Does anyone have any advice on how to eat less?

I eat very healthy and exercise- but my problem is portion size. I am about 7 pounds away from my target weight, and I have come to conclusion that I am eating too much at a sitting, even though its healthy. My main problem is that I eat until I am full-which I know is wrong. My problem is more mental. I was hoping someone might have some tricks to make me feel full or at least feel satisfied with smaller portions. Ideas? Thanks!Does anyone have any advice on how to eat less?
You should eat until you are filled then stop. You should not eat a bite more when you are filled. The advantage of being filled at each meal is that it help you to avoid snacking, which in turn have you eating far lest for the day, while your digestive system is given time to rest. Also you do not run the risk of under eating.





If your diet is mainly vegetables you should not have a problem with your volume as long as you do not go over fill. Vegetables, especially when eaten raw are very nutritious and are not fattening. Most fruits also are not fattening.





Chew your foods longer than you'd normally do. You'll find that you eat far lest. This might take some effort, since you might find that the inclination is to swallow at your normal pace. However with practice you'll start chewing much longer.





Another thing, it is better to eat complex carbohydrates such as yam, potatoes, green bananas, etc. than pasta. Why? Complex carbohydrate has other nutrients necessary for good health. Pasta is pure empty carb - flour - no other nutrients. The calories in pasta is higher than any complex carbohydrate you can think of.


Does anyone have any advice on how to eat less?
By full, do you mean ';I can't possibly eat another bite/I'm stuffed';? If you feel this way as opposed to feeling satisfied, then you are probably eating too much.





Do you eat while you are doing other things? Do you skip meals? Keep a food diary for a while. Don't focus on calories- focus on what you eat, when you eat, how long it takes you to eat, and how you felt before (anything from famished to bored) and after (same idea). After a week or two, take a look. Do you wait hours before meals and have a hard time slowing down? How quickly do you eat? Again, do you eat while you are on the computer or watching TV? All of these things can prevent you from really listening to your body's fullness signals (particularly being distracted while eating). Using smaller plates is a good way to cut portion sizes and still keep your plate full (this can satisfy your brain). Staying hydrated also helps.





Also remember that weight loss is typically slow toward the end.On top of watching your diet a little more closely, try changing up your workouts a little. Our bodies can become used to doing the same exercise over and over, slowing down our progress and becoming less and less effective.
Eat slowly, because it takes your body 10 minutes before it recognizes that its full. Also drink water right before and during your meal--this makes a big big difference. Any liquid at all will do this to you--coffee, tea, low fat milk are all good. Put less food on your plate (there are actually studies that show that you eat less when there is less on your plate to begin with. and my little tip is: brush your teeth right away when you're done eating a reasonable portion size, it always zaps away the desire to eat more.





this article really helps--


http://www.newsweek.com/id/160495
In the beginning diets are hard. Over time your stomach shrinks and you just generally get full quicker. So it gets easier.


Plus initially, all your thinking about is your diet and food. After a bit, you aren't thinking about it all the time. So the mental hard part of it passes too.





That being said, i don't beleive in dieting and definately not in portion cutting. Exercise.





Goodluck
Eating until you feel full is not a bad thing. I think it actually makes sense. Try drinking a significant amout of water before a meal to make you feel full or eat a handful of nuts before a meal such as almonds or peanuts. Nuts can be filling but make sure they aren't salted as they can make you crave more salty food. Also try using smaller dishes. This gives the illusion that you are actually eating a big portion. You just have to know when to stop. Its helped me. I'm 5lbs away from my goal. Congrats on the weight loss. Good luck to you!
Eat more pasta and breads, they expand in your stomach and make you feel more full. Any type of starchy food will help you eat less and still be healthy.
try eating apples or something fat free very low calories right before meals ,fill up on those foods before you fill up on the bad kinda foods ,bad for diets that is
try upping your exercise for a few weeks and see if that helps. Burn those extra calories instead of cutting down
Drink an 8 oz glass of water before each meal.
drink a large glass of water before you eat this will help fill you up.