Even if you stick to foods that are low in fat, most dieticians agree that the amount you eat is the most important factor in losing weight or maintaining your natural weight. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that portion sizes are increasing, and that this increase is contributing to the growing rate of obesity in America. It is easy to see this trend going on all around us. Fast food restaurants offer “super-size” meals, snack bags and candy bars are bigger and bigger, and even regular restaurant entrees offer much more food than needed for the meal. And the trend is contagious. The study found that most people are eating larger meals at home also. Most people underestimate how much they are eating at a typical meal and overestimate how much they really need to feel satisfied.

 With this in mind, portion control is the most important concept in a healthy diet. While watching what you eat and regular planned exercise are important, watching how much you eat may contribute most to controlling your weight. Keeping the number of calories you eat per day within a healthy range, while still eating a variety of foods for nutrition is not always easy, especially since most people have no concept of healthy food portions.  For a start, make sure to check the “serving size” measurement on the nutrition labels of packaged foods and pay attention to the servings yield of recipes you are cooking. Let the following guide help you judge healthy portions and how you can eyeball these quantities without weights or measurements. Until you are comfortable judging portion sizes, you need to pay attention to these rules of thumb. Make sure to check out the food pyramid on our site for an idea of how much of each type of food you should be eating a day.

• Bread, Rice, Cereal, and Pasta- You need about 6-11 servings a day of these foods, depending on your sex, age, and level of physical activity. One serving includes a slice of bread, a half of a bagel, 1 oz. dry cereal, 6 crackers, or 1/2 C. cooked cereal, rice, or pasta.

  • One serving of cooked macaroni (1/2 C.) is about the size of an ice-cream scoop or cupcake wrapper.

  • Two servings of pasta or cereal looks like a medium sized fist.

• Fruit- Any fruit or 100% fruit juice counts as a fruit serving. You need 2-4 servings a day of fruit. One serving includes 1 medium apple, orange or banana, 1/2-1 C. chopped fruit or berries, 1/2-1 C. cherries or cubed cantaloupe, 3/4 C. 100% fruit juice or 1/2 C. dried fruit.

  • A serving of fruit (1/2-1 C.) is about the size of a tennis ball.

•  Vegetables- You need 3-5 servings a day of vegetables as part of a healthy eating plan. One serving of vegetables includes 3/4 C. veggie juice (like V8), 1/2 C. any chopped vegetable such as carrots, 1 C. raw leafy greens.

  • A serving of vegetables (1/2 C. chopped) looks like a scoop of ice cream or a small fist.

• Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts- You need 2-3 servings a day of these protein foods. One serving includes 3 oz. poultry or fish, 2 oz. lean meat, 1 egg, 1/2 C. cooked beans, or 2 Tbs. peanut butter, nuts, or seeds.

  • A serving of meat (3 oz.) is about the size of a deck of cards, a computer mouse, or the palm of a woman’s hand.

  • One ounce of meat is about the size of a matchbook.

• Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese- You need 2-4 servings a day of dairy products. One serving of a dairy product includes 1 C. milk or yogurt, 1 oz. natural cheese, 1/3 shredded cheese, or 2 oz. processed cheese.

  • One serving of cheese (1oz) is about the size of your thumb or a pair of dice.

  • One serving of low-fat cheddar cheese is 2 oz., or about the size of two dominoes.

These guidelines (how much you should be eating of each type of food and what a serving actually looks like) should help you in everyday portion control, but old habits may still get in the way of a healthy eating plan. Eating strictly by the guidelines of the food pyramid is certainly easier said than done. Many other portion control techniques are very easy to adopt in your own life, and will make a great difference to your health.

• Slow down!  Simply eating more slowly absolutely helps to control how much you eat. You need to allow your stomach time to send the message to your brain that you are getting full. Pause for a few minutes after eating the first half of your meal and you may find you don’t really need the other half. If you are still hungry after eating half your meal, try adding more raw veggies and finish up with some fresh fruit to supplement your meal. This technique is a great way to banish that uncomfortable, sluggish feeling we get after consuming too much at a meal.
• Portion Control Eating in Restaurants- Restaurant portions are easily twice the size they were a couple decades ago. In order to fight the highly visual and even instinctual urge to eat all the food put in front of you at a restaurant, try ordering a lunch-sized portion of a dish even at dinner. Lunch-sized portions are smaller than full-sized dinner entrees and cheaper too! If you’re feeling playful, you can also ask to order from the children’s menu. Just let your server know you are dieting and have a sense of humor about “normal” portions. Another way to control the amount you eat at a restaurant is to ask the server to bring a to-go container with the meal. Put some of your meal in the container as soon it is served, and chances are you will not open it back up at that sitting.  This way you can heat up the leftovers tomorrow for lunch.
• Just Say No to the Super-Size…and the Buffet- If you do go to a fast food restaurant, do not be tempted by the “value meal” or the “better deal” of a super-sized combo.  Fast food portions are already grossly oversized. Instead, order just a chicken sandwich and a salad or fruit on the side. Do not be embarrassed to order a kid’s meal at fast food restaurants, since these meals are much closer to recommended portions for an adult. Buffets are simply a bad idea if you are working towards more controlled eating habits. Portion control is nearly impossible in an “all-you-can-eat” restaurant environment.
• Oh the Snacks- Taking a whole bag of potato chips into the living room with you to watch TV is a sure way to eat more than you need (maybe even the whole bag when you are not paying attention). Instead of taking the whole bag with you, measure out a small portion of your snack in the kitchen. Getting an idea of what a controlled portion of your favorite snack looks like is also a good idea. You might be surprised to find out how much you are actually consuming. After learning what a proper serving is, you will more easily eyeball it in the future. You can also plan ahead and divide your favorite snack into serving-size plastic bags.  Recognizing the trend towards portion control in eating habits, many snack makers now offer 100-calorie packages in items like Pringles and Oreo Thin Crisps.
• Super-Easy Portion Control- There really is something to be said for eating like a kid. Remember those plastic, compartment plates that we, especially the picky ones, ate off as kids? Well, those sectioned dishes, separating three different kinds of food, are a perfectly easy, adult tool for portion control.  The sections function as a guide for how much is a reasonable amount of each type of food, giving you a calorie-controlled and nutritionally balanced meal. Just fill the larger bottom compartment with vegetables or fruit, one of the smaller top compartments with a protein such as lean meat, egg, cheese, or tofu, and the last compartment with a starchy carbohydrate such as bread, potatoes, rice, or pasta.  If you can’t find a find a fun 3-section plate somewhere in housewares, look for the disposable variety with the other paper plates at your grocery store.