Portion Control

So until my nutritionist talked to me about it, I really had no idea what portion control was.  I so hated that dang food pyramid they gave us in elementary and all through school.  Whatever!  I never could figure that stupid thing out.  Well now they have done away with the food pyramid and put this plate thing down.  I don't know how the Government is doing it exactly (you can look it up at myplate.gov) but this is how I was taught.  On your plate cut it in half.  One half should be full of veggies, salad,  and fruit.  Or one or all of those.  Now the other half cut again and on 1/4th you should have some kind of whole grain.  On the other 1/4th should be lean protein.  Now don't freak out because I said lean.  You do what you can at whatever stage you are at.  Now to some lean would mean to cut the excess fat off of the steak first.  For me however, it means chicken, turkey or salmon.  I would say fish but since salmon is the only fish I personally eat, that's what it is.  So when you serve yourself, arrange it on your plate like this and it is a tremendous help in getting healthy.  Next, try as hard as you can to only take one serving.  That's it, just one and then you are done until your snack.  Now let's be real, this is a hard one.  It was really hard for me and I really didn't know how bad my portions were out of whack until I did this exercise.  I was taking 3 and sometimes 4 helpings of things at every meal.  Duh, no wonder I'm so pleasantly plump.  A few tricks to help you stop after one serving:
                        Leave the table    Place your napkin on your plate   Ruin your plate by pouring a beverage or condiment over it   
Remember, it takes your tummy 10 minutes to realize it has food in it.  So eating a bit slower will help also.  Putting your fork down after every bite is helpful as well.  Good luck, you can do this.  Trust me, if someone like myself can change, anyone can.