Hey guys! Sorry it was so quiet on the blog last week. If you follow me on social media, you probably already put two and two together, but I was invited to Hilton Head Health for the week, a wellness spa and weight loss retreat in South Carolina, along with five other bloggers. Rough job I have, huh? 😉
I thought a lot about how to best talk about the trip on P&I. One big post with a general description of the program? Several day-in-the-life posts? A formal review? A food diary of what we ate? Nothing seemed quite right. And if it seems like I’m making a mountain out of a molehill decision, it’s because that’s exactly what the whole experience was like that for me—I ended up getting a ton out of a trip that initially had me wondering “why was I even asked here?” I am so thankful I got the opportunity to go on this trip, and can’t wait to share all the takeaways and “ah-ha” moments on the blog over the next couple weeks. I think it’ll work best to spread out all I want to write about over several blog posts, so expect regular mentions of HH Health in between normally scheduled workouts and other P&I posts.
I wanted to start by sharing some takeaways from a lecture on portion control I attended while at H3. Each day there are educational workshops and lectures at Hilton Head Health on various topics that guests can attend, and this one led by Bob Wright, the Director of Education, caught my interest. Whether you’re fighting a food addiction, want to lose weight, or are just trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, I think you’ll find the following information useful—I know I did!
Why Portion Control Matters
“We’ve oversold exercise as a means for weight loss.”
Couldn’t have said it better, Bob. I get asked all the time: “What exercises can I do to make [insert body part] smaller?” Eat a salad, dude. Eat. A. Salad. Exercise is, of course, an essential component to weight loss, but its efficacy pales in comparison to that of a healthy diet. What you eat and, more importantly, how much you eat is of the upmost importance. Think about how much time and effort it would take to burn 1,500 calories through exercise. You’d have to run at a 10-minute-mile pace for roughly 15 miles. Fifteen. On the flip side, it would take you a mere 20 minutes to consume that many calories if you went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.
The Halo Effect—-remember, even healthy calories count.
Choosing healthy foods is just half the battle; you can still undermine your efforts if you’re not controlling portions of those foods. Bob referred to this tendency for us to eat more of something the healthier it sounds as “the Halo Effect,” and I’m sure it’s something we’ve all experienced. Today health is used as a marketing tool—if we see “sugar-free” or “all natural” on the packaging of foods, we feel better about eating it—and eating more of it.
I think the best example of the Halo Effect is peanut/almond/nut butter. It’s a nutrient-dense, healthy food. But if you eat a jar of it in two days (my typical rate of consumption) … not so great. Portion control matters.
Tips for Portion Control
Identify your “danger” foods.
Danger foods are those not-so-healthy treats (or healthy foods that are not-so-healthy in large quantities) that you can’t eat in moderation. Bob differentiated them from other treats by defining them as the foods that, once in your house, you don’t forget are there. I love thinking about them that way. For me, honey roasted peanut butter would be a danger food. If I buy a jar, it burns a hole through my pantry and is the sole subject matter of my thoughts whenever I’m in the apartment. Hmm what else can I smear this on?? Inevitably, two days after buying it, my boyfriend will open up the pantry and ask, “Wasn’t there just a full thing of peanut butter in here?” MAYBE THERE WAS MAYBE THERE WASN’T SHUT UP.
I’m the same way about certain ice creams (a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Cinnamon Buns is a single serving and you can’t tell me otherwise). But there are lots of other treats that don’t faze me. I’ll buy chocolate bars and chocolate chips and totally forget they’re even in the kitchen. Same with candy; I can have a couple pieces and then stop eating without much effort.
The first step in mastering portion control is acknowledging that there are some foods you can’t control. We all have them! Once you’ve identified yours, keep danger foods out of your home and limit the presence of other treat foods. It doesn’t mean you can never eat ice cream again, it just means you shouldn’t constantly surround yourself with it.
Re-engineer your environment.
One of my favorite things Bob said during this lecture was that willpower is a muscle that fatigues. You often hear willpower being associated to a muscle, but usually in the context that it can be strengthened. I had never thought about the opposite effect, but it’s so true! Just like a muscle, willpower can also fatigue from overuse. You wouldn’t workout 24/7 so why would you surround yourself by trigger foods 24/7? Exercise your willpower when you go out to dinner with friends or attend holiday parties. Let your willpower rest and recover when at home. Keep danger foods out of your home to create a kitchen environment that minimizes the need for willpower. Out of sight, out of mind.
In addition to the food you surround yourself with, creating an environment that promotes success may mean swapping out your plates. Since 1950, plate size has increased by an inch and a half, and studies show that people eat more when they’re eating out/off of bigger containers. It made me think back to my first apartment in Boston out of college. It hadn’t been remodeled in decades (post-grad budget = a new appreciation for “vintage” things), and I remember my dinner plates wouldn’t fit in the cupboards. Never thought much about it at the time, but now I realize it’s probably because plates were smaller back then. Stop supersizing your dinnerware and you’ll stop supersizing your portions.
Lose the “clean your plate” mentality.
To a degree, we’re all conditioned to eat until it’s done, but I think older generations will find this point particularly relevant. I know my dad, for example, wasn’t allowed to leave the dinner table as a kid until he’d finished everything on his plate—a common household rule back then and still today. Bob raised a good point: Of course parents who lived through the Great Depression, a time when food and money were scarce, would have (and pass on) a clean-your-plate mentality!
But you’re not doing yourself any favors by eating more than your body needs. Worried about wasting food? What about all those “starving kids in Africa”? As Bob put it, you can either waste food or waist it. He then asked us how cleaning a dinner plate was going to help children in Africa—a question we all couldn’t help but laugh at. It’s so true! Stop eating when you’ve satisfied your hunger. 
When you look at nutrition labels, pay particular attention to serving size.
When I look at a nutrition label, I’m looking for two things in particular: ingredient list (what am I eating?) and serving size (how much am I eating?). A serving size on a label is not always equal to the portion size you’ll eat. Nutrition label structure hasn’t been changed in over 20 years, so companies can get away with showing stats for just a fraction of what most people would consume as a single portion. Doesn’t it drive you crazy when you grab a snack-sized bag of something-or-other and look at the label only to realize there are five “servings” within that one tiny bag?! Who the hell is going to eat just one-fifth of a snack-sized bag? Not this girl, that’s for sure.
For anyone interested in reading more about the topic, Bob left us with three book recommendations: Mindless Eating and Slim by Design, both by Brian Wansink, and The 9-Inch Diet by Alex Bogusky and Chuck Porter.
All the pictures in this post are of the beautiful (and thoughtfully portioned!) dishes we were served at Hilton Head Health. As you can clearly see, taste doesn’t need to be scarified when eating healthy. The portions did at times feel small, but the flavor never disappointed. I honestly loved every single thing I ate while at H3!
Do you ever struggle with portion control? What are your “danger foods”? Any tips to add? Portion control is a huge (and important) topic–let’s discuss!
Hey there! I'm Nicole, a group fitness instructor, healthy lifestyle blogger (you probably figured that one out by now) and Certified Personal Trainer living in Boston, MA.
I totally need this. In a couple months it will be easier to follow (30 weeks pregnant makes it super extra hard) but a swift kick in the rear as a reminder is nice now too 🙂
Eating for two means you can double all your portions…right? 😉
I honestly still measure some of my portions, not in an obsessive way – but it can be hard to estimate the right amount of nuts and nut butter. Also, I usually need a little more protein so I measure chicken and such. Nothing crazy, but my food scale is a big help.
Especially with calorie-dense foods, measuring can be SO helpful in not overdoing it!
Such a helpful post!! I sometimes have a struggle with portion control. I eat very healthy but sometimes just a little too much.
Awesome post Nicole. I have so many clients and friends (and myself from time to time) struggling with the same thing, and these tips are spot on. Great stuff. Sharing as we speak!
Sounds like quite the experience and those meals look amazing! My danger food is anything sweet and while I’ve become pretty good at not buying these items, it doesn’t always keep me from whipping up a paleo-fied dessert, which I always consume in 0.2 seconds. Lots of great advice, thanks for sharing.
This is brill, thank you! I always tend to use smaller plates, but then go back for seconds (despite not being hungry anymore) – it’s such a bad habit.
Nut butter is such a dangerous food to have around the house alright, same with chocolate and anything sugary really!
Loved this post!!! I definitely portion control because if there is still food in my plate I will eat it! I tend to only cook what I will eat at the moment and not allow leftovers. Like that if I am still hungry I will grab something else and not over eat in portion sizes.
Thank you for this post, portion control is something I think I will always struggle with. I am really excited to read the books you recommended!
My number one trigger food is chips, any kind…and copious amounts of Mexican food, which is also served with chips!
Hi Nicole! Oh my gosh I would have LOVED to attend this event. I am SO at fault for being in the clean plate club, (which is of course, something we were told to do when younger), and I have a major sweet tooth. Interesting points, and I look forward to the rest of your recaps.
I Seriously had so many ah-ha moments reading this. Will be buying at least one of those recommended reads soon. Thanks so much for sharing!!
So great! My danger food is all natural nothing, but the good stuff tortilla chips and homemade salsa. I can literally put a bag away in a sitting. I stopped buying it, even though it is “healthy” cause I can’t control myself. I love the idea of making your home a safe haven for your willpower.
I know my weakness is for sweet potatoes so good but I always go overboard! I’m always tempted to eat more if I have them so I try not to buy too much at once!
Love this post! Keeping “danger” foods out of my house is something I decided to do a few years ago when I realized I am uncontrollable around Ice Cream (right there with you on the B&J that is a single serving container haha). It’s so much more satisfying to eat less of delicious things then deprive yourself for the sake of a certain “diet”. Just eat less! It’s may not be a universal fix-all but it’s at least a good place to start.
The halo effect is one I’ve seen happen a dozen times. People replace their junk food, but still manage to eat way too many calories. Even healthy things can sneak up on you.
Mini reeses cups and fun size snickers are my danger foods. I keep the bag in the freezer — it’s still a delicious treat, but because the candy needs to thaw a bit before it’s edible, I only have one piece when I want a treat instead of mindlessly going back for more.
I love that strategy!
I’ve had to stop buying jars of nut butter once in awhile because I too will eat a jar so quickly!
Lots of great tips there, sounded like an awesome event! For me, a bar of chocolate is totally safe in the fridge and I’ll happily eat my little square after dinner without going nuts. But homemade cookies or cake, forget it. I will have “just one” and then another and then a half. Or with cake, a little slice and then just another little slice. So the solution there is to stop baking regularly or just give everything away except for one piece of cake or 2 cookies. Also, when eating a bigger meal I always tell myself to slow down since it takes us about 20 min to realize we’re full.
I do the same thing–I only bake when there are people around to eat the majority of it, otherwise it’s just too good to stop myself…:)
I am dangerous with crisps, mainly pretzels, especially after a glass or two of wine! But that being said, I go in cycles and it depends on the day! I basically like everything….danger danger!
If I cook, I feel bad leaving some of it so I usually make big amounts and then I split it into various portions for lunch/dinner the next day.
I year ya, sister–give me a couple glasses of wine and I will literally eat an entire block of cheese with crackers haha
I am totally guilty of the “Clean Plate Club”. Once I work so hard to whip something up I feel bad wasting it…and get annoyed when my boyfriend does the same! Come on! I worked hard to make that!! One thing that’s really helped me is dishing out the servings for us and then adding any leftovers into portion containers for lunches. Dinner and lunch for 2 days? OKAY.
I agree–leftovers are key!
Oh, I love this post. Do you mind if I send this on to my clients? Thank you!
Not at all–share away! 🙂
I need a reminder of this. I need to get better about not cleaning the plate!
Love the example you gave for “halo foods”. Nuts and nut butters are a common example, for sure!
Bob Wright is my best friend’s father and he’s an awesome guy! Small world. Thanks for sharing his tips – I especially like the comment about will power being a muscle that can fatigue. The holidays certainly try their best to wear out our will power!
No way! Bob was the best! 🙂
I definitely suffer from this problem and I would love to lose a few pounds so I need to keep this in mind. I just feel like as a distance runner I am CONSTANTLY hungry. not as bad as when I was marathon training but still not great. I need to focus on eating more protein, that definitely helps me.
I am currently living with my parents (the college grad’s dream) and while they do not eat unhealthily, they are not exactly healthy. My dad loves his Doritos and chips, my mom buys mostly prepackaged things. And I will eat it ALL. I’ve been working on helping them change what they buy, but it hasn’t exactly been a very good environment for trying to shed all the weight I gained in college.
I’m the same way when I visit my parents–I eat everything in their kitchen. One time before I visited I just told my mom to hide the candy she keeps in the cuppord–sounds silly but it worked! Out of sight, out of mind 🙂