5 Ways to Eat Less without Feeling Deprived

One of the best ways to drop the extra pounds is to reduce the amount of food you eat, especially if you tend to overeat. If you’re used to eating more, then eating less may not be that easy. If you try to reduce your food by too much — or too fast — you’ll end up feeling hungry and deprived.

Here are 5 ways to eat less without feeling deprived:

1) Thinner Slices

You can easily reduce your portions of meat, such as beef, chicken, pork and turkey, by slicing the meat thinner. Use a very sharp knife, if you’re slicing it yourself. If you buy meat at the deli counter, ask them to slice it very thin. Then, you take the same amount of slices you normally would — but you’re actually eating less because the slices are thinner.

See: Weight Loss Secret: Eating Sandwiches to Lose Weight

2) Smaller Plate

Use a smaller plate — such as a salad or dessert plate — to eat your meals. You may look at a smaller plate and think, “That doesn’t hold a lot of food!” But the thing is, the amount of food a smaller plate holds is enough to satisfy you without overeating. Our society is geared towards large portions, and when you use a large dinner plate, you just want to fill it up!

See: 7 Things You Need to Know About Serving Sizes

3) Smaller Serving Spoon

Use a smaller serving spoon when serving yourself food, especially food with a lot of calories, like fat-laden sauces and gravies. A typical serving spoon can scoop out 1/4 to 1/2 cup of food. Use a tablespoon to serve yourself instead. The smaller serving may seem strange at first, but you’ll get used to it with time.

4) Smaller Glass

Reducing liquid calories is one of the easiest ways to cut calories. If you drink wine, soda or coffee/tea with sugar, use a smaller glass or cup to reduce your calorie intake. A small juice glass holds about 4 ounces of liquid. The best way to avoid drinking your calories? Drink water!

See: Are Your Liquid Calories Making You Gain Weight

5) Cut Down Gradually

If the thought of doing tips 1 through 4 seem strikes fear into your heart, try cutting down your portions even more gradually. Here are two ways to do that:

• Reduce the serving size of specific foods only, instead of all food.
• Leave a few bites of each food on your plate, instead of cleaning it off.

Keep in mind that it’s your mind that’s craving all that food — not your stomach! Keep making small changes and you’ll find it easier and easier to reduce your food intake to more reasonable portions.

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