3 Proven Ways to Control Portions Without Counting Calories

There is an old saying that goes, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” When it comes to dieting (or really any major lifestyle changes), making that first step heavy restriction (macros, super low calories, cutting out all processed foods in one go…) or a total overhaul of the way you currently do things is akin to base jumping off of a cliff with a parachute packed by a pre-schooler. You might make it to the bottom, but it’s going to be a stressful ride down and you might be worse off when you get there.

While it may take longer, making small sustainable changes over time is the best way to get results. Cutting out a single processed food item at a time instead of tossing the whole pantry to start from scratch, adding small windows of movement instead of starting off with 3 hours a night in the gym, or testing and adding one new recipe a week into the weekly rotation instead of overhauling the whole menu with no clue whether or not you or your family will like what you’re making.

Making small changes allows time for your body and your brain to get used to a process instead of exhausting yourself from the get-go. If you’re looking to feel better about what you’re eating or just looking for sustainable weight loss methods, here are three proven methods to start your journey that don’t require a total overhaul and don’t require counting calories.

1. Prepped Meals

This is something that is often slept on. While it probably isn’t the best option for an entire family (they can get expensive), its a great tool for one or two meals a day, limits the amount of time spent in the kitchen, and doesn’t require much thought outside of how long it needs to go into the microwave.

Understand that when I say “Prepped Meals”, I don’t mean the Lean Cuisines from the freezer section of the grocery store. I mean well balanced, generally high protein, meals from services like Factor, Icon Meals, or — if you’re in Florida — FitLife Foods.

Using services like these provide well balanced meals with high protein and minimal preservatives allowing your body to get the nourishment it needs without the actual planning, shopping, prep work, or dishes. It is a great starting option while you build a plan or even an option for the busy seasons when every minor change to schedule becomes a major inconvenience.

2. The Hand Method

I picked this method up from the Precision Nutrition Level 1 course. The hand method is a great measurement tool to figure out portions when you’re rushing, eating out, or just don’t want to measure, count, and track. The way it works, is you use your hand to determine your portion sizes.

The protein should be about the size of your fist, carbs should fit into one cupped hand, and fats should not be bigger than the size of your thumb.

This method tailors the measurements to your body size and provides you with a quick reference to how much your body needs.

A few words of caution… When using this as a measuring method, we’re using compairison via visualization. That means we’re looking at our hand, then at our plate, and saying (honestly) “this looks about right.” It doesn’t have to be exact and you should not be picking up handfuls of steaming hot rice just to see if it fits in your hand. It does however need to be honest… no looking at the plate and saying “oh well that looks like about a fist size” when it takes up a quarter of the plate or eating a whole avocado and pretending it was the size of your thumb.

At the end of the day, your choices are yours and no one is forcing you to change your habits (if they are, thats another conversation for another day). However, if you are actively trying to change, you have to be honest with yourself. Which leads me to my last method…

3. Intuitive/Mindful Eating

This method tends to get a lot of flack. A lot of people in the trainer space don’t believe people are able to truly lose weight by eating until they’re full and by eating when they’re hungry. That you must calculate, measure, and live in constant discipline eating chicken and rice until it is coming out of your eyeballs.

But the truth is, its definitely possible. I just takes mindfulness and a little self knowledge.

It’s easy to distract ourselves while we eat, to eat while we work, or even to eat just because. The key to intuitive/mindful eating is to focus solely on the food and your body. Put the phone down, check in with yourself, eat slowly, and stop when you’re about 80% full. When you stop eating, pause and give your body 5–10 minutes to register. After the wait, decide whether or not you’re still hungry.

Another key to this method is hydration. A lot of times our bodies can trick us into believing we’re hungry when we’re dehydrated. Ensuring to drink water or flavored water will help you to determine whether or not its food you’re looking for. 2–3L per day is the general guideline.

While I have nothing against sodas or other beverages, in my experience the sugar spike can often cause me to eat more so I try to limit it to one or two per day.

If you give these a try, let me know how it goes for you. I’ve found a lot of these to be super helpful when I’m burnt out on prepping, measuring and tracking. The hand measuring method is especially helpful during the dinner, homework, cleanup rush in the evenings and allows me to sit and eat before my food gets cold.

If you’re interested in other mindful eating methods, check out my book Ritual & Recomp: The Overwhelmed Humans Guide to Healthy Portions and Mindful Eating. Its available on Amazon, Kindle, and Nook.