Cut Portions Down To Size

Wait 10 Minutes   

Your stomach needs about that long to signal to the brain that it’s full, so wait before helping yourself to more mashed potatoes or lasagna. Keep the conversation going, tell a joke or, if you’re dining alone, read the newspaper or do the crossword. If you’re truly hungry after the delay, have seconds of the vegetables or salad.

Leave the "Clean Plate" Club

Most of us eat everything we’re served no matter how big the portions. A better strategy is to eat a healthy portion (see "Perfect Portion Size Guide"), then stop. It’s better to waste a little food (or save it for tomorrow) than to overload your body.

Never Eat Straight from the Bag, Box or Carton

If you're having takeout, put the right portion on a plate and put the package away, then sit down and enjoy your meal, taking your time over it.   

What to Do if You Like Big Portions   

Overload your plate with vegetables, or a salad with a smidgen of dressing, or have a big, steaming bowl of broth-based soup. These water-rich, low-fat foods are low in calories, so a big portion isn’t a problem. Use a smaller plate for your meal. Less space on the plate means automatic portion control.

When ordering food or drinks or buying packaged food at the grocery store, program yourself to choose or order the smallest size of any high-calorie items. (The exceptions are salads and vegetables without added fat.) Get the small latte, the half-sized filled baguette instead of the big one, the small muffin instead of the big chocolate chip version. Calories you haven’t bought can’t end up around your waist.

Choose Single-Serve

Buy or make high-calorie foods in individual serving sizes. Instead of family-sized cartons of ice cream, buy single serving cartons; make cupcakes instead of a big cake; and buy single-serving bags of chips.

But read the label first. Many packaged foods and drinks may look as if they provide one serving but are actually meant to serve two or more people, and the calories and other nutrition information on the label are for just one serving. So read the number of servings per container first, then be sure to eat or drink just one serving per person.

Put Away Leftovers Before Eating

It’s easy to sit down to a healthy plate of food. The trouble starts when your plate is empty and you have more of each food sitting in front of you in alluring serving bowls. The answer is to package and store leftovers before you sit down to eat. That way, taking a second helping is more of a conscious effort and feels more inappropriate.

Round Off the Meal With Fruit or Vegetables

As you make the transition to more modest portion sizes, you may find yourself craving more food with your meal. The answer is to have a large, crunchy serving of celery, carrots or peppers, or a sliced tomato with your meal. And there is no easier, healthier way to add volume to a meal than with an apple, an orange, or a big helping of watermelon or cantaloupe at the end of it.