Cooking smaller amounts of food can help with weight loss.  

Weight loss tip 131 – Downsize your cooking

Pasta in a pot on the gas stove.

One of the biggest obstacles to losing or maintaining weight is the ever-growing meal of our modern culture.  As with our waistlines, our plates of food are becoming larger and larger,  but there is a solution that might help.  The solution is simple, and the solution is easy.  You know the solution because it is common sense.  The problem with the solution is that it goes against years of socialization and training from our parents and grandparents.  Our parents and grandparents have taught us that we must clean our plate in order to get a reward.  They have taught us that if we do not clean our plate that we are wasting food.  This proverbial guilt trip has been very effective.  In fact, it has been so effective that we have not only finished our meals, but we’ve expanded our waistline exponentially over the years.

We have all been there.  We cook a delicious spaghetti meal, and there is one serving of the meal left, and you decide it will not be as c=good the next day reheated or maybe there is not enough to save but just enough to add a little to the waistline, so you finish it off.   There is that extra slice of garlic bread left.  We know it just does not reheat well.  It will come out soggy or too hard, so instead; you decide to finish it off because after all, it is only one slice of bread.  How much damage could one slice of garlic bread or one partial serving of spaghetti do?  Don’t fall into this trap.  You deserve so much more so make the right choice!  

The solution to this problem is to produce only enough food for the meal.  Cooking only the number of portions that you need to eat will help you maintain or lose weight.  The problem is many of the recipes are made for 4 to 6 people.  If you only have 1 to 2 people to cook for, you will have to calculate your portion numbers and reduce the number of ingredients that you place in the pot.  By downsizing your cooking or reducing the number of portions you cook, you will reduce the number of servings left over.  Reducing leftovers will reduce the temptation to have seconds.  

The bottom line: One key to successful weight loss and maintenance is downsizing or right-sizing your cooking, so there is limited left over.  Cook and portion your meal smartly and you will be more successful at weight loss.