Portion control is so important when it comes to eating healthily. You can be consuming all nutritious, delicious food, but if you’re eating too much of it, it’s going to throw your body off. Besides having an achy stomach, feeling lethargic, and not being able to trim down (if that’s your goal), it can even make your brain feel foggy if you overdo it with your portions.
I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all been there in having that uncomfortable feeling in your gut when you’ve eaten too much. I love to enjoy great food, but I also hate that stuffed feeling that makes me feel uncomfortably full. Like with most things, I think it’s all about balance and moderation.
Because of all of this, I make sure to pay close attention to not only what I’m eating, but how much I’m putting in my mouth on a daily basis. While I’m not perfect and I still have times when I overdo it, for the most part, I keep my portion control in check to keep me feeling my best all around. Here are five tips I habitually use to avoid overeating:
1.) Eat on smaller plates & bowls. I’ve mentioned this one on the blog before, because for me, eating my meals out of smaller dishes really works! If you have nice little appropriate portions on a big ole plate, there’s something in your brain that thinks, “That’s it?!” whereas if you have the same portions filling up a smaller plate, you subconsciously feel more satisfied and not at all like you’re depriving yourself.
(source)
2.) Eat high-volume foods. By regularly eating foods that are high in volume but lower in calories, like lots of fruits, veggies, and broth-based soups, I fill up on highly nutritious food and reach a point of satiety without eating tons of calories. It’s why I love to order a salad first if I’m eating out. Since portions tend to be too big at restaurants, if I eat some greens first, I’m already starting to fill up on the healthy stuff. I’ll still have room to enjoy my entree, but I might decide to take 1/2 of it home instead of eating it all at once because I ate a lot of volume with my veggie-filled salad.
3.) Ladies, don’t compare yourself to your man…or anyone else. Chances are they’re bigger in stature and weigh more than you, so it only makes sense that your man should eat more than you to nourish their larger bodies.
This also relates to seeing how much your friends eat, or even people who post their diet on social media or their blog. One time I read a blog post by a very fit personal trainer that documented what she eats in a day. I was shocked (and pitying myself for a moment) to learn that this very toned woman eats what I consider to be big portions, including a monster bowl of dessert every night. It’s easy to get caught up in the comparison trap, but when it comes down to it, her diet would simply not work for me and my metabolism. Don’t get caught up in comparing how much you eat to how much other people eat. Focus on what works for your body and when you feel satisfied, as eating is not a competition!
4.) Savor your meal and eat slower. We’re probably all guilty of scarfing down a meal when we’re starving – I know I do it sometimes – but if you can, it’s best to enjoy your meal rather slowly. Savoring your bites and taking moments in between to pause gives your body a chance to digest your food, thus allowing your body to send out those, “I’m no longer hungry” hormone cues to your brain.
5.) End your meal with a little something sweet. I’m sure that any of you with a sweet tooth can relate to this: Every night after I eat dinner, I crave something sweet. I’m no longer hungry, but my dessert loving self wants a little something anyways. While I go ahead and indulge in dessert once or twice a week, the way that I satisfy my sweet tooth on all the other nights is to a.) have a small piece or two of dark chocolate, b.) have some tea, c.) have a piece of candy, gum or sucker…and this is where today’s giveaway comes in!
Recently MealEnders sent me some bags of their signaling lozenges. I was interested in trying them out as my option c.) sweet tooth remedy. Designed to help people avoid overeating, MealEnders are low-calorie, stimulant-free suckers that have what’s referred to as a duo-sensory taste system, with the two components being a sweet, outer layer, and a cooling/tingling center. The outer layer is said to provide a little taste of dessert while the cooling center of the sucker engages your taste nerve to cue the end of eating.
With 15 calories and 2 grams of sugar per lozenge, MealEnders offers 4 different flavors:
- Chocolate mint
- Mocha
- Cinnamon
- Citrus
This is no surprise, but my chocolate & cinnamon loving self liked those two flavors the best. I really liked both the sweet part of the lozenges, as well as the cooling center of them, and I felt like it really did clear my palate. If you’re trying to break the habit of overeating, inhaling junk food after a meal just because, or reduce your nightly dessert down to more of an occasional treat, MealEnders may be a good antidote for you.
Readers, I’m giving away a 25-piece bag of each of MealEnders 4 flavors to one of you! To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment below telling me:
Which MealEnders lozenge flavor sounds yummiest to you? or How do you avoid overeating?
You can also tweet about the giveaway or retweet one of my MealEnders tweet for an additional entry. Just leave an extra comment letting me know that you’ve tweeted!
This giveaway is open to readers in the U.S. only. I’ll randomly choose a winner in one week on March 18th. You can check out more about MealEnders via their website, Instagram and Twitter.
*Disclaimer: I was given free product through my partnership with Fit Approach. As always, all opinions expressed are genuinely my own.*
These MealEnders are everywhere! I should really try them. The classic tips of “paint your nails” “brush your teeth” or “chug water” just aren’t enough for me on some nights. What a cool idea! I definitely need to work on eating slower. That’s my #1 tip to work on!
Ha, multiple people have mentioned seeing MealEnders all over the place! They’re everywhere partly because Fit Approach is helping them partner with a bunch of bloggers simultaneously. 🙂
Ah, this is such a big one. I’m with you – I eat pretty much all healthy foods, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still overdo it sometimes! I’m especially guilty with nuts and nut butters, haha.
Number 3 is a huuuge one, especially with social media making everyone’s habits so public. But it’s important to remember that everyone is different – diet, fitness & body composition-wise.
Love the tips! 🙂
Yes! The comparison trap is a hard one not to fall into, but we’re all unique individuals with our own strengths.
This is the 2nd post in just a couple of days that I’ve read about MealEnders. Sounds like a great idea!!! Evenings are my worst time – I try not to stuff myself at dinner but then I often snack the rest of the evening.
Nighttime is my worst overeating risk time as well… It’s when I want sweets & snacks the most! It’s probably also because it’s when we typically slow down for the day and relax a bit, watch TV, hang out, etc.
Interesting! I think that chocolate mint sounds like the best flavor.
Amen, great tips!
I’ve seen so much about MealEnders recently online, and I love the idea of them! I usually drink a cup of hot tea after a meal when I can as a signal to my body to stop eating. Otherwise I chew a piece of gum, which isn’t really the healthiest habit. I’d love to try any of their flavors, they all sound yummy!
I love drinking a cup of tea post-dinner too!
I have to say that the smaller plates thing really works! I had to buy some smaller bowls and plates to get us by until our stuff clears customs at our new place and I have found that I am consuming a lot less since I can’t fit very much onto my plate!
I’m with you.. I like cinnamon anything so I’d like to try that flavor the most! Great tips!
We changed all our plates and bowls a few months ago and it has made a huge difference to how much we eat. If it can’t fit on the plate, we can’t eat it 🙂
Nice!! Love it 🙂
The chocolate mint sounds good to me. And I DON’T avoid overeating – this might help!
I think the cinnamon sounds yummy! To avoid overeating, I portion my food out and put the rest away – that way it’s harder to get more food and it makes me consider if I’m REALLY hungry or just eating because it’s there.
Tweeted – https://twitter.com/Giantsis/status/576004233138294784
I love the smaller plate trick idea! I need to try that. Mocha sounds good to me!
Hi volume foods are my FAVORITE!! Love your tip to not compare how much you eat to others – how quickly we lose perception on how much we are eating (or not eating). Meal enders are a great option if you are like me and just can’t stop eating even though you know you are full
Those sound so cool! I’d love to try the cinnamon or mocha flavours!
I would love the citrus. Fruit makes me feel good. I like the idea of the small plates to help with my portions.
Great tips, Nicole! I often fall into the routine of serving myself similar portions to Brandon and it results in me overeating. Not good.
And I always have to have something sweet. Meal Enders sounds like a great concept to help control that problem.
I tend to overeat every time I feel too hungry. I should start eating when I am moderately hungry and not when I am starving! Eating something sweet at the end of the meal? Sounds nice. In Italy we usually finish the meal with an espresso coffee which helps us not to feel hungry anymore.
I would love to try these! Chocolate mint
Cinnamon sounds good to me. I try to avoid overeating by eating 5 small meals a day.
The mocha flavor sounds the most appealing to me! Thanks for an amazing giveaway!!!
The chocolate mint sounds good to me. I try to drink alot of water before I eat to help me feel fuller.
The cinnamon sounds good to me. I stop over eating by mindfully eating my meals. Slowing it down really helps.
these sound interesting the mocha flavor sounds so good 🙂
Mocha sounds great
I want to try the citrus flavor!
I would like to try the chocolate mint! I like to have a chocolate or something sweet after a meal, even if I’m full. It’s a bad habit!
mrsbrockavich48 (at)gmail (dot)com
Avoiding overeating is such a struggle… I think putting food away after dishing up my plate is very helpful! Get it out of sight, and hopefully out of mind!
I am really curious to see how these work! The chocolate mint sounds mighty tasty.
The Cinnamon flavor sound delicious. I haven’t found that cure for overeating yet. I try to eat more protein to fill me up. I am a vegetarian with a serious colon disease so I have to be careful about what is healthy yet won’t make my disease worse like salad which I love but I have had to totally give up.
The chocolate mint flavor sounds the best.
Mocha sounds yummy to me.
I would love to try the chocolate mint.
Tweeted it https://twitter.com/hadespark/status/577884631116058626
I would love to try them all, but the MealEnders citrus lozenge flavor sounds yummiest to me!!
Thank You for the chance
The mocha sounds really yummy. I find that distracting myself by reading a book or listening to music helps when I have the unnecessary munchies. LOL! Thanks for the wonderful giveaway 🙂
Renee
fattybumpkins at yahoo dot com
The cinnamon flavor sounds the best to me. Overeating is an ongoing issue with me that I’m still working on.
I retweeted https://twitter.com/wendybudrow/status/577911776257310720
The chocolate mint sounds the best to me!
Chocolate mint sounds yummiest to me.
The mocha sounds yummiest to me. I usually try to avoid over eating by watching how much food I take. For snacks, I portion it out in a small cup instead of bringing the bag to my desk.
I think I’d like the Chocolate Mint.
The chocolate mint sounds amazing! I try to suck on hard candys to avoid unnecessary eating.
The citrus sounds the most tantalizing to me!
Mocha sounds good to me.
The mocha sounds yummy
I would love to try the chocolate mint. I do overeat and am currently trying to lose weight. I’m trying anything I can, so these would be fantastic.
Ooooo chocolate mint sounds like a good dessert to me! I use small plates too! It DOES work! And I always eat all my veggies FIRST so that i’m getting full on the “good stuff”.
The Chocolate Mint variety sounds the best to me!
i prevent overeating by measuring out all my food when meal prepping!