer meals, and my kids love them! We are eating healthier now. Plus, we are eating more meals together as a family!” -Nicole
Want More?
If you would like to evaluate your own diet and determine which tips work best for you, please take the free DIY Diet self assessment and evaluation developed by a registered dietitian.
Have you ever read product recommendations on someone’s website, and thought, “I want to get that product later,” but then later comes around and you can’t remember the name of the product, where you can buy it, or which post talked about the product the first place? Well, this has happened to me so I wanted a place where you could find a list of my favorite products. These are the products I have talked about throughout this website.
I hope you find this list a great resource of some of the best health, nutrition, and fitness products.
Why would you need a door shoe rack, you ask? A few years ago, I bought a similar shoe rack to the one below and hung the rack over the pantry door. I like the clear shoe racks so that my children can easily see what is inside. I keep healthy snacks like popcorn, cups of mandarin oranges, and whole-wheat crackers on the lower shoe compartments. These are snacks my children (and I) can easily grab anytime. I keep a small portion of their favorite not-so-healthy snacks in the higher shoe compartments. My children can’t reach these compartments and have to ask me if they can have these snacks.
Sheet Protector and Dry Erase Markers
In my “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” eBook, I talk about how I place my grocery list in a sheet protector. By doing this, I can use the same grocery list every time I shop. I simply use a dry erase marker to mark off items I already have, and to mark off items as a grocery shop.
If you are looking for a detailed freezer meal plan and weight loss guide, you will want to purchase the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook.
The “What is Preventing You From Living a Healthier Life?” interactive quiz
Mindful eating techniques and guide
A Complete Healthy Freezer Meal Plan: You will learn how to cook all of your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for a whole month in ONE day. Don’t worry, I don’t just give you a bunch of recipes adn tell you to cook them in one day. The ebook includes strategies and “Pro Tips” on HOW to efficiently cook your meals in one day.
The goals of cooking all of your meals in ONE Day are:
More daily free time,
A decreased grocery bill,
Healthier meals for the whole family,
Less daily stress, and
Weight Loss/Weight Maintenance
Learn more about the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” eBook here.
Here are a Few Reviews from the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” Launch Team
“I have lost 17 pounds since I started eating these freezer meals. They are healthy AND taste great!!! We are now eating at home more, which has made a huge difference!” Chad, South Carolina
“As I read this book, I kept thinking, ‘this is so much more than a freezer meal cookbook! Lacy needs to be a life coach! She has such a positive outlook on life!’ “The Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook is so uplifing and encouraging!” Wendy, South Carolina
“I can actually see a decrease in my grocery bill since I started eating these freezer meals, and my kids love them! We are eating healthier now. Plus, we are eating more meals together as a family!” Nicole, South Carolina
eBook Resource
I used the “eBook Ninja” ebook by Megan Johnson to learn how to write, format, promote, and sell my eBook, and I could not have made the Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals eBook without it!
I also read her book “Pinterest Ninja.” This book helped my blog become successful through Pinterest. Both of her books were so helpful!
“My Work Makes It Hard for Me to Lose Weight.” Have you ever said this?
Many of my clients and friends have said similar words, and I have been there too. Work Environments are a challenge for many, but the good news is their are easy habits you can implement to help you reach your wellness goals even when work makes it hard. Here are a few tips that can help you in a difficult work environment.
Mindfully Eat: Mindful eating can help in any environment. To read more about mindful eating click here. You can also download the Free Mindful Planner here.
Walk during your lunch break, and eat a bag lunch at your desk. Try inviting them to join you on your walk.
Have nourishing mood-boosting dark chocolate or healthy packaged snacks in your candy jar; instead of candy. Find nourishing and filling packaged snack ideas here.
Bring your food instead of getting fast food, take out, or vending.
Bring a pre-portioned nourishing frozen meal to work every day. Click here for the healthiest packaged frozen dinners according to dietitians.
Make your own pre-portioned meals ahead of time. You can learn how to EASILY build your own meals in The Nourishing Meal Builder books.
Have a fruit bowl instead of a candy bowl at work.
Pre-portion nourishing snacks to take to work like fruits or sliced vegetables.
Keep healthy options like carrot sticks closer to you or on your desk for when you are craving snacks.
Turn dinner from the night before into a healthy lunch, by putting a serving of your dinner into a light whole wheat wrap.
Sometimes it can be mentally draining to figure out what meals to bring to work day in and day out. If you want to take the stress out of planning your meals for work, then get it all done in a day! The “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook show you how to make a month of healthy freezer meals in one day. When you are ready to go to work, just grab a pre-portioned lunch out of the freezer and go. When it is time to eat lunch, simply pop your freezer meal in the microwave for two minutes and your healthy lunch is ready to eat! If work meals are your main issue, you can just use the lunch section of the ebook, or you can make all of your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for a month in one day using this ebook!
Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals eBook
Mindful Eating Can Help in Any Environment
*Remember that mindful eating can often help in any environment. To read more about mindful eating click here. You can also download the Free Mindful Planner here.
If you would like to evaluate your own wellness plan and determine which tips work best for you, please take the free Christian Wellness self assessment and evaluation developed by a registered dietitian.
As a dietitian, I am always looking for products that will help my clients, family, and friends…and ME! I recommend a product called MealEnders to all of the above and anyone who is wanting to eat less or lose weight. I have raved about this product to everyone from my pastor, to my best friend; from medical staff, to my mom, and I keep them with me as well. MealEnders use sensory and neurological science to improve portion control.
This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)
MealEnders Helps with Portion Control in Three Ways
3 Ways MealEnders Help with Portion Control
MealEnders gives your Brain time to Realize You Have Eaten
Have you ever heard the saying ‘it takes your brain about 20 minutes to realize you have eaten’? Well there is some science behind that saying. After you have eaten, your food travels from your stomach to your colon. Peptide yy is released when your food moves into your colon. Once your food hits the colon and the peptide yy is released, your brain finally gets the signal you have eaten. This whole process takes about 20 minutes!
But how do MealEnders help with this? When you suck on a MealEnder after you have eaten, you give your brain about 20 mintues to catch up and realize you have eaten. So when you suck on a MealEnder, take the time to mindfully enjoy the flavors. MealEnders really are tasty treats.
2. The Brain says, “But You Haven’t Had Dessert!”
Many of us associate dessert with the end of the meal. So when we don’t get that sweet taste, we feel like somthing is missing. MealEnders have a sweet outer layer that will help us feel satisfied. In other words, we will associate that sweet MealEnder with the end of the meal.
3. Cleanses your Palette, Stopping the Craving to Eat
Finally, the center has a strong and refreshing mint flavor. Just like the tip, “brush your teeth after a meal, to stop the desire to eat” the MealEnder’s strong mint taste cleanses your palette and stops those cravings to continue eating. Have you ever noticed that you don’t usually feel like eating after you brushed your teeth? Yeah, it’s just like that!
Final Thoughts on MealEnders
I have personally used MealEnders to help with portion control at the end of a meal or snack, and I have also found these little yummy treats helpful before I begin snacking. MealEnders comes in chocolate, citrus, cinnamon, and mocca. Every flavor I have tried has been delicious. I truly think this is an amazing product. In fact, I have yet to meet anyone who didn’t love them the minute they tried them!
Check out these 46 tips and tricks for healthy snacking, and remember, you can see huge changes by incorporating just one or two of these baby steps into your life. Be sure to pick the tips that will specifically work best for YOU, and remember to always focus on mindful eating whenever you snack.
40 Clever Snacking Hacks for Healthy Living
Portion Control Snacking Tricks
Use your fist to determine your snack size. Put a fist full of snacks on a plate and mindfully enjoy your snack. Click here for mindful eating techniques.
Drink a glass of water before you reach for a bite. Do this every time to get more water into your day.
Pre-portion all your healthy snacks ahead of time.
Instead of snacking from the box, carton, or bag, put a serving on a plate and eat off of that plate. You will enjoy your food more if you take the time to sit down and eat from a plate, and you will be less likely to overeat if you separate snacks into appropriate fist-sized servings.
Snack when you feel hungry. Before snacking, ask yourself, ‘Am I hungry or am I wanting to eat because of emotions like stress, boredom, tiredness, sadness, etc?’
When you snack, make sure you are mindfully enjoying your food instead of mindlessly snacking. Chew each bite and swallow before picking up your next bite. Pay attention to the flavors, notice and enjoy each bite. Take a sip of your drink before picking up your next bite. It takes your brain 20 minutes to realize that your stomach is full so take your time. (see How to Mindfully Eating for Weight Loss)
Pause before you start eating. Pausing before eating is a major key to mindful eating. I do more than pause though; I take the time to pray a specific prayer. After this one prayer, I rarely feel the need to overeat. Now when I eat, I think about 1 Corinthians 10:31 which says, “ So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Inspired by this Bible verse, I have started praying before I eat, saying, “God, thank you so much for this food. Thank you for this time that I have to sit and enjoy the food you have given me. I want to eat for the glory of You, God.” I enjoy my food so much more when I am focused on eating for the glory of God.
This site contains affiliate links (See full disclosure here.)
Snack Less Often Tricks
Limit nibbling or tasting while cooking or cleaning up the meal. Nibbling while cooking is mindless eating. When we mindlessly eat, are we really enjoying our food?
Go to bed at a decent time. . If you start feeling like you want to eat late at night, but you are not actually hungry, you might actually just be tired. Go to bed. You will wake up refreshed and ready breakfast.
Take up a hobby so that you can enjoy another activity in your leisure time besides eating. Whenever I felt like eating when I’m not hungry, I often think ‘would I rather exercise, read, or dance instead of eating?’ and the answer usually ‘yes’.
Pre-plan something fun to you will do instead of snacking. Every time you want to snack when you are not hungry, do one of your pre-planned activities first. Examples of preplanned activities are call a friend, walk, read, or take a bath.
Get into a snacking routine and plan your snack times. Your body will get use to snacking at this time, and you will be less likely to randomly graze and snack at other times of the day.
Make sure your meals are satisfying. Mindfully eat and enjoy your meals.
Store snack foods out of site.
Keep more nourishing foods and snacks in the house instead of the less nourishing empty-calorie foods.
Limit snacking to only one place in the house so that you won’t associate lots of areas in your house with food. If you eat all over the house, you will crave food everywhere.
Make TV a snack free activity. If you eat while watching T.V., your body will associate TV with eating. With practice, eventually you will not crave food while watching TV.
Sometimes we snack because we are tired. If you are feeling tired, and not actually feeling hungry, take a nap or do a mindful breathing exercise instead of snacking. So listen to your body and give your body what it is actually asking for.
If you like eating while watching TV, do something else with your hands instead like a hobby, fold clothes, or relaxing stretches.
Close down the kitchen after you have finished a meal. Clean up immediately after a meal and then turn off the kitchen lights, leave the kitchen, and do something in another part of the house.
Don’t skip breakfast. For some, eating breakfast reduces overeating throughout the day, increases energy, and fuels your mind so that you can feel ready to conquer the day. Make sure your breakfast is nourishing and filling. Eating something like a cup of oatmeal in the morning may prevent you from binging in the afternoon.
Avoid snacking while doing other things like reading, surfing the internet, eating in front of a television or in a movie theater
Drink lots of water! Our body’s need plenty or water!
Make sure your meals are satisfying. Eat high fiber, nutrient-dense meals to promote fullness.
Eating sugar causes us to want to eat more; therefore, limit sugary foods to decrease your desire to overeat. In other words, the sweeter the food, the more we want sweeter food. The less sweet the food, the less we desire sweets. For example, if you go a long time without sweets, then a piece of fruit will taste nice and sweet to you and a piece of chocolate cake may taste too sweet to you. But if you continue to eat sweet foods, a piece of fruit will not taste sweet enough and a piece of chocolate cake will be needed to feed your sweet tooth.
If you love to eat, but are feeling full, think of the end of your meal as just a break from eating instead of the end. Tell yourself you will continue eating at your next meal.
Here is one that may work for some. This is an exercise in changing the way your mind thinks about different foods. Through visualization, learn to think of nutritious foods in a more positive light. When you see vegetables, visualize them fighting your hunger, cancer, and heart disease or picture relaxing by a cozy fire while eating warm vegetable soup. Or picture yourself sitting by the beach, eating juicy cold fruit. Visualize the gift of the nourishing food as you are eating. Below is an example of my thought process as I mindfully ate a meal. This will work for snacks as well.
“I could see the steam coming from my freshly cooked brown rice bowl as I set down at the table. I was hungry, and the aroma from the spices made me feel excited about what I was about to eat. But I didn’t start yet. First, I paused and took a moment to notice this gift from God. As I paused, I looked down at my food. The green of the broccoli, brown of the brown rice and beans, and orange of the sweet potatoes reminded me of the colors of God’s earth on a beautiful bright spring day. I am overwhelmed by the miracle of food, and I thank God. Our bodies and minds need certain “things” to thrive and miraculously, thanks to God, these “things” grow straight out of the ground!
Now I am ready to take that first glorious bite. As I bite down, my mouth explodes with the flavors of fresh garlic and spices. I can feel the gritty earthiness of the brown rice, which is yet another reminder that I am eating food from God’s beautiful earth. It tastes like sweet nourishment as if my body is flourishing with each bite. I can feel the creaminess of the black beans as my mouth breaks up the outer skin. I continue to pray with each bite, thanking God for the “things” God gave us to help us thrive- the fiber, the vitamins and minerals, the antioxidants, and protein.
As I eat, I enjoy God’s company. I tell God that I want to glorify Him in all that I do, including eating, and thank God for providing the energy and nutrients I need to go into the world and spread God’s love.
I continue to mindfully eat, making a conscious decision to be present with God and my food. With each bite, the stress of the day just melts away. This is a chance to rest my body and decompress. I can feel myself relaxing in God’s presence.”
How to Eat Healthier Snacks
Snack on healthy snacks while your children eat snacks so that you will not mindlessly pick food from their plate.
Or if you would rather eat cooked vegetables for a snack then sauté a big bag of frozen mixed vegetables in cooking spray or olive oil and garlic. Add some red pepper for additional flavor and separate into portion-sized containers for the fridge. The key is always have healthy snacks on hand and limit the availability of unhealthy snacks.
Snack on nourishing foods like vegetables, nuts, dark chocolate, or fruit. These food are super filling, and will benefit your body.
Have nonfat yogurt, pudding, and/or fruit instead of other sweets like cake, cookies, donuts, etc.
If you like picking at food while watching TV, nibble on something nourishing like raw vegetables..
Nibble on raw fruits and vegetables while you are cooking.
If you are living with others who are eating less nutrient dense foods, make one cabinet and one part of the refrigerator their foods and make one section in the refrigerator and pantry your foods.
In this post, I have included EVERY portion control tip I have collected over my 15 years as a dietitian. I also included links to some of my favorite portion control tools and products! So here they are, 55 of the best portion control tips to stop overeating.
*Don’t try to follow all of these tips. Just pick a few that will work for you. In fact, some tips will not work with each other.
The Best Portion Control Tips: What REALLY Works According to a Registered Dietitian
1. Drink More Water. Most of us need to drink more water. One way to drink more water is to fill up a large water bottle and drink from it throughout the day
2. Fill your plate with fruits and vegetables first.
Sometimes we leave little room for the fruits and vegetables because we pile up the plate with other foods first.
3. Split your plate into sections: Half the plate fruits and vegetables, 1/4 the plate meat, and 1/4 the plate starch.
Most meals are either divided into food groups like meat, carbohydrate, and vegetables. Sometimes our food groups are combined into recipes like in spaghetti. If you have a combination food, which is usually a meat, a starch, and maybe a few vegetables mixed in, then fill half your plate with only vegetables and fruit and half your plate with the combination food. Combination foods include foods like spaghetti or casseroles. If you are eating any vegetables that are not plain vegetables like squash or broccoli casserole or fried okra place these foods on your combination side of your plate.
Don’t cook too many things. All you need is a starch, meat (or combination food) and 2 vegetables or a fruit and vegetable. In other words, if you have rice, corn casserole, dinner rolls, hamburger steak, and salad for dinner then good luck trying to fit it on your plate. Even if you put a little of each on your plate you are going to eat way too much. All of a sudden your plate is piled high. Bottom line, if you have too many options, you often tend to eat too much.
5. Buy a portion control plate.
These are plates that already have the portions divided for you on the plate. All you have to do is put the appropriate food on the appropriate spot of the plate.
6. Drink water as soon as you wake up in the morning. Seriously water is essential for our health!
7. Use your fist to measure out your snack size. Eat a fist-sized snack and then listen to your body to see if you are still hungry.
This is an easy on-the-go portion control tip.
8. If you are full, stop eating.
Mindful eating is a helpful technique when it come to listening to your hunger cues and filling satisfied at the end of a meal. If you are full after you finish eating, but you are still wanting more. Do something else you enjoy for a few minutes. Then see if you still want something else to eat. Have you ever noticed that children are often ready for eating to end so that they can play? Their life doesn’t revolve around food. We can be like children again and really enjoy our lives. So if you enjoy looking at social media or texting a friend or looking at home décor magazines. Give yourself at least a few minutes to do something you enjoy after you eat.
9. Get seconds of vegetables. Vegetables are nourishing powerhouses!
10. Drink water before a meal and with meals to feed your thirst along with your hunger.
11. After cooking, freeze or refrigerate the food that you aren’t going to eat right away.
12. Before going back for seconds, wait 10 or 15 minutes. Notice your hunger cues.
You might not want seconds after all.
13. Have an afternoon prep day. Make 5 meals and 5 snacks in a bags or containers.
If snacks and meals are already bagged and pre-portioned it helps with portion control throughout the week.
14. Eat slowly and put your fork down.
Put your fork down between each bite. Chew each bite and swallow before picking up your fork for another bite. Pay attention to the flavors in each bite. Enjoy and notice each bite before going for the next bite. Take a sip of your drink before picking your fork back up. It takes your brain 20 minutes to realize that your stomach is full so take your time. (see How to Mindfully Eating for Portion Control)
15. Every time you eat a meal, sit down.
Avoid stand while eating. Your body better processes that you have eaten if you sit down and slowly enjoy your food.
16. Hold a conversation while you are eating and eat slowly.
17. Eat your meals at home on a smaller plate like a breakfast plate or child’s plate or be sure to leave “white space” or open space on your plate. And make your plate look appealing. The eating experience involves all of your senses including site.
18. Use a breakfast plate as your personal serving plate.
If you have trouble appropriately plating your food try this tip. Fill a breakfast plate with food and then take half of the food off of the breakfast plate and place that food on another plate. After you eat from one plate, pause to see if you are hungry before getting more food from the other plate. If you are full, save the other plate for the next meal. This physical act of have to re-plate your food, forces you to pause to notice hunger cues before putting more food on your plate. For more portion control ideas like these read Migrate Fletcher also wrote a book entitled The Core Concepts of Mindful Eating: Professional Edition
19. Pause and Pray before you eat.
Pause and look at your plate. Think about your plate and how it looks before you eat. Would someone else think that your portion size looks appropriate? Then while pausing, pray and thank God before taking my first sip and bite. Remind yourself to be mindful of God’s presence. Eating can becomes an act of worship. Remind yourself that you are taking care of God’s creation (you). Remember the words from 1 Corinthians 10:31, which says, “so whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Wow! What a great reminder! Also look to 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 to remember that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and that we should glorify God in our body. When we mindLESSly eat, we miss the opportunity to be in awareness of God’s presence. Finally, take your first sip of drink and only then begin eating. (See Mindful Eating)
Below is an example of what one of my mindful eating experiences:
“I could see the steam coming from my freshly cooked brown rice bowl as I set down at the table. I was hungry, and the aroma from the spices made me feel excited about what I was about to eat. But I didn’t start yet. First, I paused and took a moment to notice this gift from God. As I paused, I looked down at my food. The green of the broccoli, brown of the brown rice and beans, and orange of the sweet potatoes reminded me of the colors of God’s earth on a beautiful bright spring day. I am overwhelmed by the miracle of food, and I thank God. Our bodies and minds need certain “things” to thrive and miraculously, thanks to God, these “things” grow straight out of the ground!
Now I am ready to take that first glorious bite. As I bite down, my mouth explodes with the flavors of fresh garlic and spices. I can feel the gritty earthiness of the brown rice, which is yet another reminder that I am eating food from God’s beautiful earth. It tastes like sweet nourishment as if my body is flourishing with each bite. I can feel the creaminess of the black beans as my mouth breaks up the outer skin. I continue to pray with each bite, thanking God for the “things” God gave us to help us thrive- the fiber, the vitamins and minerals, the antioxidants, and protein.
As I eat, I enjoy God’s company. I tell God that I want to glorify Him in all that I do, including eating, and thank God for providing the energy and nutrients I need to go into the world and spread God’s love.
I continue to mindfully eat, making a conscious decision to be present with God and my food. With each bite, the stress of the day just melts away. This is a chance to rest my body and decompress. I can feel myself relaxing in God’s presence.”
20. Try eating at least two vegetables with every lunch and dinner.
21. Notice your hunger cues.
Think about how your stomach feels when it is empty. When you are hungry, your stomach will feel empty; you may get a headache or feel weak. If you don’t have any of these physical hunger cues, think about why you want to eat. Then when you do decide you are hungry and you decide to eat, be mindful of the food you eat (not mindless). Really taste and chew and think about what is in your mouth and going down your esophagus. (See How to Mindful Eating )
22. Use small bathroom cups for portion control of empty calorie foods.
23. Include high protein and fiber foods in your meals that help increase satiety.
Protein foods like a handful of nuts and fiber foods help you feel full longer. Foods with healthy fats such as olives, salmon and walnuts help you feel satisfied as well.
24. Always have vegetables on hand.
Sauté a big bag of frozen mixed vegetables in olive oil and garlic. Add some red pepper for additional flavor and separate into portion-sized containers for the refrigerator. Then fill up half your plate with these vegetables at dinner.
25. Keep track of how you are feeling and what your are thankful for with a journal or prayer journal
26. Avoid eating meals while doing other things like surfing the Internet or watching television.
You eat more when you aren’t thinking about the food, and you end up enjoying the food less and tasting the food less when you are doing other things while you are eating. Enjoy and pay attention to your food.
27. Take 30 second breaks sporadically during your meal to access how full you are.
This will also slow down your eating, which makes you feel full faster. Better yet, take 30 seconds throughout the meal to pause and remember that you are God’s creation. By eating, we are taking care of God’s creation and when we mindfully pause, we are taking the time to appreciate God’s gift of food as well. (See How to Mindful Eating to Lose Weight)
28. Pounding out your meat will make your healthier portions look visually more appealing. Your meat will also be tender!
29. Save a portion of your food for leftovers.
If you love eating and find yourself wanting to eat more even after you are uncomfortably full, tell yourself “this isn’t the end of a meal. It’s just a pause or a break. I can have more later. I still get to eat all of this food, I am just taking a break until the next meal.” Even if you only have a small amount left, SAVE it for leftovers. Too often we say, “Well, there is not enough to save so I might as well eat it.” Don’t fall into that trap. Add all your leftovers together and you will have a good meal. In other words, if you love eating and find yourself not wanting the meal to end, think of the end of the meal as just a break from eating. You will resume eating at the next meal.
30. Eat fruits and vegetables at every meal.
31. Have 1-2 sides at your meals. Too many side options can promote overeating. When you have too many side, your plate can easily become overly full even with a small amount of each side on your plate.
32. Eat veggies galore.
Eat veggies for snacks. Eat a large quantity of veggies at meals and smaller amount of your favorite foods at meals.
33. When eating a sandwich, take one piece of bread off, and eat an open face sandwich.
You still get the flavor and texture of the bread, plus you will actually taste the yummy toppings even better.
34. Don’t serve the food at the dinner table.
Keep it in the kitchen or better yet; measure out your food to fix your plate and then put the food away in the refrigerator before you eat.
35. One day a week or even better one day a month, cook all your food for the week or month.
If you are looking for a more detailed weight loss meal plan then check out the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook. This ebook not only includes more mindful eating strategies and techniques, but also provides a detailed freezer meal plan and weight loss guide!
Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals eBook
The “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” eBook has 22 Chapters full of helpful information and tips including:
The “What is Preventing You From Living a Healthier Life?” interactive quiz
The Mindful eating Guide
The Importance of Faith
A Complete Healthy Freezer Meal Plan: You will learn how to cook all of your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for a whole month in ONE day. Don’t worry, I don’t just give you a bunch of recipes and tell you to cook them in one day. The ebook includes strategies and “Pro Tips” on HOW to efficiently cook your meals in one day.
The goals of cooking all of your meals in ONE Day are:
More daily free time,
A decreased grocery bill,
Healthier meals for the whole family,
Less daily stress, and
Weight Loss/Weight Maintenance
Learn more about the Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals eBook here.
What Others are Saying about the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meal” ebook
“I have lost 17 pounds since I started eating these freezer meals. They are healthy AND taste great!!! We are now eating at home more, which has made a huge difference!”
“As I read this book, I kept thinking, ‘this is so much more than a freezer meal cookbook! Lacy needs to be a life coach! She has such a positive outlook on life!’ “The Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook is so uplifting and encouraging!”
“I can actually see a decrease in my grocery bill since I started eating these freezer meals, and my kids love them! We are eating healthier now. Plus, we are eating more meals together as a family!”
Click here to learn more about the Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals ebook
If you liked these portion control tips, you may also enjoy these other posts:
instead of getting seconds.
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. This plate takes the guesswork out of portioning. You can even use the lid to prevent you from piling the food to high. The lid also makes the plate very portable. You can pack your lunch for work using the portion plate!
