Consuming smaller portions of foods at each meal is one of the easiest ways to cut back on calories and loose weight. Not knowing how much food you eat could result in eating hundreds of extra calories every day. Knowing what is a proper portion size could be challenging with the challenges of super-sizing, over sized portions, all-you-can-eat-buffets, 32 oz sodas, jumbo candy bars, and other snack foods all contributing to excess calories your body cannot do anything with except store as fat.
It can be difficult to know what the proper amounts of food to eat looks like. Here are suggested servings sizes and some tips to get you started in reducing your serving sizes.
 3 oz. meat: size of a deck of cards is the recommended portion for a meal
 Medium potato: size of a computer mouse
 2 Tbs.: size of a ping pong ball
 Average bagel: size of a hockey puck(even bagels are super sized now)
 A 1/2 cup serving of potatoes, rice or pasta looks like a tennis ball.
 A kitchen scale may help to identify how much something should look like.
Try the following ideas to eat smaller portions when dining out.
 A small soda is about 150 fewer calories than the large one.
 Choose a regular hamburger at a fast food restaurant instead of the larger burger, and save about 150 calories.
 Small fries instead of the super-sized will save you save about 300 calories.
 Start thinking about how you can cut down serving sizes to cut out calories.
At home
 Be careful with your plate size. If you have a smaller size plate you will generally eat less.
 When snacking, place a few chips or crackers in a bowl to help prevent overeating. Don’t eat from the bag.
 Buy single portions of snack foods so you’re don’t eat the whole bag or box.
 Be careful with butter, sour cream, mayonnaise, and cream cheese. Use half the amount you usually do and save lots of calories.

Back in 1950, one out of ten people were considered overweight. Fast forward to 2009 and eight out of ten people over the age of 25 are overweight. According to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, by the year 2030 nine out of ten people will be overweight. Clearly diets alone are not working and in some cases promote the yo-yo effect of weight gain over the years.

 
Americans spent $58 billion spent on weight-loss products and services in 2006. Weight Watchers collected $1.2 billion yearly in revenues, and second is Nutri-System at $568 million yearly. Yet America is in the top ten most obese countries.

 
Americans live in an environment that promotes obesity. Food is abundant and portion sizes have increased, while opportunities for physical activity have diminished and labor saving technology are all are part of the problem for expanding waist lines. There have been many nutritional changes that have impacted wait gain and obesity since 1950. Below are a few that might start you wondering where your extra calories are coming from.

Nutritional changes
• Serving sizes have increased over the years. In the 1950’s and 60’s McDonald’s french fries only came in one size. By 2000 the large serving of french fries had become a medium and a new seven ounce size topped the charts at 610 calories.
• Soft drinks sizes have also grown. In 1955 a 6.5-ounce Coca-Cola was the only size available. Today 20 ounces is standard.
• Children drink more soft drinks than milk, which is the exact opposite situation of 30 years ago.
• In 1987, 18 percent of our calories came from foods eaten in restaurants. Today, eating out contributes almost 36 percent of our calories. Studies show people underestimate the caloric and fat content of the food that is ordered in restaurants by more than have. When people are given nutritional information, this affects the food choices that they make.

Next week, I will list lifestyle changes that Americas have adapted that are making us fatter instead of fitter.

Consider this, if diets really worked we would all be thin. Studies show that 95% of the people who go on a diet gain all the weight back plus more. This is the yo-yo effect of dieting.

There are a lot of myths and misunderstandings about the best way to burn body fat and look great in your “skinny jeans”. The bottom line is that it is your daily habits that create your body, not just a temporary diet that you don’t stick with or a workout program that you do every other week if you have time.   It’s not just one thing you are participating in that is making you unfit, it’s many. 

If you go on a diet that will be impossible to stay on the rest of your life or start another exercise plan that you give yourself permission to stop when you get bored or busy, then you should expect your body to return to its present state.

 If you change what you do and what you eat every day, this is called a lifestyle change. You might be weight challenged because you sit a desk for eight hours. If so, you will have to come up with some creative ways to get in some movement during the day.  It might also be that you skip too many meals which in turn will promote fat storage.  The list is endless, but the reality is that if you are more that five to ten pounds overweight, this is an indication that a lifestyle overhaul may be due.

I suggest you start by making of a list of what you think is making you unfit.  Second, investigate solutions to the problems. And third, make a plan to incorporate your solutions into your daily habits.  If you take the time to evaluate what the real problems are, then long term weight loss will be the end result.

If you have any suggestions on habits that have gotten you in trouble in the past and have come up with a solutions to lack of time, motivation, mindset, and stress barriers, I would love to hear your ideas!