When preparing your dinner plate do you think about portion sizes and how that might be affecting your weight loss or lack thereof? You might not have thought about it, but its not always about what your eating, but how much your eating. And you might be confused as to how big or small a portion is… but I am about to help you out with that!

Over many years society has thrown at us super-size meals and big gulps and we have learned that this is how we eat! Large is better – but its not! Especially when eating fast food! When eating a super-size plate of veggies I wouldn’t worry much as long as they weren’t fried in tons of oil… but my point really isn’t about that, its about how we need to change our thinking from what society is telling us… about super-sizing our foods. We need to have portion control and eat less if we really want to see results in our weight loss and our pant sizes.

I found a few easy guidelines to follow on webmd based on everyday items in our household that can help you estimate portions based on sized of specific household products. Since not everyone knows what a cup looks like without an actual measuring cup, this guide might help:

• 1/2 cup = Regular lightbulb (rice, pasta, grains, frozen yogurt, ice cream)
• 1/4 cup = 2 golfballs (nuts, seeds)
• 1 cup = baseball (fruits, vegetables, cereal, yogurt, soup, chili)
• 2 TBSP or 1 oz. = Golfball (cheese, peanut butter, hummus, raisins)
• 1 TBSP = Poker chip (butter, oil, salad dressing, mayonnaise)
• 3 oz. = Deck of cards or checkbook (meat, fish, tofu)

Hope this helps you on your weight loss journey!