Portion Control

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I believe one of the major reasons America is experiencing an obesity epidemic right now is because of portion control problems. We've forgotten what a true portion is. When have we ever seen such a topic actually make national news? So when you see portion control show up in your news feed, you know it's serious. (See the story about New York trying to pass a law to impose portion control on soda purchasers.)
Although New York might be going about this lesson the wrong way, it's a lesson we most definitely need to learn. Right after my WLS 4.5 years ago I started a habit that I'm still doing today. Whenever I go grocery shopping, I make time when I get home to portion out the food into individually wrapped portions.

I was reminded of this habit the other day in a WLS support group meeting where a nutritionist caused everyone about portions and someone if everyone really measures everything they eat in the real world. If you're a WLS patient, then yes... you really should be measuring everything! Not just for portion control, but to make your life easier.

Here's an example: grapes. When I buy grapes I always pluck them from the stems, wash them and then package them up into individual portions in snack-sized baggies. Then when I need a sweet snack I'm more apt to grab a bag of grapes than to grab something less healthy. Obviously eating more than one serving of grapes wouldn't be a problem for weight loss -- but having a healthy snack ready for you to grab is a healthy option. (1 cup grapes = 60 calories)

I also do the same portioning with nuts, crackers, deli-sliced turkey (I love Jennie-O), trailmix, etc. Sometimes it's not just about portion control, but about convenience. Having washed and ready-to-eat fruit and veggies in the fridge for easy grabbing helps us to make more healthy choices throughout the day when the inevitable cravings strike.

Do you portion control your foods? How do you do it?

~Pam

EDITED TO ADD: Great tip from Taylor in the comments about a product called LunchBots. I'd never heard of it before, so I checked it out. They're awesome! Here's the Quad LunchBot she mentioned.