On Eating Less: An Experiment in Portion Control
No three words can lead to self loathing quite like “servings per package” on a bag of chips. Despite the usual suggestion of fourteen portions per container, I always seem to come up way too short. About the only thing that stops me from eating more chips than I should is opening the cupboard to find, well, no more chips. If there is any single food that my family tends to overeat, it is the salty tortilla triangle.
I am no stranger to feeling sorrow after finishing a food that I enjoy. In fact, a few years ago I read a book on intuitive eating that told me that it was okay that I “identify the last bite threshold” where I recognize that the bite of food in my mouth is the last. Oh you bet I do! So if you are ever seated near me at a special dinner and you notice that I am staring into my plate with tears in my eyes, you’ve been warned. Once I spotted what I thought to be a kernel of popcorn on the living room floor. Not hesitating to scoop it up and put it in my mouth, upon first chew I discovered that it was not popcorn, but instead was a dog’s tooth. One would think that after that incident I was cured of eating things off the floor, but I am still willing to take my chances if it involves getting one more delicious bite.
The Humble Peanut
For years I have eaten a serving of roasted peanuts and milk chocolate chips daily at lunch. After finishing a green salad with vegetables and ground chicken, I routinely portion out one serving of peanuts and one serving of chocolate chips to enjoy. Obviously, raw almonds and dark chocolate would make a healthier option, but I love my particular combination.
Lunchtime used to look like this:
Eat large salad
Eat peanuts and chocolate chips
Crave more peanuts and chocolate chips
Most of the time I was successful to resist the urge to shovel a few more peanuts and chocolate chips into my mouth, but it took willpower, and a lot of it. Despite the adequate serving size, I always desired to eat more.
When I decided to start eating a larger snack before bed, I knew that it would be advisable to cut something out of another part of the day so that my calorie intake would remain relatively the same. In a quest to reduce calories, I arrived at my lunchtime dessert as a logical starting point.
At first, I wondered if I could I eliminate peanuts or chocolate chips entirely from my lunch and choose something to substitute which was lower in calories? After one miserable day, I came to the conclusion that life wasn’t worth living without my special mixture of sugar, salt, and fat. Plus, I suspected that if I didn’t get to eat them, I would find ways to sneak bites of other foods to make up for their absence. So I set out to conduct an experiment in reducing peanut portion size.
Portion Control Mind Game
Before my experiment, this is how I would feel after eating 28g peanuts (almost a quarter cup) and 14 grams of chocolate chips:
I set out to reduce my serving of peanuts in half, but suspected I would feel like this:
For a week, I halved the amount of peanuts (keeping the chocolate chips the same) and was surprised to see that this was how I felt:
Experiment Findings
Despite changing the variable (reduction in the amount of peanuts), the end result was still the same: there was absolutely no difference in how satisfied, or unsatisfied, I was left feeling as it related to peanut portion size. As far as I was concerned, I felt the same after eating a half serving as I did with a full serving.
For some people, small changes in portion size do make a difference in how satiated they feel. But for me, I still desired more of the highly palatable food whether I ate less or more. However, what shocked me was that I didn’t have as strong cravings as I thought I would have with a smaller portion.
On the larger scale of nutritional studies, this might seem like a silly little experiment. Nevertheless, my observation showed me that there are some foods that we find so irresistible, that no matter the portion, we will still be left craving (unless we eat a gross amount). For those of you who eat a relatively healthy diet, small reductions in portion size can make a difference over time, while at the same time you can still enjoy the certain foods you love.
With this newfound knowledge, it became easier to have the willpower to not give into craving more because I knew what to expect. I became liberated from the need to feel completely satisfied or full because I knew it would never really happen.
Through the years I have spoken with many clients about this subject and here is a helpful process to consider if you are facing a similar dilemma in wanting to reduce food consumption in an otherwise healthy diet:
Identify something that you eat that is higher in calories, where you regularly are left wanting more no matter how much you eat.
Experiment if eating a smaller portion versus your regular portion leaves you feeling the same.
If you find that there is no difference in your satisfaction/unsatisfaction levels, continue to eat less of that food.
The benefit of eating less of a food that is irresistible and calorie dense is that not only is it a good way to reduce calories, but feelings of self loathing and guilt that often accompany overeating won’t be present.
Would you rather feel unsatisfied (still craving more) and pleased with your self control, or unsatisfied (still craving more) and displeased with yourself? Of course, the perfect solution would be to consume tasty foods in modest amounts that leave you feeling totally satisfied and in control, but that is not always possible at every meal, so this is the next best thing.
Most diets are going to tell you that the more healthy foods you choose to incorporate into your diet, the more your cravings for hyper-palatable foods (those with combinations of salt, sugar, and fat) will diminish. My own experience and that of my clients leads me to believe that this is only partially true. Most of us still crave some highly flavorsome foods no matter how clean our diet.
The next time you are tempted to reach for the fifth cookie in a row or yearn to slice the third sliver from the cake (trust me I know from experience), may you hear a little voice inside your head telling you that you probably won’t be satisfied with five cookies if you weren’t content with two. Perhaps knowing this will give you the strength to resist.