Portion Control (5 Easy Tips)

Did you know it’s #DietitiansWeek2022?

Diet and healthy eating play a huge part in our general well-being. There is a great range of simple things you can be doing to help improve your diet—including portion control.

Our Accredited Practicing Dietitian Steph Blackwell gives her advice on how to approach portion control and healthy eating. #DietitiansImproveLives

Portion Control

At Health First Group, we believe that portion control plays a vital role in weight management. Below Stephanie Blackwell discusses 5 simple tips that you can follow to ensure you are following the correct weight method steps.

Tip #1 Understand what it looks like

The first step to understanding portion control is getting a handle on what a nutritionally complete plate looks like- half a plate
of non-starchy veg (basically all veg except corn, potato, turnips/parsnips), one-quarter of the
plate smart carbohydrates (whole grains including brown rice, brown pasta etc) and one quarter
of the plate lean protein.

Tip #2 Familiarise yourself with Australian Healthy Eating Guidelines

Become familiar with the Australian Healthy Eating Guidelines, and learn to visualise what one
serve is of each core food group. Your hands can be a good measurement tool (see picture
above). Correct serving sizes, especially of your smart carbohydrates, will prove pivotal to weight
loss/maintenance. You can try serving your smart carbs last when dishing up, this can help avoid
serving a larger serve as there should not be too much space left on your plate.

Tip #3 Try different strategies

Mindful eating strategies are also helpful with portion control. Do you know it takes around 20
minutes for the food in your mouth to reach your stomach? Serve your food on a smaller plate
and eat your meals in a non-distracting environment. If cooking in bulk, serve your meal plus your
leftovers and put your leftovers away. Another good strategy is to serve up your vegetables first,
followed by your protein and then by your smart carbohydrate, this method means there is less
room on the plate to over serve the carbohydrate portion, which are usually the hardest to
control. It’s important to spend time trying to get in touch with your hunger and satiety cues to
avoid overeating.

Tip #4 You can NEVER eat too many vegetables 

Well, perhaps there is a limit, however, non-starchy vegetables are full of fibre to keep you feeling fuller for
longer and low GI for slow-releasing energy. If you do feel you need some more food after waiting
20 mins and using a smaller plate, reach for these.

Tip #5 See a Dietitian!

Portion control is so important. If you would like to discuss other methods of portion control, or
find a tailored approach that suits you, you can book a telehealth appointment here.

Weight management is a passion of mine, so I would love to assist you in
reaching your health and weight management goals!

Written by: Stephanie Blackwell | Accredited Practising Dietitian

Book an appointment with Stephanie our Remote Dietitian here