Step 1. Once you have dieted and have reached the weight ideal for your height then obviously you want to maintain that weight, the easiest way to do that is by controlling the portions of food that you eat.

It is thought that many of us underestimate greatly portion sizes and the amount of calories they hold. So what actually is the recommended portion size, below are guides to actual serving or portion sizes:

• * 1 slice of whole grain bread.
• * ½ a cup of rice or pasta.
• * ½ a cup of mashed potato.
• * 1 small pancake or waffle.
• * 2 medium sized biscuits.
• * ½ a cup of cooked vegetables.
• * 4 leaves of lettuce.
• * 1 small baked potato.
• * 1 medium grilled pork chop.
• * 1 medium apple.
• * ½ a grapefruit.
• * 1 cup of yogurt or milk.
• * 1 small chicken breast.
• * 1 ¼ pound hamburger.

Sometimes it is much easier if we can translate information into something that is easier to remember, for example instead of trying to measure or guess grams or ounces compare servings to physical objects, for example a single serving of the following is about:

• * Vegetables or fruit the same size as your fist.
• * Pasta is about the same size as ice cream that has been scooped.
• * Meat, fish or poultry can be measured by the palm of your hand, not including the fingers.
• * A cupped handful of crisps or pretzels.
• * An apple roughly the size of a tennis ball or baseball.
• * A baked potato roughly the same size as a standard computer mouse.
• * A pancake the same size as a computer disk or DVD.
• * A slice of cheese is the size of your thumb from the base to the tip.

Other helpful hints for helping with the correct portion control include:

In the home

• * Don’t go back and have seconds.
• * Store away any left overs in their proper portions before wrapping or freezing them.
• * Never eat out of a bag or container.
• * Don’t keep food on platters; if you do then you are more likely to snack on them.

In restaurants

• * Ask for half portions or child size portions.
• * Servings given in many restaurants are too big, move some of the food aside.
• * If you have to have desserts then only eat half or share.

In the supermarket

• * Don’t buy mini snacks, they hold the same amount of calories and most people end up eating more than regular sized snacks.
• * Buy foods that are in individual serving sizes.
• * If you like ice cream then don’t buy it in tubs instead buy them in individual tubs or packaged as ice cream wafers.

Similar Posts:

• What’s Wrong When I Eat Out?
• You Can Eat Right and Avoid Holiday Weight Gain
• Eating Right for a Healthy Weight
• Strawberries with Cream Cheese Dessert recipe – 125 calories
• 2000 Calorie Diet