Portion size

[citygirl]

How do you decide what is a good portion size? And how big a meal should be? I'm used to eating a lot at one meal, and I eat in restaurants a fair amount. How do I decide how much of everything I can eat when I get one of those huge plates of food?

[officeperson]

That's my main problem. I just keep eating until there is no more food or I am full. I need to learn to eat less. It would be easier if I knew when to stop.

[maggie]

I wish full meant something to me. I'll eat until I burst, as long as it tastes good.

Anyway, you can measure portions with your fist. Never eat a portion of anything that is any larger than your fist. Now, this doesn't mean you can have a fist-size serving of potatos and a fist-size serving of pasta and a fist-size serving of chocolate cake. But of the things you are supposed to eat, a fist is enough.

[chocolate]

I'd heard that, too. A good idea in a restaurant is to decide how much you should eat, and get the rest taken away, either to be thrown out or packaged up to take home, right at the beginning of the meal. Out of sight, out of mind.