A quick Internet search on diets will produce a long list of diet programs, fads and trends. A lot of these offer conflicting information. One diet advises you to avoid certain foods altogether and another tells you to eat those foods in bulk. A healthy diet should consist of food from every food group. If you bypass the gimmicks, eat a variety of foods and practice portion control, you diet will prove successful.
Portion Size Increasing
It's not your imagination -- portion sizes are growing. Restaurants are serving larger portions and you may be dishing out larger portions at home, too. Between 1977 and 1996, portions increased by these calorie amounts: salty snacks, 93 calories; soft drinks, 49 calories; hamburgers 97 calories; French fries, 68 calories and Mexican food by 133 calories, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in January 2003. Portions increased more at fast food than dine-in restaurants, according to the report.
Online Tool
The U.S. Department of Agriculture created a tool to help you determine how much to eat to gain, lose or maintain weight with a balanced diet. The tool, at MyPyramid.gov, provides guidelines for all healthy people older than 2. If you suffer from a chronic health condition, you should seek professional diet advice. MyPyramid helps you select foods from each of the food groups while staying within your daily calorie budget. It also helps you choose foods that give you the most nutrient value for the fewest calories, which means you may be able to have larger portions of some foods.
Visual Tool
Your stomach may be influenced by what you see. If you take a healthy, well balanced-meal that falls within your recommended caloric intake and put it on a large plate, it can look small. This sends a food-deprivation message to your brain that can leave you feeling hungry after eating. Putting the same meal on a smaller plate so the food takes up most of the plate's surface will send a more appropriate message to your brain. You can also purchase plates with dividers with each section, correctly sized for different foods.
Personal Differences
Portion size recommendations by the USDA provide a solid basis on which to judge whether you're eating too much or too little. It helps to know, for example, that a hamburger bun counts for two servings of grains, not one. But the amount you need to eat to attain and maintain a healthy weight depends on your lifestyle and health as well as your age and sex. A male athlete needs bigger portions than an inactive woman. Medical conditions may also influence portion sizes.
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