Portion Control

I found the following article at SparkPeople. Check more of the article out at http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=56 :

Portions have grown by leaps and bounds over the last couple of decades. Not surprisingly, our weight has followed right along with it. A huge part of the problem is that people tend to eat what’s in front of them, whether they’re hungry or not. To fight this problem, it’s important to find reasons to cut down on what you put on your plate in the first place.

Portion size is a major contributor to weight problems, whether you eat out or at home. Restaurants serve huge plates of food, consisting of several servings per person, making it easy to go way past the recommended amount per meal.

It does not stop when you eat at home. It’s been estimated that portion sizes in the past 20 years have increased in restaurants and at home by as much as 50%. Today, the average person eats 200 more calories each day than in the 1970s. Many store bought cookies are now more than 7 times bigger than the recommended serving size. Did you know that a typical dinner plate holds three servings of spaghetti, not just one? When you fill up your entire plate with food, you’re likely eating more than you bargained for.