I’m a proponent of low carb diets not because they are or were the latest fad diet trend, but simply because the way I practice low carb eating has always worked to quickly shed unwanted pounds. I won’t go into the details of my particular brand of low carb eating since that’s not the topic of this post. However, one outcome of my years of practicing this diet is that I find I can eat much less and still not be hungry.

Since low carb diet plans typically severely restrict complex carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, etc., there’s only so much meat, cheese, and eggs that you can consume. I’ve found that eventually, I lose my craving for low-glycemic index carbs and become satisfied with much smaller portions during meal times.

My low carb diet plan is based on an annual cycle where I go pretty strict for 3-4 months beginning in late spring and cycle off as the weather turns cooler and the holidays approach. That way my eating habits are more in sync with the seasons and the rest of society.

Low carb eating doesn’t have to be unsociable!

So when I start to cycle off strict low carb eating and begin to take things like sandwiches and Italian dishes back into my diet, I find I can’t eat “normal” portions of these items any longer. In many cases, I’ll only prepare half a sandwich or save the other half for an afternoon snack. The same goes of larger meals such as dinner. I’ll divide up half the food — chicken breast, pasta or rice, and veggies immediately after preparation and put half in a plastic container for lunch or even dinner the next day.

My wife laughs at me when I do this and says I should be a “real man” and eat the entire portion. That’s OK, a lot of the real men I see walking around look like their waistlines could benefit from my “half a portion” meal plan.

Perhaps with the skyrocketing price of food, restaurants, especially ones in America, will start paring their portion sizes down to more reasonable dimensions. Of course, you’ll still wind up paying more for less, but that’s the nature of the business.

Scientific studies have been in place for several years now that indicate that mice fed smaller portions than other mice fed “super-size” meals tend to live significantly longer. Whether or not this holds true for humans is inconclusive.

From a logical standpoint, it tends to make sense, taking in less food puts a lower stress on your internal organs and also exposes your system to a lower level of harmful things such as saturated fat and free radicals, which in turn, may reduce your risk for heart disease and cancer.

Certainly a nice side benefit if true, but in the end, it really doesn’t matter all that much to me. I eat smaller portions because it just feels right and I love the side benefit of keeping my waistline in check.