Why Portion Sizes Don’t Matter

This might be a hot topic, but I feel like it needs addressing since most of the nutrition work I do is related to the intuitive eating community and teaching people how to get back to their innate intuitive eater! See, I really believe that portion sizes don’t matter. Portion sizes should really have nothing to do with the amount of food we are consuming on a daily basis. One of the outstanding questions I get asked a lot is:

Do portion sizes matter? And also – do portion sizes matter for weight loss?

Whether you are out to eat, or whether you put too much food on your plate at home. However much food you have in front of you should not dictate how much food you consume. I think in this country especially (I can’t speak to anywhere else in the world, but I know portion sizes especially at chain restaurants are a hot issue when discussing obesity… which is a word I even hate using but that’s what we have), a lot of emphasis is put on portion sizes. I am sure you’ve heard something like: “if only the portion sizes were smaller, we wouldn’t eat as much.”

How can portion sizes not matter?

I’d say that 90% of people come to me with a goal of wanting to learn how much they should be eating. Whether failed dieting was to blame, or following external measures (cups, containers, tablespoons, etc.) you might actually be unsure of how much to eat. But, the thing is I don’t know either! Just because I am a dietitian doesn’t mean that I have a magical insight into each person’s ideal daily consumption. So I’ve found a way to address the issue, and my answer is always:

Going over hunger and fullness cues!

My goal as your registered dietitian is not to tell you how much you should be eating. It’s to teach you how to self-regulate your intake based on how your body is responding to food. Part of this is learning how to eat when properly hungry and stop eating when properly full and satisfied.

What are hunger cues?

Hunger cues are signals our bodies send to us to let us know we are hungry. They can vary in intensity from simple thoughts about food or a growling stomach to shakiness or dizziness or even lightheadedness. Hunger cues are nonspecific and we often attribute our hunger to something else, whether it’s stress or something related. Addressing your hunger at the right time can teach you to learn how much food to eat to address your different levels of hunger.

This takes some practice of course, especially if you have a “clean plate club” mentality. Even if you *think* you took the right amount, you are never under any obligation to finish eating everything that is on your plate. Even if the portion seems normal or reasonable, you don’t have to finish anything. Or you are allowed to finish everything. You can take home or put away half of a meal, or even just a few bites. You just need to listen to what your body is telling you it needs in that moment.

So, if you are someone that says “portion sizes are too big” working on understanding your own portion regulations can be hugely helpful.

What about you then? Do you always feel like you are eating portions that are too big? What are you comparing that to to even get the term “too big?” Do you check in with your own hunger cues, or do you let external factors dictate your eating? I’d love to know!

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