Always Plate Your Food

To help prevent over-eating when snacking, never eat directly from a jar, can, or bag. Always put your food on a plate.

Some foods are tempting to eat straight from the container. Examples include chips, pretzels, popcorn, crackers, cookies, ice cream, and peanut butter.

Eating from the container is convenient, especially when watching TV or engaged in some other sedentary activity. The problem is it's very easy to over-eat when doing this. Anyone who has consumed an entire pint of ice cream, can of Pringles, or big bag of Doritos in one sitting knows exactly what I mean.

Plate your food for portion control. If you eat straight from
a container, you are guaranteed to overeat!
Always plate your food

As long as there is food in the container, you will have the urge to take another bite. After all, the next serving of that yummy snack is right there in your face. The best way to take control and prevent this downward spiral is to plate your food.

You might think small containers are an exception. A small snack-size bag of chips might not have that many calories, so why not eat from the bag? The reason is you are reinforcing a bad habit. What will your natural instinct be when someone puts a big bag in your hand?

So, before you snack: always put your chips on a plate, always scoop your ice cream into a bowl, etc. That way you have a natural stopping point and can see how much you eat.

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