WW ladies portion questions

AnnetteWalker

I did WW last summer and I did ok on it but not great. I know the basic idea DH and I lost a lot of weight before our wedding by eating better and working out a lot. Now I have much less time to work out and need to watch my diet to lose any weight.

My question is on portion sizing. Do you measure everything out? I am terrible at looking at something and saying that is the size of a deck of cards or of my fist. I am just really bad at that. I do have a food scale at home that I could use. What worked best for you on getting portions the right size?

llking_2984

When I did things I would measure with a measuring cup on cereal, veggies, you name it. Then I would also follow the serving size on crackers, cookies, etc. Then I would take the servings size totals of calories, fat, etc and plug it into the calculator to figure out how many pts that was. After a while, eating the same things in that serving size, I knew the pts without having to check the calculator. The more you do it, the easier it gets to where you don't have to measure because you know how much of each you are suppose to eat. But the first month I would say is the hardest. The little extra time it takes to measure and count out the serving sizes pays off! GL! =]

Mrs.Kiltlifter

I measured at first and then you get into the habit of just knowing what it is.  My biggest piece of advice about portion control is to eat with a smaller plate.  I have 2 different sizes, the salad size and the dinner plate.  I have eaten off of the salad plate ever since beginning my weight loss journey.  I also sometimes eat dinner out of a bowl. 

But measure first and then you will just know what a portion size is.  

Nancy_Drew

I didn't do the deck of cards or fist thing.  I tried with things like meat or I'd just weigh out a piece of meat before cooking

As far as portion control, it was the side dishes that was the worst problem for me before WW.  WHile doing WW, I'd actually read the box to see what a serving size was and then I'd only put that much on my plate.  I didn't always measure per say, but I'd see the box of Pasta Roni served 4 and make sure between the 2 of us we didn't polish the whole thing off!  (like we did before)  I did sometimes actually measure, but eyeballing it was easier for me.

They had those serving spoons at the WW meetings that I really wanted to get.  They might be helpful for you,  the scoops are already portioned out for 1/2 cup serving etc.....

CinemaGoddess

I used measuring cups for the easy-to-measure stuff, like liquids and cooked rice, and I used a scale to measure out the dry ingredients and harder-to-measure stuff, like fruits and veggies.

The only hard part I had was determining what weight measurement equals 1/2 cup for fruits/veggies.  4oz is 1/2 cup liquid, but I've found numerous different weight measurements (usually in grams) for 1/2 equivalents of solid items.  I just started guesstimating, especially for the f/v.  Because, really, nobody got fat eating carrots. 

One trick I learned, though - your palm is about the size of a deck of cards, so you can pretty easily figure out your portions for meats that way.  Just make sure you're measuring after to you cook your meals, not before. 

 

mishquiche

I measure everything.  Even though I'm pretty sure I know what a serving is since I eat the same foods all the time, I still measure.  I think serving sizes tend to creep up if you're just eyeballing it.

I use measuring cups and also have a WW food scale.  PP's suggestion of using a smaller plate is a great idea.  Also, when I buy foods like crackers, cereal, etc., I divide it into individual portions in baggies when I get home.  That makes it a lot easier for me to control the amount I eat (or don't eat!).

Alli923

I probably won't be much help, I grew up with a family of chef's so I've always had a good eye for size/weight of food.  But, what helped me was a)eating SLOW! even if I'd taken more food than I should have, if I ate really slow I usually didn't eat it all b)I used to eat until it felt like my stomach would explode, literally so full it hurt.  So, I started forcing myself to put my plate or bowl down earlier and earlier and walk away and it helped me from eating more food than I should.

It gets easier and more automatic as you get into a routine of eating healthier stuff and smaller portions.

tfarabians

I measure everything!  I also have a food scale!  What I think is 1/2 a cup is usually more like 3/4 cup or 1 cup!  Especially with pasta, I always weigh pasta before I cook it that way I usually end up getting more ; )  WW also has serving spoons in portion scoops that work really well!