Control your portions

People eat more when presented with larger portions of food. Even children as young as two years are affected by portion size. Our judgment about serving sizes has been completely skewed by

restaurant portions, food packaging and our own eyes. So how do we reset our expectations about appropriate portions? You're already on track by reading this. Now, how do you apply it to yourself?

Start by familiarizing yourself with appropriate serving sizes. If you don't have a food scale or measuring cups handy, use visual cues to help you judge portion sizes:

• A serving of fish (3 ounces) is the size of a deck of cards
• A serving of pasta or dry cereal (1/2 cup) is the size of a hockey puck
• A serving of fresh fruit (1/2 cup) is the size of a tennis ball
• A serving of butter (1 teaspoon) is the size of one die