For some people, its hard to control their food portions on their plates and for others its just that they are unsure how much they should be eating. Learning to “eyeball” your food portions will make it much easier to stay on track, eat a reasonable amount of food and lose that weight.

Here are some suggestions to help you eat proper portions of foods.

3 oz of chicken or beef = deck of cards

2 TBSP peanut butter = ping pong ball

1 cup veggies = size of your fist

When filling your plate, first and foremost, use smaller plates. Even a child’s plate would be better in some cases. When we see the plate, we think we need to fill it to get full. If the plate is smaller, we don’t need to add so much food to it!

Look at your plate and divide it in half. Divide on of those halves into another half. 1/2 of your plate should be fruits and vegetables, 1/4 whole grains and the other 1/4 lean protein. Adding more fibrous vegetables will fill you up more so that you don’t fill yourself up other stuff.

Sometimes its hard to control your portions when you go out to eat. In this case, ask for a to-go-box when your food first arrives and put half of your food in the box. Then you will not feel like you need to “clean your plate” like many of us were brought up thinking. You will also have a meal for the next day already prepared and ready to eat!

By using these tips, you will not only be able to walk away from the table feeling satisfied instead of overstuffed, but you will start to drop those pounds!

What do you do to control your food portions?