Why Portion Control Could Be the Missing Key

Gone are the days of rationing and making do with little. Today, with supermarkets stocked full to the brim with an abundance of ingredients from around the world, we have the luxury to try new recipes and eat our fill. While this gives us more choice as to the foods we consume and a greater ability to explore diverse and foreign cuisines, it can also present challenges in terms of over-eating and enjoying super-sized portions.

Thankfully, the key to a balanced diet does not require you to deprive yourself of the foods you enjoy but to be more mindful of the quantities you consume. While exercise and diet are essential factors in attaining a healthy weight, portion control can often be the missing key for many people when it comes to achieving their weight loss goals and maintaining their overall health. In this article, we will take a closer look at the important role portion control can play in helping you create healthier eating habits and a more satisfying relationship with food.

The Benefits of Portion Control

Portion control is about choosing servings that are nutritionally sufficient for your body,without over-consuming food. There are several benefits to practicing portion control, as outlined below:

Weight Loss

Systematic studies have shown that providing individuals with larger portions of foods and beverages leads to substantial increases in energy intake which can cause obesity. Since portion control is directly linked to caloric intake, controlling portion sizes can greatly assist individuals in lowering the amount of calories they consume in a day, ensuring a healthier balance between their energy intake and expenditure and aiding them in their weight loss goals.

Much like a scale and dosing system accurately measures the weight and quantity of ingredients in the food industry, individuals can use kitchen scales and measuring cups to ensure they are consuming recommended serving sizes at meal times.

Improved Digestion

Portion control can eliminate many digestive problems such as acid reflux, indigestion, IBS and heartburn that arise as a result of over-eating. Aside from short-term side effects like stomach cramps, bloating, or sluggishness, excessive food portions can also have more long-lasting effects on the body’s health. Consuming more calories than the body needs can cause blood sugar levels to spike. As cells struggle to absorb glucose from the bloodstream, insulin resistance can develop over time. This can lead to a variety of health conditions such as Type 2 diabetes and obesity. Over-eating also causes the body to produce more gastric acid to help it digest the food. The long-term effects of these caustic acids can result in chemical injuries to the esophagus, upper abdomen and lower chest. This can lead to more serious health conditions such as Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and esophagitis.

Portion control can mitigate these health complications by ensuring the body receives the right amount of food without putting a strain on the digestive system.

Better Nutrition

In addition to the amount of food they are eating, portion control can help individuals become more mindful of the type of nutrients they are consuming. Rather than large servings of high-fat foods or those rich in carbohydrates, individuals can choose lean proteins, whole grains and other foods that offer greater nutritional value.

In addition to reducing the overconsumption of various food groups, portion control can also help reduce the risk of underconsumption of vital nutrients by ensuring a more balanced intake across different food groups. By following the recommended daily guidelines for each food category, individuals can ensure they achieve a balanced diet that meets their nutritional needs.

Less Binge-Eating

By eating balanced food portions, individuals can avoid overeating or binging episodes which typically happen when larger quantities of food are served. This has been confirmed by studies that reveal that individuals presented with large portions generally do not report or respond to increased levels of fullness despite increases in their food intake. These findings suggest that when given larger portions, their hunger and satiety signals are ignored or overridden causing them to continue eating after their body is full.

Portion control can help regulate the amount of food individuals consume, ensuring only healthy amounts are eaten at each meal time. By encouraging the consumption of the right types of food, portion control can also help increase the feeling of satiety after each meal, reducing the likelihood of binge eating and other unhealthy food habits.

Portion control could be the missing key to helping you achieve your health and wellness goals. By introducing portion control into your daily routine you can reap the many benefits it offers, ranging from healthy weight management and improved digestion to better nutritional intake.