If you make one nutrition change, it should be this

Remember when you were young and could basically eat anything? Well, let's face it ... those days are over.

Now, the main reason most adults (and children for that matter) gain weight is quite simple: they eat more calories than they burn. So it goes without saying that your diet is an essential part of your weight loss program.

There are a few ways ways to control your diet, but the two most popular are: calorie counting and portion control.

I suggest trying to control your portions. It's much easier and by doing so, you'll naturally start to reduce your caloric intake. We've all heard the old adage 'all things in moderation.' That theory is all it takes to arrive at and maintain your natural weight. Understanding the serving size on the Nutrition Facts Label is important for controlling your portions. When you serving size goes up, so do the calories, fat, sugar, and salt. Remember to stay away from processed food. Keep it real and stick to the foods that your great-grandmother had available to her.

Here are some tips to estimate portion sizes:

• A deck of cards = one serving (three ounces) of meat, poultry, or fish and serving sizes for other proteins would be two tablespoons of nut butters, two eggs, or 1/3 cup of dry beans.
• Half a baseball or half your fist = one serving (1/2 cup) of fruit, vegetables, pasta, or rice (a serving of bread is one slice.)
• Your thumb = one serving (one ounce) of cheese. -- Can you imagine only eating a piece of cheese the size of your thumb? But it's true that is one serving.
• One fist size or that of someone holding a tennis ball = one serving (one cup) of yogurt.
• Two fists = green vegetables and salad greens.
  

These healthy portions may seem small to you, but realize that your stomach is only about the size of two loosely fisted hands, so a meal should never be larger than the size of three fists.

And, now that you've learned to estimate your portions, here are 10 tips from About.com to help you learn to control them.