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Portion Control for Health

Losing weight is never easy. You have to think about getting the right amount of exercise, controlling your fat and calorie intake and if that is not enough, you also have to think about portion control. In fact, many diet experts actually say that you can eat almost anything you want as long as you control the portions that you eat. When you eat a giant plateful of food at every meal, you are taking in more fat and calories than you need.

Here is another thought. When you go out to eat, which is probably quite often if you are like most people, you always get more food than your body needs. It is the current trend to serve giant portions. The bad part of that is that you often get double portions of your meal, and you still eat it all. Many people have the "clean your plate" mentality, or they don't even think about the amount they are eating.

What is the solution to this growing problem? The solution is to control the portions that you eat everyday. How do you do this? It may not be as hard as you think. One of the first things you will need to learn to do is to read the labels. All food that you buy at the grocery store will tell you how much a serving is. When you train yourself to read the labels and learn how much a serving actually is, you may be very surprised. Some servings are very small. For example, one serving of cheese is only one ounce. When you actually see how much that is, you can easily see how fast your servings add up.

After you have trained yourself to read the labels, you have to start applying what you have learned. For example, an average piece of meat, such as a chicken breast is about the size of a small fist or a deck of cards. A serving of pasta is only one cup. A serving of bread is one regular slice of bread. Learn what these servings look like on a plate so when you eat you can begin to visualize your servings. You will be surprised when you see how much you have been eating.

Another trick to help control your portions is to use a smaller plate. This is a tip that many diet experts will tell you. It makes sense when you think about it. If you use a large sized dinner plate and fill it up, you could easily double or triple your serving sizes at every meal. It is common habit to fill the plate. However, if you use a smaller plate, your portions have suddenly become much smaller. This is a tip you can certainly use when controlling your portion size.

It may take some time, but you can learn how to control your portions. This is not only a great way to lose weight, but it also helps ensure that you are not taking in more sodium and cholesterol that you need each day.