Portion Control Scenario: you go out for dinner and order spaghetti with marinara sauce and a side of grilled veggies. The pasta is so plentiful that it's falling off the plate. Yes, your meal is nutritious. But can too much of a good thing be not so good for you? Absolutely!

HOW SUPER IS SUPERSIZE?

Often, portion control is difficult, in the era of the "supersized" meal. It's often hard to recognize "normal" portion sizes. Giant bottles of soda, extra-large bags of chips and king-size candy bars are part of our everyday eating landscape. But unfortunately, as our portion sizes get larger, so do our waistlines, even if we have started a diet and exercise plan. Bigger packages themselves can also sabotage portion control. Research from the University of Illinois shows that people may tend to eat more food when served in larger containers! When movie-goers were given the same amount of popcorn in containers of two different sizes, the people given the larger tubs ate 44 percent more. (When in doubt, use a smaller plate at dinner!)

PORTION CONTROL TIPS: SIZING THINGS UP

To exercise portion control, and keep portions in perspective, you need a tool to help you navigate through bulked-up portions. Visualizing recommended serving sizes by relating them to common household objects is an easy and useful technique. By comparing food portions to things you already recognize, you should be able to "eyeball" a food item and "guesstimate" how large it is. Long gone are the days of carrying around a food scale for portion control! It's wise to weigh things occasionally to get an accurate idea of how big portions should be, but relating those measurements to common objects and teaching yourself to recognize them will be a great step toward achieving your weight loss goals. Further, weighing your food in an attempt at portion control can quickly turn into drudgery! Some easy portion control tips:

* Your fist is about the same size as one cup of fruit.
* Your thumb (tip to base) is the size of one ounce of meat or cheese.
* Your palm (minus fingers) equals three ounces of meat, fish, or poultry.
* Your cupped hand equals one to two ounces of nuts or pretzels.

PORTION CONTROL TIPS IN ACTION:

Once you have serving sizes committed to memory, you'll be ready to fit them into your eating plan:

* As you eat smaller portions, increase the number of meals you eat to about 6. So instead of 3 large meals, you will have 6 smaller ones. This will help to keep you from feeling hungry and rev up your metabolism at the same time!
* Limit servings of high-fat foods such as fatty meats and fried foods.
* Buy single-servings of some foods, such as 1-ounce bags of chips or 1/2-cup servings of ice cream.
* Remember that servings of most vegetables are extremely low fat and low calorie. Bell peppers and button mushrooms just might become your new best buddies!

You must incorporate portion control as part of your diet and exercise plan in order to lose weight more quickly! By eating the right foods in reasonable portions, you will ultimately lose weight, and look and feel great!