You can eat anything you want and not gain a pound. The secret? Portion control.

Eating the right portion sizes may be more important than the food choices you make, according to nutrition expert Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. "Healthy food choices are paramount, especially during the holidays," says Diekman, who is also the past president of the American Dietetic Association. "But if you don't pay attention to portion sizes, healthy food options aren't going to help you lose weight on their own."

While many of us know that consuming an extra-large hamburger is less healthy than eating a chicken sandwich, recognizing a good portion size can be more challenging, especially when dining out or at a party.

Read on for easy portion-control tricks.

Portion Control Trick No. 1
You can easily and quickly weigh and measure your food just by looking at your own hand.

• A woman's fist is about the size of one cup.
• The tip of the thumb is about the size of an ounce.
• The flat outstretched hand is about the size of three or four ounces of meat, fish or poultry or six ounces if the piece is a little thicker.
  

"Your hand can give you an easy, quick reference to glance at, especially if you are dining out," Diekman says. "Most adults should eat between five and seven ounces of meat, fish or poultry per day, not per meal. And a cup or cup and a half of pasta or potatoes is a normal portion, not three cups. We should also be getting around two cups a day of both fruits and vegetables and three cups of dairy."

Portion Control Trick No. 2
Two-thirds of your plate should be filled with fruits, vegetables or whole grains. The final third should be meat, fish or poultry. "Put sensible portions on your plate at the beginning of the meal and don't go back for seconds," Diekman advises.

Portion Control Trick No. 3
When dining out, do this: When placing your order, also ask for a take-out box to arrive with the food. When the food is placed in front of you, decide immediately how much of the entrée you are going to eat and put the rest in the take-out box.

"If you look at your plate and realize the meat portion is larger than your hand, cut it in half," says Diekman. "If the pasta portion is overflowing the plate, it could easily be three cups or more. Put half of it in the box. Not only will you be controlling your portion size, but also you'll have delicious leftovers for lunch the following day."

Portions are just as important, and in some cases more important, than the food you choose.

--From the Editors at Netscape