Food portions have increased dramatically in the last 10 years. Today, we’re being greatly overserved—just look at the typical restaurant meal, which can easily serve two or more people! And unfortunately, these portion sizes are taking a toll on our health.

Thankfully, eating a healthy, satiating diet (like the Keto Zone Diet) provides natural appetite suppression and portion control. However, it’s always good to have a few extra tricks up your sleeve to prevent overeating.

Here are some ways you can “hack” your eyes and your appetite into naturally eating smaller food portions.

1. EAT AT HOME MOST OF THE TIME

When you cook and prepare your own meals, you can control the food portions. It’s much easier to eat less when having a home-cooked meal versus a restaurant meal. At home, you’re not automatically served a huge plate of food that likely has added sugars, salts, and carbs to make it more appealing.

Find healthy recipes that are nutrient-dense, low in carbs and sugars, and easy to prepare at home.

2. LEARN THE BASIC FOOD PORTIONS

Knowing general food portion sizes for common foods gets you familiar with a proper serving. Here are some simple serving sizes:

• Meats: 3 ounces
• Fish: 6 ounces, cooked
• Nuts: 1 ounce
• Cooked vegetables: ½ cup
• Leafy green or raw vegetables: 1 cup
• Fruits: 1 medium banana, apple, pear or orange; 1 cup diced fruit; 1 cup berries

A quick Google search can give you instant portion sizes for most foods. Keeping these in the back of your mind can make it easier to self-regulate, even if it’s a cheat day.

3. USE SMALLER PLATES AND BOWLS

Your eyes can have a powerful effect on hunger and fullness. Research shows even a small increase in the size of dishware can lead to significantly more calorie intake [1]. And even the size of dinner plates have increased along with food portions over the years.

So, you can actually “trick” your eyes and brain into thinking you have more food by using smaller plates and bowls!

• Instead of using a dinner plate for your meal, put it on a salad plate.
• Use a rice bowl instead of a normal-sized bowl.
• Use smaller spoons, forks, and other silverware to decrease the size of each bite.

This can work in the reverse way too. If you need to eat more low carb vegetables, for example, but have trouble getting enough, using a larger plate or bowl can encourage you to eat more of them.

4. EAT ENOUGH FAT AND PROTEIN

Satiety matters when it comes to food portions. Fill up on healthy fats and proteins, and you’re much less likely to overeat than the average American. That includes:

• Healthy keto fats like olive oil, nuts and seeds, avocado, and grass-fed butter to keep you satisfied and less likely to crave other foods
• Healthy proteins like grass-fed meats, fatty fish, dairy, and eggs to increase feelings of fullness and help with weight loss [2,3]
• Having 20-30 grams of protein with breakfast to decrease appetite and control food portions throughout the day.

You can also reduce overeating by having plenty of low carb vegetables and drinking lots of water.

5. AVOID SNACKING—ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT

Snacking can easily turn into too much, so try to limit or avoid snacking in between meals. And plan to make dinner your last food for the day.

Intermittent fasting can also help you avoid late-night snacking that packs on the pounds. Plus, you get the many benefits of fasting too.

6. DO SOME MEAL PLANNING

Even a little meal prepping helps control food portions. You can plan out each meal and divide it into servings beforehand to reduce overeating or impulse eating.

7. PRACTICE MINDFUL EATING

Lastly, remember to stay mindful when enjoying your food. A lot of eating too much comes down to mindless grazing or binging.

Aim to fully focus on your meals:

• Enjoy the tastes, textures, and smells of the food you’re eating.
• Choose foods that you know are doing your body good and fueling good health.
• Try to eat without many distractions so you can pay attention to your hunger and fullness signals.
• Say a quick prayer of thanks and gratitude before each meal, acknowledging the blessings of a healthy meal.

Even a small change in food portions over time can make a big difference in weight loss and health goals. Above all, what matters most is the quality of the foods you’re eating. But if you’re prone to overeating and struggle with portion control, these tips can help a lot.

Cortisol is making news once again. This time, it’s especially concerning for women. If you’ve ever wanted to manage stress and reduce cortisol naturally, this study on brain health is a great wake-up call.

According to an October 2018 study, researchers found that increased blood cortisol levels are correlated with impaired memory and lower brain volume in mid-life (1). What’s more, after studying 2231 human participants, they found the effects were more pronounced in women participants than men.

Cortisol is a hormone that’s released by the adrenal glands when the body faces stress. In modern times, this stress is often more mental than physical and usually has no outlet. For many, it’s chronic. It builds. And it does damage.

High blood cortisol levels are correlated with weight gain and impaired loss, increased blood pressure, negative impacts on mood, sleep and energy, and an increased incidence of diabetes and heart disease (2). And now, lower brain volume and memory issues.

What’s this mean to you?

Especially if you’re a woman, it’s imperative to find ways to reduce cortisol naturally and lower overall stress.

How? Here are 9 daily habits you can use, from the time you wake until bed, to lower yours today.

9 DAILY HABITS TO REDUCE CORTISOL NATURALLY EACH DAY:

1. Make mornings easy. Cortisol is naturally highest in the mornings, so don’t add more with a hectic start to your day. Mornings are usually much smoother when you wake up just 5 minutes earlier, prep breakfast and lunches the night before, and keep a bag with everything you need when leaving the house next to the door.

2. Exercise and be active, early and outside if possible. Studies have found that activity outside improves health markers and reduces cortisol, tension, fatigue, and depression. A recent study concluded that men and women over 66 years who exercised outside reported higher levels of total activity per week than inside-exercisers (3).

3. Choose foods and drinks that may reduce cortisol naturally. Try fatty fish like salmon, dark chocolate (70% or higher cocoa), fruits and vegetables, or superfood fruit and vegetable powders.  You can also drink cortisol-busting green tea and black tea to lower cortisol levels. Great for chilly winter days!

4. Clear your schedule. Want to know the magic word to lower cortisol naturally? It’s “no.” Instead of filling up your calendar with many obligations, say no more often. Then, decide on a few and engage with quality time. Less is more when it comes to your schedule and feeling busy and stressed.

5. Take charge of your attitude and reaction to any given stressful situation. Cortisol is your body’s reaction to stress. By controlling your reactions, you can impact your cortisol levels. Take a deep breath, respond with reigned-in emotions, or even leave the situation to cool off.  It’s never been said better than Pastor Charles Swindoll:

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life….I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.”

6. Find a way to laugh every day. Spend time with a friend and laugh. Listen to comedy on your drive home rather than stew in traffic. Play with kids. Read funny books rather than serious ones occasionally.

7. Speaking of friends, cultivate meaningful, positive in-person relationships. If you don’t think you have the time, consider this: According to a 2016 report, most social media users spend an hour per day on Facebook alone. What’s more, using social media correlates with worsening mood, while time spent with friends increases positive moods. Skip just half the social media, and take 30 minutes to meet with a friend instead.

8. Pray and practice gratitude. At the end of each day, take time to practice gratitude and pray. Put down the screens and write three to five specific things for which you are grateful. Pray with thanksgiving, releasing things you cannot control and the stressors you face.

9. Last but certainly not least, get good quality sleep, preferably 7-9 hours per night. It’s not always easy, but sleep is crucially important to brain health and stress levels. While lack of sleep can impair melatonin levels and cortisol, adequate sleep helps our brains rid themselves of toxins and heal.

What’s on your short list? What habits do you use to lower stress levels?

Don’t let chronic high stress and cortisol levels bring down your health, brain, or memory. Use these 9 strategies to reduce cortisol naturally today.