Control Those Portions

Depriving yourself of things you love to eat isn’t fun or always even necessary. But if you want to get healthier and lose some weight, you’ll need to make some choices.

If you aren’t able to give up certain not-so-good-for-you foods, you may find success by becoming more aware of your portion sizes and by scaling them back.

One easy way to start keeping track of your food portions is to note the serving size — and its nutritional values — listed on a food package’s nutritional label. Be careful because pre-packaged foods often contain multiple servings.

Learning to recognize appropriate portions of fresh, home-cooked and restaurant dishes and other foods without labeling is also important. The calories, fat, and other nutritional values can vary wildly based on portion size. Just because it’s available in your local grocery store or on the restaurant menu doesn’t mean you should eat the whole thing!

• 1 small potato = a computer mouse. 
• ½ cup of pasta, fruit or ice cream = ½ a baseball. 
• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter = a table tennis ball. 
• 3 ounces of meat or chicken = deck of cards.
• Ask your doctor or Registered Dietitian for more help with portion control.