Recently, I wrote about how late night eating is no worse for your waistline than eating at any other time of day. That's true, and I'm glad that myth about late-night eating has finally been put to bed. However, eating at night isn't without a caveat.

For many people, eating late at night consists of snacking on popcorn, chips or other treats. If these treats are in moderation, that's not such a bad thing. But late-night eating often equals mindless eating, and that's never a good thing. Just think about it -- you're watching the latest episode of Lost and munching on chips straight from the bag. Before you know it, half the bag is gone and you don't even know how it happened.

Just because you have a green light to eat late at night doesn't mean you can eat mindlessly. Opt for healthier snacks such as cut veggies and hummus and always measure out your snacks so you don't eat more than you intend.

You know that little click you hear when your gas tank is full? Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a little warning like that for our stomachs? Just some subtle little chime that rings in to let us know it's time to stop eating? Unfortunately, our bodies are much more subtle than that.

For most people, it takes 20 minutes for our brains to realize our stomachs are full. Today may be the age of lightning fast e-mail, but our bodies are still relying on the pony express. That's why portion control is so important; when you keep your portions reasonable, you know you're not taking in more than you need. It's also important to eat slowly -- relish each bite and enjoy your food. When you take your time eating, you give that pony more time to get the "You're full!" message to your brain.

I just stumbled across this article about a woman who had a condition that caused her to faint when consuming things like sandwiches or soda. It sounds like a horrible condition and she must be relieved to have a diagnosis. However, I did find it humorous that she's not pleased about her post-treatment weight gain.

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Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis knows her way around a kitchen -- especially when she's cooking up one of her tempting Italian dishes. But how does she stay as slim as she is when she's eating pasta and other not-so-light foods?

De Laurentiis says: "Food is not the enemy." In fact, she readily admits that she's addicted to chocolate and doesn't think she could give it up. De Laurentiis swears by portion control and says, "It's not food; it's how much you eat." De Laurentiis enjoys pastas and other heavier foods in small portions and makes sure she eats more greens than carbs.

De Laurentiis also believes in enjoying food. She says good quality ingredients enhance your enjoyment, and she recommends buying ingredients that are in season for maximum flavor.

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It's not always possible to measure our food into precise little containers prior to eating to ensure we're getting a properly-sized portion. That's what we have hands for. And thumbs. And palms. Yep, everything you need to know about how much you need to eat is in your hands, says Makeover Momma, who writes for the new-mom set but has tips that can transfer to all of us. Check these out.

• A protein serving should be size of your fist. Makeover Momma suggests you focus on proteins like lean chicken or fish, an egg white omelet, or a serving of quinoa.
  
• Grains or carbohydrates should fill one cupped palm. Think one slice of bread, a cup of brown rice, or a moderately-sized whole grain bagel.
• Two tablespoons of anything is equivalent to the size of both of your thumbs. Use this guide for the peanut butter you spread on that whole-wheat bagel, fresh tomato sauce you pour over pasta, or the dressing you choose for your salads.
  
  

Two other tips from this wise Momma: Keep your servings to a variety of unprocessed foods whenever possible and eat only when you're hungry. Want more from this gal, who happens to think it's entirely possible to be fit, fashionable, and fabulous after kids? Click right here.

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Reader's Digest calls it the "American Paradox," the curious way the proportion of fat in the American diet is going down while the numbers on our American scales are going up. The explanation: While the percentage of fat in our diets may be dropping, the amount of fat we consume as a nation is going up because we're eating larger portions of everything.

All is not lost, though. Here are six steps for slashing some calories from your diet. Calories, after all, are the golden ticket for weight loss.

Keep food off the table. Serve your food onto plates right from the stove or kitchen counter. No serving platters, no extra calories.

Don't eat from packages. It's too easy to lose track of how much you've consumed when you keep grabbing from a bag. Try portioning out crackers, pretzels, and other snacks on a plate and you'll have a clear sense of what you're eating.

Downsize your dishes. Smaller plates and bowls make portions seem larger.

Take it slow. Put your fork down after each bite, sip slowly from your drink, and when you're done with your food, wait 20 minutes -- this is how long it takes for the brain's appetite-control center to register that there's food in the stomach.

Work for your food. Eat foods that require some effort. Peel an orange or crack open crabs and your eating pattern will slow down.

Socialize outside the kitchen. You won't be so tempted to nibble if you congregate in the living room.

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Portion size can throw your best-laid diet plans off quicker than a bull bucks off a cowboy. We've become so accustomed to super-sized meals and big restaurant portions that we serve up big sizes as a matter of course. For most people, weighing and measuring foods isn't something they can reasonably sustain for the long-term. So the trick is learning to reliably recognize portion sizes by sight. Here are some tips for controlling portion sizes:

• A quick way to check your portion size is to look at your clenched fist. If the food is larger than your fist, you're almost certainly eating more than you need.
  
• When eating at home or at a buffet, choose a small amount to start. Then, eat slowly and enjoy each bite. When you're done, take some time to let your body recognize that you're full. Having an overfilled plate just gives you the temptation to clean your plate like your mom used to preach.
  
• At restaurants, plan on eating only half of your meal and bringing the rest home for later.
• Eat healthy, small mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. Letting yourself get ravenous will likely lead to overeating.

Find out if you know your portions -- take this fun AOL Body quiz.

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We have a saying around my house -- "don't serve up Army-sized portions, just you-sized portions." It's a saying born of necessity. My healthy, athletic son has a tendency to skip lunches and then overeat at night. Overeat to the point that he's sick. During the day I have to remind him to eat and at night I have to make sure he stays reasonable. Luckily, he likes fruits and veggies so it's easy to have him stick to healthy foods, but I want to help him learn healthier eating patterns. He's energetic enough now that he easily burns off any extra calories, but as he grows up his metabolism likely couldn't handle his evening gorge-fests.

I think we all have overeaten from time to time. Goodness knows I have. We take a bit too much from the buffet line, go back for second helpings of a delicious dish, or cut an extra large slice of dessert because it looks so good. Eating past the point of hunger isn't nutritionally necessary. So how do you stop overeating?

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Next time you dine out, consider this: Subliminal cues at restaurants can cause you to eat more than you normally would. So next time you find yourself tucked away in a cozy little eating establishment, here's what you should do.

• Sit at a table, not a booth. Booths promote privacy, comfort, and the desire to stay and eat longer. If you simply must opt for the booth, go for it -- just don't eat too much -- but if you're OK with a table, this is your safest bet.

• Go olive oil, not butter. When the bread arrives, ditch the accompanying butter -- it will cause you to eat 29 percent more -- and try olive oil instead.

• Ignore the table tents. You know, with the pictures of delectable desserts and calorie-packed specials. It's a fact: When you see food, you want to eat it. So turn those photos around and ask the server to skip the dessert tray.

• Just say NO. When your server asks, "Can I start you off with a drink?" or "What kind of appetizer would you like?" just say NO. Try "No thanks" or "I'll start with my entrée" and then move on.

• Go small. Most restaurants serve heaping portions but that doesn't mean you need to eat every bite. Visualize the smaller portions you eat at home and eat just that amount.

• Embrace the mess. Studies show people are less likely to eat more when their tables are cluttered with dishes -- it's easier to see what you've already eaten this way. When plates are cleared, people tend to eat 27 percent more. So don't complain if your server doesn't come around to tidy up your table. It just might save you a few calories.

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Now that I'm on this healthy eating kick, I get a little worried about what I'll eat at food-filled events. I got lucky the other night at a neighbor's Halloween party -- turkey chili and fruit salad were on the menu, and I got to fill up on both of these nutritious treats. But what will I do when faced with a more questionable menu? Discovery Health has some answers.

• At birthday parties, experts say we need to learn to enjoy ourselves without going overboard. They invite us to go for the gusto and have a piece of cake with ice cream. They key is eating slowly and savoring the experience. A good idea: Try putting your fork down at least three times and taking 10 breaths between bites.

• When eating out, remember that restaurant portions are typically way too big. Before you dive into your starchy items (rice, pasta, potato), cut it by one-third to one-half and eat only what remains.

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Nutrition experts say reducing the size of our plates can help us eat less. Makes sense. Less food, less to eat. But plate size is not everything. What we put on that smaller plate has a lot to do with eating less -- and protecting our health more.

Did you know there's a whole portion control system that can help guide our eating efforts? One system, the New American Plate, is built on the foundation of eating on a plate eight or nine inches in diameter. Two-thirds of that plate should be filled with plant foods -- like fruits, veggies, whole grains, and beans -- and one-third should contain animal protein. Seafood, poultry, and red meat satisfy this category. If you want to lose weight, cut portion sizes but keep proportions the same.

A second system, the Idaho Plate Method, has been used for more than 10 years for those trying to manage type 2 diabetes. It works like this: Divide your plate into quarters. Fill half with non-starchy vegetables, one quarter with grains or starchy veggies, and one quarter with animal protein. Then add one dairy item and a fruit serving. Keep the height of your food to about one-half inch.

Both plate methods are equally effective at moving people away from the huge piece of meat in the middle of plate, with tiny portions of peas on the side.

Take your pick. Which do you like better?

Most of us are aware that restaurants and food manufacturers have adopted the bad habit of supersizing meals, drinks, and snacks. What may surprise you is this: We're doing the same thing at our dinner tables. Food package, dishware, and even recipes have evolved to encourage us to eat more than we need. And it turns out that we are not good at pushing the extra portions away: Studies show that the more food we're given, the more we eat.

So how do you know how much is enough?

A portion is the amount of food you choose to eat. There is no standard portion and no single right or wrong portion size.

A serving, however, is a standard amount set by the U.S. government to provide advice about how much to eat or to identify how many calories and nutrients are needed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's nutrition labels and MyPyramid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture are good sources for serving sizes.

For example, a portion for you might be a sandwich made with two slices of bread and some meat. According to MyPyramid, that portion would equal two servings from the grain group and two servings from the meat group.

Tip: If you don't follow serving sizes, and instead make your own portions try trading in your 11-inch plates for 9-inch ones and you'll eat 18% percent few calories.

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If you get heartburn more than twice a week, you ought to embrace the basic tenets of a healthy lifestyle. Not only will they keep you in fighting shape, they'll solve that indigestion problem too.

Heartburn, sometimes a sign of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), can be minimized, even cured, with the right kind of exercise. Try walking, biking, swimming, yoga, and gentle weight training. Steer clear of high-impact aerobic activity -- this can make reflux more intense. And try to wait two hours after eating before exercising.

Gaining weight can also make GERD worse. A rise in your body mass index can bring on or worsen symptoms, especially if the pounds land in the abdominal region. Eating smaller portions works too by decreasing acid. Make sure to eat meals three hours prior to bedtime since symptoms are often worse at night.

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Have you been dieting for years with no luck? By now you're probably blaming anything and everything for your lack of weight-loss -- your job, your metabolism, your spouse, etc -- anything as long as you don't have to look inwards and place the blame on yourself to realize that you're not giving it your all.

WebMD has put together a list of the top reasons you're not losing weight:

• You eat too fast
• You skip meals
• You drink too many calories and think they don't count because they're liquid
• Your portions are too big
• You underestimate the calorie value of add-ons like salad dressing and sauce.
  
• You engage in 'mindless eating'

I myself am guilty of a few of these. If you are too, don't beat yourself up, but do look at changing these habits ... doing so might mean you're finally able to loss weight successfully.

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Here's a healthy gadget that may help you realize your weight-loss goals -- a scale! No, not the kind in your bathroom. The scale's not for you -- it's for your food.

This scale is particularly handy, because it allows you to record how much food you're taking in, and then it helps you set dietary goals and it records your progress along the way. Wait, that's not all -- it analyzes the nutritional content of your food, including carbs, fat and calories. It has the nutritional values of over 1440 foods and drinks stored in it's database and you can add 100 more.

I'm not one to buy into advertising and consumerism, but this actually sounds like a worthwhile item if you're trying to lose weight. After all, portion control is one of the biggest problems for many. It'll set you back $100 but if you have the cash, I would say it's worth it. After all, the science behind many popular weight-loss programs is that they measure your food into safe portions, so you could spend the money on this and do it yourself. What do you think?

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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:

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