The importance of portion control
February 22 2014
One of the major factors that can help you to achieve your weight loss goals is proper portion control. An important thing to remember as you attempt to manage your weight is that your weight is a direct function of the number of calories that you ingest through food and drink as compared with the number of calories that you burn off. You can burn off calories through normal activity and bodily functions as well as exercise. By adjusting these intake and output levels, you’ll adjust whether you gain, lose or maintain your weight.
How Portion Control Helps to Lose Weight
Portion control directly helps you to lose weight by tipping the scales in favor of the output of caloric energy. When you carefully monitor your portion sizes, you decrease the amount of food that you eat. This decrease in food intake also represents an overall decrease in the number of calories that you eat, provided that you eat the same foods that you did previously. This makes it easier for you to burn off those calories through less activity. You’ll therefore begin to gain weight more slowly or, ideally, to maintain or even lose weight.
Proper Portion Control
Proper and healthy portion control is characterized by moderation and mindful eating. While it’s important to not eat too much of any particular type of food, it’s also equally important to avoid eating too little. Learn about the recommended serving sizes of various types of food, and do your best to adhere to them. Using a meal planning tool can help you keep track of your calorie intake as well as help monitor your portion sizes. This will ensure that you are eating a proper amount and that your body is fully nourished.
Also, it’s important that you not limit the amount of food that you eat too severely when you exercise portion control. Eating moderate portions of only food that is unhealthy in general will not necessarily yield you good results in terms of weight loss.
Other Benefits of Portion Control
There are a number of other benefits of portion control. First, you’ll condition your body to become full after consuming a smaller quantity of food. This means that controlling your portions should become easier and easier over time, and that you’ll have to concern yourself less as time goes on. Additionally, many people find that they generally feel better and have more energy when they’ve eaten moderate portions than they did when they ate overly large portions. Finally, monitoring your portions appropriately can help to improve your digestion process and your regularity as well.
In addition to monitoring your portion size, an effective weight loss program should also contain a healthy mixture of different types of food. You should also include regular cardiovascular exercise as well, in order to achieve the best results. For more information about setting up a diet or an exercise regimen that is suitable for you and your needs, speak with a doctor.
