In the beginning, I didn't reduce portion sizes. I just substituted high calorie-density foods like fats, meats and cheesy pastas with lower calorie-density foods like veggies. So instead of a full large plate of fettucini carbonara, I'd have just half and the other half would be steamed veggies. This immediately reduced the calories ingested by about 30-40% for the same volume. Then I slowly reduced the portion sizes too.
