Portion Food Sizes to Drop Pant Sizes

In a world of expanding waist sizes, educating yourself about what individual portion sizes are may be your best fight against obesity.

The first thing you can do is start reading labels of the foods you eat. Many snacks actually contain more than one serving per package. You might be able to fit one serving of chips or chocolate into your daily diet calorie-wise, but eating two or three servings a day can really add up.

Another great way to decrease your portion sizes is to use smaller plates and bowls. It isn't easy to leave a lot of empty space on your plate, and one regular serving of cereal sure doesn't look like enough when you use a huge bowl-so start using smaller dishes. Pull out those salad plates and put them to use with all kinds of foods.

Of course, when you eat out, you can't control what size portions or plates your food comes on. But, you can decide just how much you will eat. Many people find it helps to ask for a to-go container right when their meal is delivered. This way, you can pack up half of it immediately and avoid the temptation of eating even after you are satisfied. Another option is to keep your bread or salad plate so you can serve yourself smaller portions.

When watching television or heading to the movies, prepare snacks ahead of time. If you measure out serving sized portions of chips, candies, and popcorn into small containers, you will eat much less than if you have a huge bag or bucket in front of you.

SparkPeople.com offers many wonderful guides and resources on serving sizes, along with the following tips to keep in mind when figuring out portions:

Bread, Grains, & Pasta

• 1-ounce slice whole wheat bread = index card
• ½ bagel = can of tuna
• ½ cup rice, cereal, or pasta = small Walkman
• 1 two-ounce muffin = cupcake wrapper
• 1 small roll = yo-yo
• 1 four-inch pancake = compact disc
• 1 two-ounce piece of Italian bread = bar of soap

Protein & Meat

• 3-ounces beef, chicken, pork = small pack of tissues
• 1-ounce nuts = ping pong ball
• ½ cup cooked dry beans or peas = man's wallet
• 1 egg = stick shift knob
• 2 tbs. peanut butter = two tea bags

Keeping a set of measuring cups and spoons easily accessible in your kitchen will help you control those portions. In fact, you might be amazed at how far one serving size of peanut butter, hummus, salad dressings, or cereal can go. Another great method for controlling your portion sizes is to use a simple kitchen scale. Kitchen scales can often offer more accuracy than measuring cups because many foods offer servings sizes in weight rather than volume. A scale lets you weigh serving sizes of dry pasta before cooking it. It also helps you eliminate some of the guess work: ¼ cup packed raisins is drastically different from ¼ cup loose raisins, but 30 grams of raisins will be the same amount whether they are packed together or not.

Arm yourself with serving size awareness and watch your waistline shrink.